Are the Millennium Development Goals Helpful?
The G8 has made Africa its cause for the year, and the Live 8 concerts around the globe have enlivened the issue for hundreds of millions of people. The UN heads of state meet September 14, 2005, to discuss and assess the five-year progress of the Millennium Development Goals. But do the goals make sense? Are they measurable? Will they help Africa’s development, and what can the United States do to help? Panelists at a September 12 AEI conference considered the issues of Africa’s development from the perspective of the Millennium Development Goals. Amir Attaran University of Ottawa Five years into its progress, the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is suffering a crisis. The central debate is whether these time limited, quantitative development goals that seek to reduce world hunger, poverty, and improve maternal health, among other goals, are measurable and meaningful for Africa’s development. The answers to these questions must be sought without a pro-UN or anti-UN ideology but
