01 January 2005 image Summary In September 2000, 189 nations came together at the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York and endorsed the Millennium Declaration, setting out a global agenda for the start of the 21st Century to promote human develo

01 January 2005 image Summary In September 2000, 189 nations came together at the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York and endorsed the Millennium Declaration, setting out a global agenda for the start of the 21st Century to promote human develo

December 19, 2012

In September 2000, 189 nations came together at the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York and endorsed the Millennium Declaration, setting out a global agenda for the start of the 21st Century to promote human development and reduce global inequalities. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – eight ambitious goals to be achieved by 2015 – are drawn directly from the Millennium Declaration. The eight goals contain 18 targets that are monitored through 48 indicators.


Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development


Thailand’s first Millennium Development Goals Report 2004 is a story of success, ambition, and tough challenges. Thailand has made remarkable progress in meeting most if not all MDGs. The internationally set targets for poverty, hunger, gender, HIV/AIDS and malaria have been achieved more than 15 years ahead of schedule. The education goal is likely to be achieved soon, and progress is being made in reaching the targets of child and maternal health, as well as environmental sustainability.


Not satisfied with these achievements, Thailand commits itself to a set of more ambitious targets – called MDG Plus – that go well beyond the internationally agreed MDGs. For example, having already reached the international MDG poverty target of halving the proportion of people living in poverty between 1990 and 2015, Thailand has set an MDG Plus target of reducing the proportion of poor people to below 4 percent by 2009. If successful, this will represent a stunning four-fifths reduction in the proportion of people living in poverty since 1990, six years ahead of 2015.


Thailand has also set ambitious MDG Plus targets for education, health, gender equality, and environment. This bold agenda is a tribute to Thailand’s can-do and results-based approach to human development and poverty reduction. In spite of these impressive achievements, major challenges remain. Persistent disparities among regions and groups within the country, including marginalized and vulnerable groups, need to be addressed. Policies and resources are needed to tackle poverty and below-average health conditions in the Northeast, the remote highland areas of the North, and the three predominantly Muslim southernmost provinces, areas that are lagging behind the rest of the country.


During the past decade, Thailand has been successful in extending the coverage of social services. Now the challenge is to upgrade quality. The education system needs further reform, health services need improvement, especially in the areas of preventive care and health promotion, and the capacity of local government to do their job needs strengthening in the context of Thailand’s decentralization efforts.


Finally, the Report is about Thailand reaching out to other countries and contributing to the global partnership for human development called for in MDG 8. As a successful medium human development country, Thailand is becoming an important development partner engaging in technical cooperation and sharing its experience with neighbours and beyond, as well as opening up its expanding markets for other developing countries.


Thailand is firmly committed to meeting its obligations to the international community (MDG 8) as well as to its own citizens (MDGs 1 to 7 “Plus”).

Chapters

  • Introduction
  • Achieving the MDGs in Mae Hong Son Province
  • The Way Forward