5. Goal 8 targets
• Address the special needs of least
developed countries, landlocked
countries and small island developing
states.
• Deal with the developing countries
debt.
• In cooperation with pharmaceutical
companies, provide access to
affordable essential drugs in developing
countries.
• Make available benefits of new
technologies.
6. Aid
• Aid is normally measured as a percentage of each country's
gross national income per person and, it was agreed
internationally in 1969 that the target figure would be 0.7%.
Between 1990 and 2001, the average figure for developed
country aid fell from 0.33% to 0.22% but since the late 1990s
and through the early 2000s, the figures have begun to increase
again, but not at the levels needed to achieve the MDG targets.
• Of the 49 least developed countries, 31 now receive less aid than
they did in 1990 (8.5% of their own GDP as opposed to 12.9%).
• For most donor countries, aid remains well below the United
Nations target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income. five
donor countries have reached or exceeded the UN target:
Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
8. Medicine • In May 2009, UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon and the Director-General
of the World Health Organization
(WHO) obtained an agreement from
pharmaceutical companies to donate
at least 10% of their vaccine
production to the third world
countries.
WHO’s Activities
• They have developed global indicators
for availability, price and
affordability of essential medicines.
• The World Health Organization also
provides the pharmaceutical
manufacturers with the information
that they need to produce quality,
safe and effective essential
medicines
9. World trade
Opening up markets for developing countries is a major target
in the Millennium Development Goal goal 8.Increased aid and
higher debt relief will make a small difference but changes in
world trading and pricing will benefit developing countries in a
long term way.
The share of world trade belonging to economies that are
developing has increased to over 40 per cent, from 35 per cent
in 2000.Developing countries are gaining access to the markets
of the developed countries. The amount of developed country
imports from developing countries reached up to 80 per cent in
2008.This is allowing the developed world and the developing
world to develop a partnership for development.
Least developed countries are benefiting from tax Reductions.
Developed countries’ taxes on imports of Agricultural products,
textiles and clothing have remained high. However the least
developed countries are continuing to benefit from tax
reductions, especially on agricultural products where tax is 1.6
per cent as opposed to 8 per cent for other developing
countries.
10. Debt
• Over 75% of the high priority countries as regards the MDGs
are highly indebted - debt relief is considered vital in terms of
giving much needed funds for development to developing
countries. The overall objective is to create a situation where no
such 'high priority country' has a debt problem it cannot
effectively manage. The main argument from campaigners for
debt relief are that such debt are unjust.
• Debt burdens have eased for developing countries and remain
well below historical levels. Forty countries qualify for debt
relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative.
Thirty-five of them have had future debt repayments reduced
by $57 billion, and 28 have received additional assistance of $25
billion under the multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. But the
existing major debt relief initiatives are coming to an end, and a
number of low-income and small middle-income countries are still
at risk of debt distress.
