Media Release
For immediate release
6 July 2007

At the midway point of achieving the MDGs, is SADC on track?

At the midway point between the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 and the 2015 target date for achieving them, the majority of countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are not on track to achieve many of the eight goals.

In the SADC region, 40 percent of the population still lives below the poverty mark of US$1 a day. The possibilities of the region achieving the MDGs as planned in the Millennium Declaration are faced with daunting challenges including high levels of poverty, endemic food insecurity, environmental degradation and institutional and resource constraints, compounded by the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

Southern Africa Trust Regional Integration Advisor, Dr Themba Mhlongo says, “In SADC, institutional and resource constraints coupled with inappropriate policies pose a serious challenge to achieving the MDGs.”

He further says, “The achievement of the MDGs in SADC will depend on significant reforms at national and international levels. International commitment towards the MDGs needs to be quickly transformed into practical action for those countries that are in great need of assistance.”

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon in the 2007 UN Millennium Development Goals Report notes, “The MDGs are still achievable if we combine strong government leadership, good policies and practical strategies for scaling up public investments in vital areas with adequate financial and technical support from the international community.”

The Millennium Development Goals which were adopted in 2000 by all United Nations member states and together with the Millennium Declaration have become a universal framework for development and a means for developing countries and their development partners to work together in pursuit of a shared future for all.

The eight goals are: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; Achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; Reduce child mortality; Improve maternal health; Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases; Ensure environmental sustainability and; Develop a global partnership for development.

The Southern Africa Trust is an independent, regional, non-profit agency established to support deeper and wider engagement in policy dialogue to overcome poverty in southern Africa. In this regard, the Trust works with over 70 organisations in the region committed to overcoming poverty. It has provided more than US$8 million in grants to these organisations for a variety of programmes addressing policies on food security, natural resource management and poverty reduction strategies, among others.

The SADC region is comprised of 14 member countries, namely: Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of Congo; Lesotho; Madagascar; Malawi; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; South Africa; Swaziland; Tanzania; Zambia and; Zimbabwe.

For more information contact:                   
Mpho Kgosidintsi
Tel: +27 12 657 9292
Cell: +27 78 459 0152
E-mail: communications@southernafricatrust.org
Web: www.southernafricatrust.org