GOAL 8 OF THE MDGs

DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

What the world is like 2015 will be a reflection of how developing and developed countries worked together to achieve the MDGs. This collaboration is key to achieving Goal 8.
The deal makes clear that the primary responsibility of developing countries is to work towards achieving the first seven Goals. But for developing countries to succeed, it is critical that developed countries deliver on their end of the bargain, with more and more effective aid, more sustainable debt relief and fairer trade rules, well in advance of 2015. Developed countries pledge more than thirty years ago 0.7% of their national income in development aid, but few have achieved this target.


IN OUR WORLD TODAY:

• Europe's cows receive $2 a day in subsidies, more than the income of half the world's population
• Developed countries pledged to give 0.7% of their national income aid. Only 5 countries are living up to the commitment; the USA is giving less than 0.2%
• It is estimated that were developed countries to break down trade barriers, this could help lift 300 million people out of poverty by 2015

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

Donors should focus aid on developing countries in the greatest need, and simplify requirements for the recipients. Forcing developing countries to buy products made in donor countries is counterproductive to the growth of their own economies. Developed countries should also open their markets to products made in developing countries; present trade policies discriminate and hurt their chances to participate in the global economy. Three-quarters of the world's most disadvantaged-900 million people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, but subsidies from developed countries lead to overproduction, which depresses world prices and threatens the livelihood of local farmers. Greater debt cancellation for developing countries can help them to invest in primary health and education, and other sectors needed to achieve the MDGs.

HOW ARE YOUTH AFFECTED OR INVOLVED?

Who will benefit more from a better world in 2015 but today's youth? Goal 8 is the only one to mention youth; one of the targets is to increase job opportunities for young people. According to International Labour Organisation, youth employment in 2004 was at an all time high: half the world jobless are 15 to 24 years old. Greater and more flexible employment opportunities for youth, especially those at risk, are needed, and decent working conditions for all young people must be provided. Employment policies should ensure that jobs are meaningful, and contribute to the creation of more sustainable communities.

GOAL 7 OF THE MDGs

ENSURE ENVIROMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

We can't maintain a healthy society or economy without taking care of our environment, and protecting our environment contributes to reaching all the other goals. Improved water and sanitation help to reduce child mortality, and better drainage reduces the risk of malaria. Today, human activities are causing losses in biodiversity at a rate 50 to 100 times faster than would otherwise be expected. Goal 7 aims to improve the way we take care of the enviroment, so the natural resourses people need to survive will be available to future generations.


IN OUR WORLD TODAY:

• 2 million children die every year from infectons spread by dirty water or the lack of toilets
• 1.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people lack access to proper sanitation facilities
• The collapse of fisheries around the world threatens to increase hunger and poverty among poor coastal communities throughout the developing world

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

Significant improvements in access to safe drinking water have been made in rural areas, but only a few countries are making enough progress to meet goal 7 by 2015. Environmental sustainability needs to be integrated into education curricula and all policy decisions, and the impact of these decisions must be evaluated regularly. People living in environmentally unsafe areas must have more opportunities to participate in making decisions that affect their own communities.

HOW ARE YOUTH AFFECTED OR INVOLVED?

Youth must contribute to environmental sustainability for the simple reason that it affects their lives today and their futures more than anyone else. Young people can increase environmental awarenes and activism in their own communities through formal and informal education, as well as through effective use of the media to get the message out. Furthermore, youth must be consulted by decision-makers, and can bring fresh ideas to the table when developing local and national policies.

Enviromental sustainability is especially relevant to youth today. In a mere decade or two, it is our generation that will suffer from the disastrous consequences of air and water pollution

GOAL 6 OF THE MDGs

COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES

Imagine your whole community dying of a preventable disease. Every day, seven thousand young people contact HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS not only affects the individual, it touches entire communities and countries. As more and more teachers die from HIV/AIDS, children are robbed of an education. Farmers dying of HIV/AIDS are unable to provide enough food for their families and villages, causing more poverty and hunger. Goal 6 aims to stop, and finally reverse, the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other deadly diseases by 2015.

IN OUR WORLD TODAY:

• 4.8 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2003; that's 13, 000 a day!
• Malaria causes more than one million deaths each year
• There were two million deaths from tuberculosis in 2002

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are all preventable, but solutions to these health problems remain out of reach for millions of disadvantaged people. Awareness, education, diagnosis and treatment for HIV/AIDS are still low in many regions. Studies in sub-Saharan Africa revealed that half of teenagers did not even realize that a healthy looking person could be living with HIV/AIDS. Government must spend much more on basic health services for their people. Developed countries spend at least 5% of their GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on public health care, but in developing countries it is often less than half that.

HOW ARE YOUTH AFFECTED OR INVOLVED?

Every minute, six young people between the ages of 10 and 25 are infected with HIV/AIDS. Youth need information and preventive education in order to decrease the risk of infection and halt the spread. Young people have already been involved with many campaigns to stop HIV/AIDS, but many more need to get involved. Many youth have acted as peer educators and motivators in school to counter the stigma around HIV/AIDS. Others have been advocating for the inclusion of youth voices in national strategies and policies, and distributing medicine to disadvantaged members of their community. We have the opportunity to see a world free of HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases, but we can only get there if you raise your voice.

GOAL 5 OF THE MDGs

IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH

Bringing a baby into the world should be a wonderful moment in a woman's life, but for many, it is a life -threatening event. Worldwide, more than 50 million women suffer from poor reproductive health and serious pregnancy-related illnesses. many pregnant women living in poverty simply do not have transportation to emergency medical facilities. Goal 5 aim to improve the conditions of mothers giving birth, and to reduce by 75% the number of women who die in childbirth.

IN OUR WORLD TODAY:

• More than 500, 000 women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth every year
• 99% of maternal deaths from childbirth occur in the developing world
• pregnancy is the leading cause of death for girls ages 15-19 in the developing countries

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

Achieving goal 5 will require governments to expand reproductive health care services, especially in rural areas. Providing fast access to medical centres can save millions of lives. It is also important to ensure that a midwife or doctor is present at every delivery. In developing countries, only about half of deliveries are attended by professionals health staff. As in goal 4, more family planning, greater sexual reproductive health education is needed to improve maternal health.

HOW ARE YOUTH AFFECTED OR INVOLVED?

Young mothers are at risk of having pregnancy related complications, or even death. More young people need to be trained to help with education and awareness campaigns around sexual and reproductive health. Adolescent girls can become more active members of society when they are educated to make better choices about their future.

GOAL 3 OF THE MDGs

PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN

Promoting gender equality means ensuring that women have the same changes as men to improve their lives, and the lives of their families. Unfortunately, in both developed and developing countries, women are often not given the same opportunities in education, employment, and in government. Many poor household in developing countries for example will only send their boys to school, forcing girls to help care for the home and other family members.
Goal 3 means guaranteeing women have equal opportunities to make their lives, and the lives of their families better.

IN OUR WORLD TODAY:

• Two-thirds of the world's illiterate people are female
• The employment rate for women is 30% lower than the rate for men
• Women only held 15% of seats in national parliaments in 2003

What needs to be done?

Attitudes around women's roles in society have to change. the world needs to start implementing and enforcing laws that protect women's rights, and acknowledge the fact that gender inequality contributes to poverty. Women's property rights are one important area that needs to be addressed. Women are responsible for producing much of the food in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, but many do not have secure ownership of the land they work on. Women also need to have the same opportunities as men to participate in the decision making process, both in government and at home. Women must have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives for the MDGs to become a reality by 2015.

How are Youth affected or involved?

Young people need to be leaders in the fight to end unfair discrimination against women. But ending gender inequality can't be just a woman's responsibility. We need men to join the fight to end discrimination against women, too. Just imagine if a football team was only playing with half of its players, do you think they could win a game? The world will never be able to achieve the MDGs if women don't have an equal chance, and we need everybody to join their voice and demand that governments make a real change now.

GOAL 4 OF THE MDGs

REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY

Every child born into this world, no matter where they are from, deserves to live a rich and full life. Unfortunately, more than 11 million children die each year in the developing world from preventable illness. Child mortality is linked with all the other Goals, because young children are always the most affected by poverty. Every year, two million children die as a result of dirty water or improper sanitation facilities. Goal 4 addresses the health problems that face children from infancy to five years old.





IN OUR WORLD TODAY:

• 48 countries had mortality rates greater than 1 in 10 childbirths, compared to 1 in 143 in developed countries



• Among the childhood vaccine-preventable diseases, measles is the leading cause of child mortality, with over half a million deaths in 200



• 70% of deaths before age five are caused by disease, or a combination of disease and malnutrition, that would be preventable in developed countries

What needs to be done?

An overall increase in public spending on health is urgently needed so that immunizations are available to all, preventable diseases can be recognized and treated in their early stages, and more health care providers be hired, particularly in rural areas. Young women also need improved access to family planning and sexual and reproductive health education for the world to achieve Goal 4 by 2015.

How are Youth affected or involved?

Youth can be active partners in decreasing the rate of child mortality.Young people can act as counsellors and mentors for their younger peers on issues such as sexual reproductive health and family planning. Sharing stories and asking questions is a great way to get people talking about their problems. When young people start discussing what's going on around them, they'll also start thinking about solutions.

"We need to advocate for children's lives today! Our future depends on their health and well-being!"

GOAL 2 OF THE MDGs

Last week I talked abut the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The purpose for it set up and the eight goals set. I said then that I'll be taking the eight goals one after the other so as to read and digest as it goes. I started with Goal 1, which is to ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER. I do hope we enjoyed it.

Now we'll take a look at the second goal and see what it has for us.

GOAL 2 (ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION)

While some of us are complaining about doing homework, many children only wish they could go to school. Lost of young people have to work in order to support their family instead of going to school and, in some families, girls are expected to stay home and help with chores, forcing them to give up their own education. Providing children with a basic education is the best investment the world can make in its future. Education reduces poverty by providing everyone with choices and opportunities to create a better life for themselves. Goal 2 aims to make sure that children everywhere-boys and girls alike-are able to complete a full course of primary schooling by 2015.

In our world today:

• 115 million children are not in school-56 percent of them are girls and 94 percent of them live in developing countries.
• 133 million young people cannot read or write.
• Only 37 percent of 155 developing countries have achieved universal primary school completion.

What needs to be done?

Governments have to increase their support of primary education and ensure equal distribution of money to rich and poor areas. Once in school, governments have to create strategies to ensure children stay in school complete their primary education. In many cases, children in developing countries are forced to drop out to support their families. Governments also need to eliminate school fees and uniforms, building schoolhouses closer to housing, and hire more female teachers to achieve Goal 2.

How are youth affected or involved?

Education gives young people a stronger voice in society, and creates the opportunities and choices that allow them to lift themselves out of poverty. Many young people are actively working on bringing primary education to disadvantaged children by becoming peer educators, teachers, and mentors, but a lot more work still needs to be done. You can help make sure every boy and girl goes to school by reminding your governments of their promises to achieve Goal 2.

So, you too can do something in your area. See those little kids working around doing nothing, organise a kind of tutorial for them and you'll see the difference. Even when you do it for free at the beginning, definitely somebody, somewhere will surprise you one day.

I hope somebody is going to do something and make things happen.

MDGs (Youth Action Guide)

I said in one of my mails then that we'll be talking about Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for those that don't know much about it. Its kind of hard to see or know that a lot of people are yet to know what it is all about. That is why a lot of that knows about it have to do something and fast.
I was to have a training programme on MDGs and it's kind of unbelievable to find out what happened during my search for a venue. The programme was suppose to hold in a local government secretariat according to the plan but the whole thing changed because of election. Even after the election, they are still yet to put their ass together.
After much, i decided to use my church. I was told to write a letter to the pastor which i quickly did. The response i got after was that they don't know what it was all about and they will confirm and get back to me. They said all they know is that the General Overseer is supporting the campaign of HIV/AIDS. Hmmmm, if that be the case, then they shouldn't have any problem with MDGs itself because HIV/AIDS is part of the MDGs document.
Now we know we all have a lot of work to do. And all we have to do is to USE OUR VOICE. With OUR VOICE, the world we hear us.

What is Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs) all about?
More than a billion people world wide still survive on less than a dollar a day. Is anybody doing enough to end poverty? The answer is no. that's why it's up to us to remind of the commitment they made. What is the commitment if we may ask?
At the United Nations Millennium summit in 2000, 189 Heads of Government promised to end poverty by 2015. That is interesting. Are they doing that now? They signed the Millennium Declaration, promising to

free men, women and children from the dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty,
committing developed countries alike to eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Now they signed a document about seven years ago and one will want to ask, what's my one there? One thing we need to know is that No president, no leader, no king, no emperor will change our community for us. It's our world. Young people all over the world are making a difference, why can't we just join the train by making our community a better place to live. You might think achieving the Goals by 2015 is the responsibility of politicians, and that there is little you can do to help. Nothing could be further from the truth. To achieve the goals, the world needs everyone; young people, aids activists, religious leaders, environmentalists, unions, civil society organisations, women's rights activists-everyone concerned about our future-to work together and make sure the goals reality.

Let me take you through the eight Goals and then we take it one after the other day by day so that we can understand it better and easier.

The eight Millennium Development Goals are as follows;

• ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER
• ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION
• PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN
• REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY
• IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH
• COMBAT HIV/AIDS,MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES
• ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
• DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

These are the eight goals. For the purpose of understanding and digesting properly what we've learnt, we will look at the eight Goals one by one, day after day. For now, let us look at the number one Goal.

ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER: (Halve proportion of people living on less than $1 a day, and those suffering hunger)

Imagine you worked a full day to exhaustion, in unhealthy conditions, and still only earned $1. Could you feed yourself? What if you had a family? How could you pay for a home? Even today, there are over 238 million young people like you living on less than one dollar a day. Goal 1 is about lifting people out extreme poverty by providing them with a basic things they need to live a decent life: nutritious food, clothes, clean water, a home, and health care.

What needs to be done?

A lot! The world has taken a big steps to end world poverty, but we will still have a long way to go. Most of Asia and Northern Africa are on track, but there has been little or no progress in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. In Western Asia, poverty has actually increased! To reach Goal 1, government must increase funding to education and health, increase agricultural productivity with new techniques, improve infrastructure (such as power and water supplies, transportation, roads and schools), and promote human rights and sustainable development.

How are youth affected or involved?

Youth are often the hardest hit by poverty and that's why we need young people like you to really get moving. who better speak for youth than youth? Many youth groups are like already taking action. National youth councils and youth organisations like ours have begun working on poverty reduction strategies and youth driven anti-corruption projects, but more young people should be consulted in poverty reduction plans and getting involved. We must make our voices heard, because its our future we're fighting for!

I'll like to add also that in fighting hunger and poverty, we all need to be informed. Like Deolu Akinyemi said in his post, to end end poverty, one needs information. It's only a good information that can help us know where w are and what we need to do at a particular time. We all need to go in search of information. As youth we need to be more active in nation building instead of complaining and expecting what is no available. But with our voice and participation, the world we be a better place for all.

POSSIBILITIES IN FELLOWSHIP

I was in the church yesterday too attend our normal weekly bible study meeting called "Digging Deep" where we study the word of God in dept. The topic for the was "possibilities in fellowship.
I really enjoyed the programme and i learnt a lot of lesson from it. At the end of the meeting, i felt it's necessary for to share it and relate it with what people can understand.
Just like i said in my first post, I'm not a teacher or someone that knows all but i feel we i can share the little i know with you.

What is fellowship? Fellowship means different things to a lot of people. Fellowship simply means, association, community, communion, joint participation or intercourse.
Fellowship is an association of people who share common beliefs or activities.

This is a good way to start. Fellowship relates to our every day activity. At work with our colleague, at home with our father, mother, brothers and sisters, husband and wife. In the church or mosque as the case may be with our brethren and so on.
Now that we understand better what fellowship is, we need to also know that for a fellowship to be effective, there must be an agreement. Two people cannot move together except they agree. Is that really true?

What is the effect of agreement in a fellowship?
For a company to stand, there must be an agreement between the employee and the employer. What agreement does generally in any fellowship is that it makes everyone follow one route and having one purpose. With the agreement in place which is to do or not to do one thing or the other at a particular time.
Let me quickly use a verse in the bible which says "Can two walk together except they be agreed? (Amos 3:3). So even the bible recognises the effect of agreement.
Agreement gives a guideline to every of your activities in a fellowship which followed properly will yield good result.

Lets now look at the effects of fellowship itself.

1. All things will be possible. Anything that is been planned together in one-ness in a fellowship is always possible because everyone has one input or the other and they just finds it easy for them.
2. Extra-ordinary results are experienced. Aside making things possible with their combined effort, they also get extraordinary result in whatever they do. This can also be call "Synergy". synergy is the effect of two or more agents working together to produce an effect that is greater than the sum of the parts i.e the combination of two essential oil will be more effective than if used individually. That is in the case of 2 + 2 = 5. Even in the Bible it states that " One shall chase a thousand and two shall chase ten thousand". Also in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 it states that "9.Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
   10For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
   11Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
   12And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

They are lots and lots of rewards you get when you are in a fellowship only if you find the time to relate it to what you are doing at the present.

Are you in good condition with your brethren in the church or mosque? Are you the type that don't even talk to your wife at home? Let me you these word, are you forming busy for your wife at home? Maybe you should check yourself well. There's happiness in been in fellowship with wife and husband.

A word they say is enough for the wise. I know you can do justice to the word than i have done and probably translate it better to your day to day activities.

Remember, Iron sharpeneth Iron.

Signing out,

I remain, Olaasanmi Oyewole Emmanuel.

THE INTRODUCTION

I want to use this medium to welcome everyone to this page of mine.

I'm Oyewole Emmanuel Olaasan.un a non-governmental organisation called Youth Vision Initiative. On this page, we will be discussing different issues from politics, music, cultures, travels and so on and so on. I'll be given you different topics as it relates to youth and nation building, especially MDGs and NEEDS documents.

For those that are yet to know about MDGs and NEEDS, I'll be glad to give you all you need to know about it and how you can be part of it and also how you can benefit from it. But that will be for another day.

I love music or let's say entertainment in general and also humanitarian job. I dont know much but I know we can all work together to achieve whatever we want to achieve. Dont see me as someone who knows all but as someone who is willing and ready to learn from others too.

My aim is to let people know what is out there for them, how they can tap into it and everyone smiles afterwards. There are lot of things to make you be who you want to be but without proper information, one is bound not to figure out what it is. So together we will be doing it here. Yessssss, I believe I can do it. Thats why I like myself. Not that I have it all but having the believe that I can make it, keeps me moving. Why not put on that spirit and see how it goes.

If I have 500naira with me and you talk to me about a contracts worth millions, I wont tell you I can't do it but instead, I'll think of how to get it and it's been working for me. What kind of heart do you have? Do you believe in yourself? Do you have fears inside you eachtime you want to get something? My brother, my sister, you need mot to be, instead, look for something that'll keep you moving.

I remember when I was in school, the only thing that keeps me moving is my mum. I always remember her words, "Remember the son of whom you are", "Please dont dissappoint me", "Remember there's no money, dont waist this one". Those words of hers keeps ringing in my brain and it's helped me a lot. But now, its has to do with me, I need to make the choice of whether I want to get "RICH OR DIE TRYING". So now it's in the heart. Once I have the conviction of what I want to do, NOTHING can stop me.

Enough of myself for now. What works for me might not work for you, so get to know what keeps you moving and all will be well. I think I've said a little thing for now. And like my blog carries its name, TOGETHER WE CAN ACHIEVE. That is the message.

Once again, I'm Oyewole Emmanuel Olaasan.

God Bless.

Remember, HIV/AIDS is real. Live responsibly.