MDG Countdown 2011

Celebrating successes and innovations

21 September 2011

 

On 21 September 2011, the UK Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell and USAID Administrator Raj Shah hosted an event during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) - MDG Countdown 2011: Celebrating successes and innovations.

The purpose of the event was to highlight and celebrate the success of countries which are achieving progress in each Millennium Development Goal (MDG). The following programmes have achieved real progress by transforming people’s lives, bringing hope and a way out of poverty for millions.

Brazil: Brazilian farmer SeuZé displays his mandala farming system in Santo Antônio de Cajazeira. A mandala is a sophisticated garden that allows farmers to produce a variety of products in a small space and helps communities ration water effectively.  Picture:  Luiz Claudio Mattos/CRSP MDG 1: Brazil – a government programme of conditional cash transfers which has lifted more than 12 million people out of poverty.
Zambia: Young girls From Chawama Basic School.  Picture: USAID MDG 2: Zambia – an education policy which includes investment, free basic education, girls and boys parity enrolment policies, community schooling, and re-entry for girls that become pregnant.
The Gambia: School children. Picture: Government of The Gambia MDG 3: Gambia – government legislation and investment is getting girls into school, with particular success in rural areas.
Peru: Giovana Smith rests with her newborn daughter at the Alto Trujillo Trujillo Health Post. Picture: Ben Zinner/USAID MDG 4: Peru – a significant fall in child mortality through improving womens’ education levels, better management of infections and vaccines, and better access to water and sanitation.
Nepal: Women receiving maternal health care training.  Picture: Ben Barber/USAID MDG 5: Nepal – a progressive programme that has seen maternity fall from being the number one cause of deaths amongst women of reproductive age.
Ethiopia: Preventing HIV in newborns - Fatuma Nuru on her first visit to a health clinic for prenatal care. Picture: IntraHealth International Ethiopia MDG 6: Ethiopia – an innovative programme to tackle the shortage of healthcare providers in rural areas and improve quality.
Various pictures of Vietnam water and sanitation projects MDG 7: Vietnam – a national programme on water and sanitation incorporating a subsidised credit lending program for poorer households.
GAVI Alliance: A child receives a vaccine against yellow fever at the Barumbu mother and child center in Kinshasa, DRC. Picture: Olivier Asselin/GAVI Alliance MDG 8: GAVI Alliance – a public-private partnership has immunised millions of children in developing countries against killer diseases.