MDG Report Card and Development Progress Stories

In 2000, every member of the United Nations adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – eight time-bound, measurable goals across a range of health and development outcomes.

As the world recognizes the ten-year anniversary of the MDGs, Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has published two reports that analyze progress against these goals, and highlight advances in development efforts.

The first, MDG Report Card: Measuring Progress Across Countries, provides a country-by-country analysis of progress toward meeting the MDGs, and flags inequities and uneven progress.

The second, Development Progress Stories, is a series of case studies that highlight progress in different countries, as well as key lessons about what has worked in development, and why.

Key Findings:

The six case studies released today analyze a range of achievements. Highlights include:

• Bangladesh – Remarkable improvements in health across the board: notably, dramatic reductions in infant and child mortality rates, increased immunization coverage and a rise in life expectancy.
• Costa Rica – Pioneer in environmental conservation and most notably in the preservation of its forest ecosystems. Ranked third—the highest ranked developing country—on the 2010 Environmental Performance Index.
• El Salvador – Remarkable progress in achieving relative peace and security, as well as improving the effectiveness of government, since the end of the end of a 12-year civil war.
• Ethiopia – Tackling demand and supply constraints to schooling: access to education has improved significantly. Primary enrolment has risen to 15.5 million, an increase of over 500%.
• Ghana – Sustained progress in agricultural productivity and poverty reduction. Ghana is ranked among the top five performers in the world in agricultural growth and is largely self-sufficient in staple foods. It will achieve MDG 1 before 2015. (Read more about Ghana’s success.)
• Vietnam – Impressive growth with poverty reduction: 20 years ago Vietnam was amongst the poorest countries in the world and is now set to join the ranks of middle-income countries by 2011.

Download the full report:

MDG Report Card: Measuring Progress Across Countries
(PDF, 18.3MB, 118 pages)

The report and case studies are also available on ODI’s Development Progress Stories website at www.developmentprogress.org.