{"id":6292,"date":"2015-04-15T05:56:37","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T05:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/?p=6292"},"modified":"2015-04-15T05:56:37","modified_gmt":"2015-04-15T05:56:37","slug":"more-realistic-development-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/2015\/04\/15\/more-realistic-development-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"More Realistic Development Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wrote, back in February<\/a>, about the UN's sustainable development goals [SDG], particularly about Goal 4, the one relating to education, learning, ESD \/ etc \/ etc. \u00a0This has 10 targets associated with\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

Altogether, there are now 17<\/a> goals, and a whopping 169 targets. \u00a0You'll remember that there were only 8 millennium development goals [MDG]. \u00a0So, is this appropriate ambition (given the dire state of the world), or bureaucratic over-reach?<\/p>\n

The 169 look unwieldy, and the process of generating them certainly was. \u00a0As the Economist has noted<\/a>, there is certainly something there for everyone. \u00a0The UN involved not just countries in the development process, but NGOs as well, who\u00a0all piled their ideas in, and then scrabbled to retain them: horse trading without the horses. \u00a0The result is both extensive, and sometimes baffling. \u00a0The grab-bag nature of many of the outcomes is well illustrated by one of the goal 4 (education) targets:<\/p>\n

\u201cby 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture\u2019s contribution to sustainable development.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As The Economist says, \"Try measuring that.\"<\/p>\n

The Economist\u00a0has an illuminating\u00a0piece<\/a> on how well the world\u00a0fared with the MDGs (and how it did so). \u00a0It also cites a study from\u00a0The Copenhagen Consensus Centre<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>that\u00a0asked economists and researchers to look at issues\u00a0covered by the SDGs to see which might be the\u00a0most cost-effective. \u00a0The Centre found that 18 of the 169 would pay back $15 or more for every $1 spent.<\/p>\n

This report<\/a> sets out 19 targets in three areas:<\/p>\n

People<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lower chronic child malnutrition by 40%
\nHalf malaria infection
\nReduce tuberculosis deaths by 90%
\nAvoid 1.1 million HIV infections through circumcision
\nCut early death from chronic diseases by 1\/3
\nReduce newborn mortality by 70%
\nIncrease immunization to reduce child deaths by 25%
\nMake family planning available to everyone
\nEliminate violence against women and girls<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Planet<\/strong><\/p>\n

Phase out fossil fuel subsidies
\nHalve coral reef loss
\nTax pollution damage from energy
\nCut indoor air pollution by 20%<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Prosperity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reduce trade restrictions (full Doha)
\nImprove gender equality in ownership, business and politics
\nBoost agricultural yield increase by 40%
\nIncrease girls\u2019 education by 2 years
\nAchieve universal primary education in sub-Saharan Africa
\nTriple preschool in sub-Saharan Africa<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course, some will see this sort of hard-headed approach as part of the problem; it will doubtless be dismissed as neoliberal by fellows whom it hurts to think. \u00a0As for the UN bureaucracy, it will likely be incapable of now doing anything different from what it has proposed. \u00a0Such a pity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wrote, back in February, about the UN's sustainable development goals [SDG], particularly about Goal 4, the one relating to education, learning, ESD \/ etc \/ etc. \u00a0This has 10 targets associated with\u00a0it. Altogether, there are now 17 goals, and...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comment","category-new-publications","category-news-and-updates"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/237"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}