Definitions, sources and clarifications of the Millennium Development Goals Definitions of indicators GDP (gross domestic product): total value added at purchasers’ prices by all resident and non-resident producers in the economy, plus taxes (less subsidies) not included in the calculation of value GNI (gross national income): sum of gross value added by resident producers (plus taxes less subsidies) and net primary income from non-resident sources HDI (Human Development Index): a composite measure of life expectancy, education and standards of living adopted by the United Nations Development Programme Infant mortality: probability of dying between birth and exactly one year of age expressed per 1,000 live births Life expectancy: the number of years newborn children would live if subject to the mortality risks prevailing for the cross-section of population at the time of their birth Under-five mortality: probability of dying between birth and exactly five years of age expressed per 1,000 live births Maternal mortality ratio: ratio of the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period An explanation on country analyses carried out on the ‘health MDGs’ In 2000 world leaders from 189 countries met at the United Nations Millennium Summit and committed their nations to a new global partnership, focused on reducing extreme poverty by 2015. Monitoring of progress is ongoing due to the time it takes to collect and analyse data from each country. The formation of the partnership resulted in the blueprint that is universally known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are as follows: • MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger • MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education • MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women • MDG 4: Reduce child mortality • MDG 5: Improve maternal health • MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases • MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability • MDG 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development 314 Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 It is with this in mind that the ‘Progress towards health MDGs and post-2015 plans’ sections for the relevant Commonwealth countries have been compiled with specific focus on MDG 4, MDG 5 and MDG 6, also known as the health MDGs. Analyses of the progress of these health MDGs were provided only for countries which either have an internally implemented MDG programme and policy, or which are not considered to have ‘very high human development’ by the UNDP (that is an HDI country ranking of between 48 and 187 inclusive). The following sections outline the methodology used in assessing the relevant countries’ progress towards achievement of the MDGs. Assessing MDG 4 Goal: Reduce child mortality MDG 4 has one target: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate There are three indicators used by international agencies to assess progress towards MDG 4: • Under-five mortality rate • Infant mortality rate • Proportion of one-year-old children immunised against measles The country profiles in Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 assess two of these: the under-five mortality rate and proportion of one-year-old children immunised against measles. The data sources are: • Unicef, The State of the World’s Children Report 2014, Unicef, New York • World Bank: http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do In assessing progress for MDG 4 for each relevant country: • The latest under-five mortality is compared with one-third of the 1990 under-five mortality for that country. The trajectory of the under-five mortality graph is also analysed to see if the country is on track to achieve the target of reducing the 1990 under-five mortality by two-thirds, before or in 2015. A country is stated to have achieved part of the goal if its latest under-five mortality has reached or fallen below one-third of the 1990 under-five mortality • For the proportion of one-year-old children immunised against measles the latest proportion is compared to a target of 100 per cent. A country has fully achieved this part of the goal if there is 100 per cent immunisation against measles
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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