Deeper cause of poverty has been ignored

DESCRIBED as unrealistic and unattainable, the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the UN in 2000 were initially dismissed as requiring too much progress too fast.

Yet, since their adoption, the goal of cutting in half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty has been met. Malaria deaths have fallen by a third, the number of people with access to safe water has doubled, and 90% of children now attend primary school — up from 82% in 1999.

Ireland will this week co-host a special meeting at the UN General Assembly with South Africa to discuss the maturation and future of these development goals, which are set to be replaced in 2015.