Missed Goals

Poverty and infant mortality rates are important global issues that affect every nation around the world.  The editorial I read, entitled Missed Goals, discussed the progress the United Nations (UN) has made towards its goals of reducing global poverty by 50%, decreasing child mortality rates by 66%, and reducing maternal mortality rates by 75%.  These goals were set ten years ago by leaders of the UN’s wealthier nations.  Now, ten years later, the goals are no where close to being met by the 2015 deadline.  In fact, the aid given by the wealthier countries is far short of what was pledged. 

            Many believe the recession is to blame for the lag in financial donations.  While I see the truth in this statement, I agree with the author’s reasoning that the wealthier nations have not done enough to pursue these important goals. 

            The author is disheartened with President Obama’s stance on this issue during the recent United Nations meeting, in which he said little about affirming the United States’ commitment to meeting these goals by 2015.  Specifically, the author criticizes the administration’s emphasis on the non-legally-binding nature of the initial pledge.  However, the author points out some positives as well.  For example, the author paraphrases one of President Obama’s recent statements, which declared that, “the United States would still be a major donor but would put new emphasis on using all of its tools—including trade and export credits—to help poor countries get to the point where they don’t need assistance.”  This is an idea that the author supports.

            At the end of the editorial, the writer details how far away we actually are from reaching the stated goals.  For instance, child mortality rates have only dropped about 3% in recent years, while there has been almost no material change in the rate of maternal mortality.  These statistics help make the author’s argument more effective and drives home the point of how significantly these issues have fallen off the global radar.  I believe the author’s editorial could have been even more effective by describing the negative impact that we will all experience if these rates are not reduced by 2015.  This includes the economic impact high poverty and mortality rates have on all of us—as the economy is the number one issue for most of us these days.

            I do agree that the United States and other developed counties should do more to help.  However, I believe that the help can include more than just financial donations.  For example, education can help reduce global poverty and morality rates and can also help under-developed countries sustain any economic gains.  Further, I agree that these goals must remain a priority for the United States and many other developed countries.   I hope to see this issue gain more attention as the economy continues to improve.