DEAR EDITOR,Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the eight goals formulated by the United Nations (UN) in 2000, to be achieved by 2015 by the UN member states.[1] The member states have committed to effectively tackle the issues of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, gender inequality, mother and child mortality, infectious diseases, environmental degradation, and to encourage partnership between different stakeholders.[1] The MDGs has given policy makers and stakeholders a target to work together and achieve the same within the stipulated time.[12]In fact, a set of targets has been proposed to monitor the progress toward all the eight goals by the end of 2015.[1] As 2015 was the last year for countries to accomplish the global targets, the World Health Organization (WHO) has done the analysis of various MDGs, including health-related MDGs.[2] Even though most of the developed nations have revealed a significant progress, the scenario has been quite worrisome for the developing nations [Table 1].[34567] After a careful analysis, it has been shown that the results have been mixed with some of the targets being achieved (viz., halting and reversing the trends of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, and increasing accessibility to safe water) and some requiring additional inputs to continuously move in the right direction. In an attempt to move continuously forward, the WHO and UN have together chalked down newer goals under the overview of sustainable development goals, set to be achieved by the year 2030.[28]
Table 1
Status of MDGs
Status of MDGsTo conclude, the MDGs has enabled the world to successfully progress on the health front, but at the same time it has even highlighted the various gaps present within the health care delivery system. Thus, it is high time that stakeholders should put in sustainable efforts to improve the quality of life of vulnerable sections of society.