Achieving the millennium development goals in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

To the Editor: The UN has released a mid-term report on progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), eight pro-poor goals contained in the Millennium Declaration of 2000, to be achieved by 2015. It paints a gloomy picture of health in sub-Saharan Africa. Child mortality rates declined globally, but the improvement was uneven, with sub-Saharan Africa recording the highest rate and the slowest pace of progress. In 1990 and 2005 in sub-Saharan Africa, 185 and 166 children respectively died, mainly from preventable causes, before their 5th birthday for every 1 000 live births, a mere 10% reduction in 16 years.