True! All politics are local.

When a foreigner turns the pages of any Hong Kong local newspaper, especially one in the Chinese language, he or she will be taken by surprise by the fact that the local readership is totally enthralled by local issues almost to the point of being oblivious to what is happening in the world around them.

Just as an example, I wonder how many of us in Hong Kong know anything about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which the United Nations have been preoccupied with for the last decade or so, and in recent years, are being discussed fervently in all quarters of the world perhaps with the exception of Hong Kong.

The MDGs are the most broadly supported, comprehensive and specific development goals the world has ever agreed upon. These eight time-bound goals provide concrete, numerical benchmarks for tackling extreme poverty in its many dimensions. They include targets on poverty, hunger, maternal and child mortality, disease, inadequate shelter, gender inequality, environmental degradation and the Global Partnership for Development.

Adopted by world leaders in 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015, the MDGs are both global and local, tailored by each country to suit specific development needs. They provide a framework for the entire international community to work together towards a common end — making sure that human development reaches everyone, everywhere. If these goals are achieved, world poverty will be cut by half, tens of millions of lives will be saved, and billions more people will have the opportunity to benefit from the global economy.

There are eight MDGs, which are: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; Achieve universal primary education; Promote gender equality and empower women; Reduce child mortality; Improve maternal health; Combat AIDS/HIV, malaria and other diseases; Ensure environmental sustainability; Develop a global partnership for development.

At the midpoint in the MDG timeline, great progress has already been made. Reducing absolute poverty by half is within reach for the world as a whole. With the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, primary-school enrolment is at least 90 percent. Malaria prevention is expanding, with widespread increases in insecticide-treated bed-net use among children younger than 5 in sub-Saharan Africa. In 16 out of 20 countries, use has at least tripled since around 2000. Since 1990, 1.6 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water.

Alongside the successes are an array of goals and targets that are likely to be missed unless more action is taken urgently: about one quarter of all children in developing countries are considered to be underweight and are at risk of long-term effects of undernourishment; more than 500,000 prospective mothers in developing countries die annually in childbirth or of complications from pregnancy; in Sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion of people living on just over a dollar a day is unlikely to be cut in half. Additionally, in middle-income countries like Mexico, Brazil, Romania, Macedonia, and Indonesia, inequality has also led to “pockets of poverty” — socially excluded groups that will need specific attention if their countries are to reach the MDGs.

The proportion of undernourished people in developing regions decreased from 23.2 percent in the early 1990s to 14.9 percent in 2012. Given continued efforts, the target (halving the percentage of people suffering from starving) by 2015 will be reached. However, one-eighth of the global population is still chronically undernourished. The situation in Western Asia has worsened during this period (from 7 percent to 10 percent).

The global economic crisis also threatens to destabilize progress, as a better future for the world’s most vulnerable people could fall victim to contraction of trade, remittances, capital flows and donor support. At a time when investing in development is more vital than ever to ensure social stability, security and prosperity, donor governments are called upon to renew rather than revoke their commitment to reaching the MDGs.

There are now less than 1,000 days to the 2015 target for achieving the goals. It is a good time to review why some of them cannot be achieved.

Perhaps, with a wider perspective of the global family, Hongkongers can appreciate how good their lives in Hong Kong are, and be thankful.



Published 11.9.2013
China Daily

The author is deputy chairman and secretary general of China Energy Fund Committee, an independent think tank on energy and China-related issues.