One year after the last issue of Internal Voices, I am delighted to be writing the Editorial for the 11th edition. First of all let me thank the Editorial Team and all those who have contributed to this issue. Also, our work has been made much easier by the excellent job of the previous Editors, and everything they built, which relieved us from having to start from scratch. And of course, thanks to the contributors, you would not be reading anything without their effort. This magazine is made by interns, its success depend on all of us!
That being said, welcome to Internal Voices. The theme for this edition was somewhat imposed on us by this year’s events, and particularly the MDG Summit that took place in September. Ten years after the Millennium Declaration, world leaders met again in New York to reaffirm their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. This was clearly also the occasion for a review of progress, with only five years left to 2015, and the results are mixed.
Much has been done in the past years. The overall poverty rate dropped from 46% in 1990 to 27% in 2005; this translates into around 920 million people living under the international poverty line —half the number in 1990. The number of HIV infections and deaths is stable or declining. Between 2003 and 2008, the number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy increased tenfold—from 400,000 to 4 million—corresponding to 42% of the 8.8 million people who needed HIV treatment. Despite the financial crisis, the core message of the Summit was that the MDGs are within reach.
However, in order to meet the 2015 deadline, more efforts are needed and aid promises have to be kept. Aid remains well below the UN target of 0.7% of gross national income for most donors. In 2009, only 5 countries reached or exceeded the target (Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden). The overall average is only 0.3%.
The 11th edition of Internal Voices touches on several issues related to the MDGs, with a special focus on the human rights perspective. We decided not to reproduce tables and statistics on the 8 Goals; you can find specific information in the MDG report 2010. Instead, we encouraged our contributors to write on specific issues they felt were important in the path towards achieving the Goals.
The Internal Voices Team hopes you enjoy the reading.
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