Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene 2014 Sept - Oct Vol. 9 No.5 | Page 20

Post 2015 Development Agenda

Progress in the Millennium
By Mahmoud Mohieldin

World Bank’s “What Will It Take” campaign lets people share their ideas on
how to end poverty. Eradicating poverty is at the core of the international financial
institution’s strategy. Photo by: Simone D. McCourtie / World Bank / CC BYNC-ND

I

n September 2000, world leaders committed to the
Millennium Development Goals.

Until then, few dared to imagine goals such as eradicating
extreme poverty and hunger, universalizing access to
education or reducing maternal mortality would be
possible. Now, with 500 days left before the end of 2015,
the MDGs are less a leap of imagination and more of a
challenge that many leaders feel is within reach.
Indeed, the goal of halving the number of people living
on less than $1.25 per day has been achieved, at least at the
global level. Even given the significant increase in global
population, there were 700 million fewer people living in
extreme poverty by 2010 than in 1990. Up to 2.3 billion
people have gained access to improved sources of water;
the living conditions of 100 million slum dwellers have
been improved; and gender disparity between girls and
boys in primary education has been reduced.
These gains in human capabilities will help ensure that the
reduction in poverty will be permanent.
Progress in meeting the MDGs — and specifically in
reducing poverty — has been strongest in countries where
growth has been sustained, institutions have provided
peace and stability, and policies have been directed to the
helping disadvantaged people. China and India together
lifted some 232 million people out of poverty.
On the other side, progress has been generally slower
in countries affected by conflict, economic and
environmental shocks, and weaker policy frameworks.
Country poverty rates remain the highest in sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia. And within countries, poverty
tends to be concentrated among ethnic minorities,
women, people with disabilities or certain geographically
disadvantaged areas.
20

Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • September - October 2014

Much, therefore, remains to be done, and a push to
accelerate progress in the next 500 days will make a
real difference in people’s lives as well as strengthen the
foundations for the post-2015 development agenda.
As the rate of poverty worldwide declines, it will become
progressively harder to reduce it further. Social exclusion,
remoteness, vulnerability to climate change, and conflict
pose the most difficult challenges. According to the
research recently conducted by the World Bank, if each
country’s per capita income grows at its average annual
rate over the past 20 years, global poverty is estimated
to be just under 8 percent in 2030, much higher than the
World Bank’s 3 percent global poverty target. Under this
scenario, 18 countries will still have poverty rates above
30 percent in 2030. The goals will not be achieved with a
business-as-usual model.
The post-2015 agenda must finish the “unfinished
business” of the MDGs, while inspiring the world with a
more comprehensive vision of environmental, social and
economic sustainability. The excellent reports of the U.N.
High-Level Panel on Post-2015 and the Open Working
Group on Sustainable Development Goals seem to
converge on this point.
The World Bank’s strategy puts poverty eradication at
its core, and is built around two goals: reduce the share
of people living on less than $1.25 a day to less than 3
percent of the global population by 2030; and promote
shared prosperity by improving the living standards of the
bottom 40 percent of the population in every country.
Achieving this requires strong and more inclusive growth,
as well as policies that build human capabilities and
improve access to markets help create lasting opportunities
for poverty reduction. The international community
needs to work in partnership with governments to build
capabilities to manage global shocks, reduce envi