The world has halved extreme poverty rates and almost halved preventable child deaths since 1990. Numbers of those dying of AIDS have been nearly halved as well, and about 10 million are now on life saving anti-AIDS treatment.
The question remains whether or not we can feasibly eradicate these issues by 2030. There are two possible outcomes that moral leaders, Malala, Desmond Tutu and Graca Machel have discussed: continuing on this road and ending extreme poverty, and failing to achieve our goal.
These leaders have warned that this next year, 2015, could be a year of great opportunity, but also holds a huge risk. In a letter written by these leaders, they call on other world leaders to make next year heavily influential in the fight against poverty. A quote taken from the letter:
“Down another path we have failed to build on progress, but have allowed the injustice of poverty, hunger and pandemics to spread… This is an entirely plausible outcome of a complacent business as usual approach to 2015.”
These leaders are giving a firm warning that if things aren’t taken seriously in 2015, the path toward ending extreme poverty could be severely stunted. The letter ends with motivation, saying that we should look with confidence toward a future where equal opportunity is given.
This week many decisions are being made and this could mean the difference between a poverty free world or back tracking. Diplomats from U.N. member states are finalizing a draft blueprint for the post 2015 development agenda since next year the U.N.’s development framework, Millennium Development Goals (MDG), will reach its deadline and will need to be replaced.
MDG was formulated in September of 2000 and focuses on eight main issues that serve as guides for organizations to work on. The number one on this list was to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. As 2015 approaches and a new development plan is set in place, eradicating global poverty by 2030 is the new goal moving forward.
– Brooke Smith