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The millennium development goals (MDGs) were an important precursor to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Hence, identifying the conditions that made the MDGs successful enhances our understanding of global goal-setting and informs the global endeavour to achieve the SDGs. Drawing on a comprehensive review of 316 articles published between 2009 and 2018, we identify six factors that have enabled or hindered MDG implementation. Our analysis stresses the importance of path dependencies and shows that the MDGs catalysed changes only for those countries with sufficient resource availability, administrative capacity and economic development, as well as adequate support from external donors. National ownership and NGO pressure bolstered efforts to implement the MDGs. These findings suggest that globally agreed goals do not easily trickle down from the global to the national level. Thus, this article adopts a forward-looking perspective and draws key lessons for the current implementation of the SDGs in developing countries.

Globally, the clocking of the year 2015 marked a significant landmark in the Global Corporate Social Responsibility (GCSR) arena. That is, landmark in policy, research, practice, scholarly and managerial aspects of CSR agenda. This year saw how the ISO 26000 [a corporate social responsibility, CSR guidance standard] had been tested for 5 years since its inception in 2010, yet the MDGs framework has ended. While the intermarriage of these two frameworks (ISO 26000, and, MDGs) provided a basis for refinement of CSR to fit in a global CSR arena as witnessed by Katamba, Nkiko, Tushabomwe-Kazooba, et al., (International Journal of Social Economics, 39, 375–390, 2016) in their works, “Community Involvement and Development: An intermarriage of ISO 26000 and Millennium Development Goals,” the current SDGs framework 2030, presents a need to re-visit the effectiveness of CSR and sustainability interventions in a localized setting, that is, at local, regional or country level. Thus, the purpose/originality of this paper/chapter is to demonstrate how global sustainable development [CSR] frameworks or standards can be localized for refinement of CSR activities. To realize this purpose, the authors have reviewed CSR publications from Uganda to identify how CSR is managed in 50 companies that have won various CSR accolades in Uganda. Then these CSR management practices were matched against internationally proclaimed CSR [sustainable development] frameworks notably ISO 26000, SDG Agenda 2030, CEO Water Mandate, and UN Global Compact in order to reveal the development impact realized after these activities are localized. The outcome was a profile of localized CSR activities of various companies. These CSR activities, thru the Adaptive Theory, have been generalized to form, ‘The Most Important CSR Issues in Uganda.’ To bring out the concept of localization, the chapter/paper proceeds to show how companies use these international framework [e.g., SDG Framework] to manage their CSR.

Poverty has been identified as the major source of widening global inequalities and under-development at individual, organizational and national levels. The UN Sustainable Development Goals placed a great deal of priority in the eradication of all forms of poverty by the year 2030. The paper examined the roles of Nigerian libraries towards the achievement of this laudable goal. It canvasses the idea that poverty eradication is possible through the availability, accessibility and utilization of appropriate information resulting in requisite capacity building and empowerment of the Nigerian citizens. The paper identified specific interventions to be used by libraries in poverty alleviation to include: entrepreneurship empowerment, information literacy skills, information repackaging for the illiterate, lifelong learning initiatives, agricultural extension services, consultancy services, information dissemination services, provision of ICT skills education, improving reading culture and mobile library services. It concluded that libraries have the unlimited propensity to catalyse human capital development, productivity and reduction of poverty.

Purpose-This chapter examines roles and challenges for corporations in addressing Post 2015 world development objectives. Specifically it does review the contributions and opportunities of the principles of the Global Compact and other social responsibility initiatives for embedding corporate contribution to sustainable markets and societal development. Methodology/approach-The results presented in this chapter are based on analysis of secondary sources and a literature review to determine conceptual and theoretical frameworks for identifying assumptions and challenges of corporate sustainability in the Post 2015 era. Findings-It was found that although there are neither academic nor activist definitive consensuses regarding positive impacts of adopting the UN Global Compact principles for sustainability, the impacts of committed corporations, organisations and association are multiplying societal understanding of the implications in societies, governments and markets of violating human and labour rights, degrading and not protecting the environment, and having corruption. Practical implications-This chapter could be used as teaching material for undergraduate and master courses of corporate social responsibility, business ethics, sustainability, operations management and strategy. Originality/value-This chapter discusses firms' responsibilities regarding world development objectives in a Post 2015 world. Copyright ©2015 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

United Nations has been changed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) into Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This change has been strengthening human development as one of SDGs pillar beside economic development, ecology development, and institutional development. One of the global instruments to explain human development is the Human Development Index (HDI). Today, one of academic debate surrounding the HDI is what is the determinant of HDI. Based on secondary data in Central Lampung District, Lampung Province, Indonesia, this paper attempt to examine the relationship between independent variables (RLS, HLS, AHH, and PKP) and IPM as the dependent variable. The result shows that RLS, HLS, AHH, and PKP have a positive relationship with IPM. However, each variable has a different effect on IPM. We find that RLS and HLS is the most significant contributor for the IPM. We discuss the theoretical and practical implication this finding in the context of Lampung Province and Central Lampung District.

United Nations has been changed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) into Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This change has been strengthening human development as one of SDGs pillar beside economic development, ecology development, and institutional development. One of the global instruments to explain human development is the Human Development Index (HDI). Today, one of academic debate surrounding the HDI is what is the determinant of HDI. Based on secondary data in Central Lampung District, Lampung Province, Indonesia, this paper attempt to examine the relationship between independent variables (RLS, HLS, AHH, and PKP) and IPM as the dependent variable. The result shows that RLS, HLS, AHH, and PKP have a positive relationship with IPM. However, each variable has a different effect on IPM. We find that RLS and HLS is the most significant contributor for the IPM. We discuss the theoretical and practical implication this finding in the context of Lampung Province and Central Lampung District.

The United Nations (UN) Rio+20 summit obligated nations to develop set of universal development goals as indicated in the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). These goals were designated to enhance and further improve strategies cope with failures of the expired millennium development goals (MDGs) (Under-Secretary-General, 2013). Researches and other official reports at present indicate that SDGs are the extension or the continuation of the expired MDGs. The MDGs were mostly relief projects toward improving human life through aid based approach. The MDGs projects did not thus so far remarkably improve the target sectors but alleviated hunger and reduced extreme poverty in some countries while countries like Somaliland, hunger and poverty are on the increase. This doesn’t mean that MDGs were totally failed projects, but to indicate that the set targets were not improved as supposed to be due to lack of context based national strategic framework. Additional monitoring and evaluation of MDGs was haphazard since there had not been specific indicators adopted to report the progress. The SDGs signed up by the Somaliland government this year (2017) would inherit challenges hindered MDGs to produce the anticipated outcomes if they are not strategically avoided. Socioeconomic development and national sustainability are often posed as being in conflict because of tradeoffs between the growing demands of least developed counties like Somaliland as well as lower standards of living and poor capacity of the national institutions. This review paper suggests a need to adopt an indigenous integrated framework, which ensures that synergy is exploited and collaborative strategies are put in place towards achieving SDG targets. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework and key recommendations focusing on filling the gaps left in the MDGs and accelerate in achieving the new goals and targets of SDGs., La cumbre Rio+20 de las Naciones Unidas (NU) obligó a las naciones a desarrollar un conjunto de objetivos universales de desarrollo como los indicados en los objetivos para un desarrollo sostenible (ODS) de las NU. Estos objetivos fueron designados para mejorar y profundizar en la mejora de las estrategias para afrontar los fracasos de los objetivos de desarrollo del milenio (ODM) ya expirados (United Nations, 2013). La investigación y otros informes oficiales actuales indica que los ODS son la extensión o continuación de los expirados ODM. Los ODM eran proyectos de ayuda orientados a la mejora de la vida de las personas a través de proyectos basados en ayudas. Los proyectos de ODM no mejoraron remarcablemente los sectores objetivo pero aligeraron el hambre y redujeron la pobreza extrema en algunos países mientras que en países como Somaliland, el hambre y la pobreza están aumentando. Esto no significa que los ODM supuso un fracaso de todos sus proyectos, sino que indica que el conjunto de objetivos no mejoraron como se esperaba debido a la falta de un marco de estrategias nacionales basadas en el contexto. La evaluación y supervisión adicional de los ODM fue accidentada debido a que no hubieron indicadores específicos para medir el progreso. Los ODS firmados por el gobierno de Somaliland este año (2017) heredaría desafíos que impedirían que los ODM produjeran los resultados previstos si no son estratégicamente evitados. El desarrollo socioeconómico y la sostenibilidad nacional se presentan generalmente como si estuviesen en conflicto debido a intercambios entre las crecientes demandas de los países menos desarrollados como Somaliland así como por el menor nivel de vida y la pobre capacidad de las instituciones nacionales. Este artículo sugiere la necesidad de adoptar un marco indígena integrado, que asegura que se explota la sinergía y que se orientan las estrategias colaborativas a la consecución de los objetivos del ODS. Este artículo propone un marco comprehensi

Most of the reports on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released by the multilateral development organizations and other agencies focus either on a single goal or on a few goals and examine global/regional trends or cross-country differences. There are few comprehensive cross-country analyses on the progress of the MDGs. This paper is an effort to reduce this gap. Using the database from the World Bank, an assessment is attempted on the progress towards key indicators between 1990 and 2010. This study also examines how different initial conditions have affected the speed of the progress and how overall improvement does not necessarily mean the narrowing of the inequality within and/or across the countries involved. In particular, low-income countries and fragile states are lagging behind in MDGs performance. We conclude by suggesting that two new purposes be incorporated in the post-2015 development strategy: Inclusive development and resilient society.

This paper examined empirically the overall effect of the project aid fragmentation in the health and education sectors. It focused on the infant and child mortality rate for the health sector and the primary school completion rate for the education sector because they are flagged as important indicators of the MDGs. The research questions in this paper are whether the mitigation of project aid fragmentation leads to the improvement of the two indicators and whether the result differs between health and education. The major findings are the followings: Even if project aid fragmentation is reduced, there may be no reduction in infant and child mortality rates. On the contrary, The rate will be the worst at the mid-range of fragmentation. On the other hand, the reduction of aid fragmentation in countries which receive relatively high external aid will positively impact the primary school completion rate. These findings lead to the conclusion that the effectiveness of aid-fragmentation reduction differs from one sector to another and depends on the degree of aid dependence.

The United Nations (UN) Rio+20 summit obligated nations to develop set of universal development goals as indicated in the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). These goals were designated to enhance and further improve strategies cope with failures of the expired millennium development goals (MDGs) (Under-Secretary-General, 2013). Researches and other official reports at present indicate that SDGs are the extension or the continuation of the expired MDGs. The MDGs were mostly relief projects toward improving human life through aid based approach. The MDGs projects did not thus so far remarkably improve the target sectors but alleviated hunger and reduced extreme poverty in some countries while countries like Somaliland, hunger and poverty are on the increase. This doesn’t mean that MDGs were totally failed projects, but to indicate that the set targets were not improved as supposed to be due to lack of context based national strategic framework. Additional monitoring and evaluation of MDGs was haphazard since there had not been specific indicators adopted to report the progress. The SDGs signed up by the Somaliland government this year (2017) would inherit challenges hindered MDGs to produce the anticipated outcomes if they are not strategically avoided. Socioeconomic development and national sustainability are often posed as being in conflict because of tradeoffs between the growing demands of least developed counties like Somaliland as well as lower standards of living and poor capacity of the national institutions. This review paper suggests a need to adopt an indigenous integrated framework, which ensures that synergy is exploited and collaborative strategies are put in place towards achieving SDG targets. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework and key recommendations focusing on filling the gaps left in the MDGs and accelerate in achieving the new goals and targets of SDGs., La cumbre Rio+20 de las Naciones Unidas (NU) obligó a las naciones a desarrollar un conjunto de objetivos universales de desarrollo como los indicados en los objetivos para un desarrollo sostenible (ODS) de las NU. Estos objetivos fueron designados para mejorar y profundizar en la mejora de las estrategias para afrontar los fracasos de los objetivos de desarrollo del milenio (ODM) ya expirados (United Nations, 2013). La investigación y otros informes oficiales actuales indica que los ODS son la extensión o continuación de los expirados ODM. Los ODM eran proyectos de ayuda orientados a la mejora de la vida de las personas a través de proyectos basados en ayudas. Los proyectos de ODM no mejoraron remarcablemente los sectores objetivo pero aligeraron el hambre y redujeron la pobreza extrema en algunos países mientras que en países como Somaliland, el hambre y la pobreza están aumentando. Esto no significa que los ODM supuso un fracaso de todos sus proyectos, sino que indica que el conjunto de objetivos no mejoraron como se esperaba debido a la falta de un marco de estrategias nacionales basadas en el contexto. La evaluación y supervisión adicional de los ODM fue accidentada debido a que no hubieron indicadores específicos para medir el progreso. Los ODS firmados por el gobierno de Somaliland este año (2017) heredaría desafíos que impedirían que los ODM produjeran los resultados previstos si no son estratégicamente evitados. El desarrollo socioeconómico y la sostenibilidad nacional se presentan generalmente como si estuviesen en conflicto debido a intercambios entre las crecientes demandas de los países menos desarrollados como Somaliland así como por el menor nivel de vida y la pobre capacidad de las instituciones nacionales. Este artículo sugiere la necesidad de adoptar un marco indígena integrado, que asegura que se explota la sinergía y que se orientan las estrategias colaborativas a la consecución de los objetivos del ODS. Este artículo propone un marco comprehensi

Background In 2013, an estimated 2.8 million newborns died and 2.7 million were stillborn. A much greater number suffer from long term impairment associated with preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction, congenital anomalies, and perinatal or infectious causes. With the approaching deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, there was a need to set the new research priorities on newborns and stillbirth with a focus not only on survival but also on health, growth and development. We therefore carried out a systematic exercise to set newborn health research priorities for 2013–2025. Methods We used adapted Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methods for this prioritization exercise. We identified and approached the 200 most productive researchers and 400 program experts, and 132 of them submitted research questions online. These were collated into a set of 205 research questions, sent for scoring to the 600 identified experts, and were assessed and scored by 91 experts. Results Nine out of top ten identified priorities were in the domain of research on improving delivery of known interventions, with simplified neonatal resuscitation program and clinical algorithms and improved skills of community health workers leading the list. The top 10 priorities in the domain of development were led by ideas on improved Kangaroo Mother Care at community level, how to improve the accuracy of diagnosis by community health workers, and perinatal audits. The 10 leading priorities for discovery research focused on stable surfactant with novel modes of administration for preterm babies, ability to diagnose fetal distress and novel tocolytic agents to delay or stop preterm labour. Conclusion These findings will assist both donors and researchers in supporting and conducting research to close the knowledge gaps for reducing neonatal mortality, morbidity and long term impairment. WHO, SNL and other partners will work to generat

Background In 2013, an estimated 2.8 million newborns died and 2.7 million were stillborn. A much greater number suffer from long term impairment associated with preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction, congenital anomalies, and perinatal or infectious causes. With the approaching deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, there was a need to set the new research priorities on newborns and stillbirth with a focus not only on survival but also on health, growth and development. We therefore carried out a systematic exercise to set newborn health research priorities for 2013–2025. Methods We used adapted Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methods for this prioritization exercise. We identified and approached the 200 most productive researchers and 400 program experts, and 132 of them submitted research questions online. These were collated into a set of 205 research questions, sent for scoring to the 600 identified experts, and were assessed and scored by 91 experts. Results Nine out of top ten identified priorities were in the domain of research on improving delivery of known interventions, with simplified neonatal resuscitation program and clinical algorithms and improved skills of community health workers leading the list. The top 10 priorities in the domain of development were led by ideas on improved Kangaroo Mother Care at community level, how to improve the accuracy of diagnosis by community health workers, and perinatal audits. The 10 leading priorities for discovery research focused on stable surfactant with novel modes of administration for preterm babies, ability to diagnose fetal distress and novel tocolytic agents to delay or stop preterm labour. Conclusion These findings will assist both donors and researchers in supporting and conducting research to close the knowledge gaps for reducing neonatal mortality, morbidity and long term impairment. WHO, SNL and other partners will work to generat

The objective of this paper is to examine the achievements of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and India Vision 2020 in the context of the slums of Varanasi city. India has been facing the problem of growing urban poverty due to rapid urbanisation. According to the Census of India 2011, about 65 million people live in urban slums, which are overcrowded, polluted, unhygienic, and deprived of basic services. This paper compares the goals and targets of UN MDGs and India Vision 2020 with the status of the slum dwellers of Varanasi city. The study is based on primary data, which includes survey of 150 households of five different slums of Varanasi city. The study reveals that more than 70% people are illiterate, less than 35% of population access government health facilities, only 36% household use tap water, etc. This comparison portrays a pathetic picture of slums and the inabilities to achieve both MDGs and national goals.Key words:MDGs, India Vision 2020, Slums, Poverty, Quality of life, Varanasi City, India

The objective of this paper is to examine the achievements of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and India Vision 2020 in the context of the slums of Varanasi city. India has been facing the problem of growing urban poverty due to rapid urbanisation. According to the Census of India 2011, about 65 million people live in urban slums, which are overcrowded, polluted, unhygienic, and deprived of basic services. This paper compares the goals and targets of UN MDGs and India Vision 2020 with the status of the slum dwellers of Varanasi city. The study is based on primary data, which includes survey of 150 households of five different slums of Varanasi city. The study reveals that more than 70% people are illiterate, less than 35% of population access government health facilities, only 36% household use tap water, etc. This comparison portrays a pathetic picture of slums and the inabilities to achieve both MDGs and national goals.Key words:MDGs, India Vision 2020, Slums, Poverty, Quality of life, Varanasi City, India

As the timeframe of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is running out this year, the Post-2015 Development Agenda soon arrive at its final negotiations. Criticisms of the MDGs have primarily concerned the inaccurate implementation of social justice to the most vulnerable and poor, and the limited understanding of the underlying interconnectedness of the goals. In several recent reports, it has been stated that the various aspects of social justice and inclusiveness shall permeate the new development agenda. I have therefore made it my task to conduct a content analysis of three key reports, providing the most likely basis for the new agenda. With this, my aim is to examine what different concepts of social justice is being expressed, whom the agenda foremost seems to favour in terms of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, and what possible implications this could have for global development work. My analytical framework is constructed from three concepts of social justice: distributive, retributive and transformative justice. Ideal types of these three concepts have been constructed as the analytical instrument of the study, in order to simplify the content analysis. In the study, it is concluded that it is likely that the new development agenda will aim for distributive justice, although the road to get there leads through major transformational shifts. The structural and societal causes (transformative injustice) of inequalities, poverty and unsustainability are targeted to finally achieve universal equality (distributive justice). The most marginalized, vulnerable and poor can thus been classified as the utmost winners of the suggested new agenda. Moreover, vague expressions of retributive justice were found regarding foremost climate justice. The possible implications of this could prove to be a more welcoming attitude towards the agenda negotiations, albeit on the cost of decreased accountability.

It is commonly understood that Intellectual Property Regimes are aimed at protecting private rights and in doing so sometimes neglect public interests. Historically IP systems were considered to allow authors or creators to secure certain monopolies on rights, hence in the 1970s and 1980s the concern over public needs came forward requiring the IP system to respond to it in a way that would stimulate the technological independence of states and therefore development. A little over 20 years ago the TRIPS Agreement, the most relevant global IP Treaty, was created and it endorsed certain developmental issues. However, the global understanding is that TRIPS serves as a tool for development for countries with a certain economic level. The Development Agenda has become a growing topic in the international arena. However, the understanding of Development has changed over time. If at some point we followed the notion of Development as Growth (economic progress), today we see Development as Freedom and hence when looking at an Intellectual Property regime we cannot neglect the difference of these two concepts. It is argued that IP protection disrupts developing countries to freely pursue their specific economic and social goals. Development Agenda is embedded in the WTO system as well; however it is focused on Simple and Differential Treatment for developing states by allowing them longer transition periods or specific exceptions. Nevertheless the SDT is very narrow while there are higher demands. This thesis tries to question the common understanding of the IP Regime as subversive to Sustainable Development (or Development as Freedom notion) and proposes the strategic use of the flexibilities or other tools enshrined in the TRIPS Agreement for public interests using customary rules of interpretation with the Developmental Goals in mind. The Focal point of articles 7 and 8 (Object and Purpose) of the TRIPS Agreement is Development, however they are more or less “dormant” in

Minorities falling under the Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil, Cultural and Political rights, that is, individuals belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities possess characteristics that form part of their identity and differ from the characteristics possessed by the majority population of the state. Because of these particularities, minorities can be often considered to be directly or indirectly discriminated against and to stand in unequal position in relation to majority groups in what comes to a distribution of benefits in the society. This is also the case in regard development programs. Therefore, the needs of the minorities would require special attention in the development programs in order to better protect minority rights. This master thesis examines how minority rights are considered in the UN global development goal processes and attempts to find out to what extent the designing process and the content of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have taken into account the protection of individual minority rights. This thesis provides an overview of the protection of the minority rights in the SDGs by using the tool known as the Human Rights-Based Approach to Development and uses the Millenium Development Goals as a comparison to provide a comprehensive answer to the issue.

Document realitzat amb un ajut financer de la Unió Europea. Per poder accedir al material complementari per a docents dels 28 casos estudi que formen el llibre, activeu el "Document relacionat", Col·lecció de 28 casos estudi per a professors d'enginyeria: 1. Rural development and planning in LDCs: the “Gamba Deve – Licoma axis”,district of Caia, Mozambique 2. Reducing the impact of soil erosion and reservoir siltation on agricultural production and water availability: the case study of the Laaba catchment (Burkina Faso) 3. Trade and Mobility on the Rooftop of the World: Gravity Ropeways in Nepal 4. Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Food systems with regard to Water 5. Conservation agriculture: a complex avenue to conserve and improve soils 6. The national rural water supply and sanitation programme in Tanzania 7. Use of statistical tools in a development context. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) 8. Water supply system in Kojani Island (Zanzibar, Tanzania) 9. Faecal sludge management in Lusaka, Zambia 10. Water balance on the Central Rift Valley 11. Rural electrification in developing countries via autonomous micro-grids 12. Photovoltaics electrification in off-grid areas 13. Development of a MILP model to design wind-photovoltaic stand-alone electrification projects for isolated communities in developing countries 14. Estimation if indoor air pollution and health impacts due to biomass burning in rural Northern Ghana 15.Improved cookstoves assessment 16. Supporting the adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels: why won’t people adopt the perfect stove? 17. Do-it-yourself approach as appropriate technology for solar thermal system: the example of CDF Médina, Dakar (Senegal) 18. Essential oil extraction with concentrating solar thermal energy 19. Survival in the desert sun: cool food storage 20. Energy roadmap in Ghana and Botswana 21. Social & ethical issues in engineering 22. Radio communications systems in rural environments 23. A Diffserv transport network to bring 3G access to villages in the Amazon forest 24. Finding the poynting’s theorem in a health centre in San Pablo (Peru) 25. Tanzania, Water and health 26. Flood assessment and warning system 27., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Minorities falling under the Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil, Cultural and Political rights, that is, individuals belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities possess characteristics that form part of their identity and differ from the characteristics possessed by the majority population of the state. Because of these particularities, minorities can be often considered to be directly or indirectly discriminated against and to stand in unequal position in relation to majority groups in what comes to a distribution of benefits in the society. This is also the case in regard development programs. Therefore, the needs of the minorities would require special attention in the development programs in order to better protect minority rights. This master thesis examines how minority rights are considered in the UN global development goal processes and attempts to find out to what extent the designing process and the content of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have taken into account the protection of individual minority rights. This thesis provides an overview of the protection of the minority rights in the SDGs by using the tool known as the Human Rights-Based Approach to Development and uses the Millenium Development Goals as a comparison to provide a comprehensive answer to the issue.

It is commonly understood that Intellectual Property Regimes are aimed at protecting private rights and in doing so sometimes neglect public interests. Historically IP systems were considered to allow authors or creators to secure certain monopolies on rights, hence in the 1970s and 1980s the concern over public needs came forward requiring the IP system to respond to it in a way that would stimulate the technological independence of states and therefore development. A little over 20 years ago the TRIPS Agreement, the most relevant global IP Treaty, was created and it endorsed certain developmental issues. However, the global understanding is that TRIPS serves as a tool for development for countries with a certain economic level. The Development Agenda has become a growing topic in the international arena. However, the understanding of Development has changed over time. If at some point we followed the notion of Development as Growth (economic progress), today we see Development as Freedom and hence when looking at an Intellectual Property regime we cannot neglect the difference of these two concepts. It is argued that IP protection disrupts developing countries to freely pursue their specific economic and social goals. Development Agenda is embedded in the WTO system as well; however it is focused on Simple and Differential Treatment for developing states by allowing them longer transition periods or specific exceptions. Nevertheless the SDT is very narrow while there are higher demands. This thesis tries to question the common understanding of the IP Regime as subversive to Sustainable Development (or Development as Freedom notion) and proposes the strategic use of the flexibilities or other tools enshrined in the TRIPS Agreement for public interests using customary rules of interpretation with the Developmental Goals in mind. The Focal point of articles 7 and 8 (Object and Purpose) of the TRIPS Agreement is Development, however they are more or less “dormant” in

In this study, we have used Tanzania as a case to illustrate how a simulation model can beused to evaluate the impact of aid and the trade-offs between public spending categories and theirimpact on income poverty and other social development targets. Our results suggest the following.First, under plausible growth, fiscal and foreign assistance assumptions, in line with observedpatterns, the enormous difficulty of achieving most millennium development goals (MDGs) by2015 is evident. Second, there existed trade-offs between the various MDGs, in particular betweenachievements for poverty and other social development targets.

The objective of this paper is to examine the achievements of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and India Vision 2020 in the context of the slums of Varanasi city. India has been facing the problem of growing urban poverty due to rapid urbanisation. According to the Census of India 2011, about 65 million people live in urban slums, which are overcrowded, polluted, unhygienic, and deprived of basic services. This paper compares the goals and targets of UN MDGs and India Vision 2020 with the status of the slum dwellers of Varanasi city. The study is based on primary data, which includes survey of 150 households of five different slums of Varanasi city. The study reveals that more than 70% people are illiterate, less than 35% of population access government health facilities, only 36% household use tap water, etc. This comparison portrays a pathetic picture of slums and the inabilities to achieve both MDGs and national goals.Key words:MDGs, India Vision 2020, Slums, Poverty, Quality of life, Varanasi City, India

The objective of this paper is to examine the achievements of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and India Vision 2020 in the context of the slums of Varanasi city. India has been facing the problem of growing urban poverty due to rapid urbanisation. According to the Census of India 2011, about 65 million people live in urban slums, which are overcrowded, polluted, unhygienic, and deprived of basic services. This paper compares the goals and targets of UN MDGs and India Vision 2020 with the status of the slum dwellers of Varanasi city. The study is based on primary data, which includes survey of 150 households of five different slums of Varanasi city. The study reveals that more than 70% people are illiterate, less than 35% of population access government health facilities, only 36% household use tap water, etc. This comparison portrays a pathetic picture of slums and the inabilities to achieve both MDGs and national goals.Key words:MDGs, India Vision 2020, Slums, Poverty, Quality of life, Varanasi City, India

As the timeframe of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is running out this year, the Post-2015 Development Agenda soon arrive at its final negotiations. Criticisms of the MDGs have primarily concerned the inaccurate implementation of social justice to the most vulnerable and poor, and the limited understanding of the underlying interconnectedness of the goals. In several recent reports, it has been stated that the various aspects of social justice and inclusiveness shall permeate the new development agenda. I have therefore made it my task to conduct a content analysis of three key reports, providing the most likely basis for the new agenda. With this, my aim is to examine what different concepts of social justice is being expressed, whom the agenda foremost seems to favour in terms of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, and what possible implications this could have for global development work. My analytical framework is constructed from three concepts of social justice: distributive, retributive and transformative justice. Ideal types of these three concepts have been constructed as the analytical instrument of the study, in order to simplify the content analysis. In the study, it is concluded that it is likely that the new development agenda will aim for distributive justice, although the road to get there leads through major transformational shifts. The structural and societal causes (transformative injustice) of inequalities, poverty and unsustainability are targeted to finally achieve universal equality (distributive justice). The most marginalized, vulnerable and poor can thus been classified as the utmost winners of the suggested new agenda. Moreover, vague expressions of retributive justice were found regarding foremost climate justice. The possible implications of this could prove to be a more welcoming attitude towards the agenda negotiations, albeit on the cost of decreased accountability.

Background: Global progress in reducing the burden of undernutrition tends to be measured at the population level. It has been hypothesized that population-level improvements may mask widening socioeconomic inequalities, but little attempt has been made to assess whether this is true. Methods: Original data from 131 demographic health surveys and 48 multiple indicator cluster surveys from 1990 to 2011 were used to examine trends in socioeconomic inequalities in stunting and underweight, as well as the relationship between changes in prevalence and changes in inequality, in 80 countries. Socioeconomic inequality is measured using the corrected concentration index. Results: Countries with a higher prevalence of stunting tend to have larger socioeconomic inequalities in stunting (Spearman rank correlation=-0.27 P=0.014). In most countries, there has been no change in inequality in stunting: in 31 out of 53, the 90% confidence intervals around the changes overlap the zero value. In the remaining 22, there was a reduction in inequality in 11 and an increase in 11. The distributional patterns underlying the summary inequality statistics vary considerably across countries, but in most there have been considerable gains to the poorest quintile. Conclusions: Reductions in the prevalence of undernutrition have generally not been accompanied by widening inequalities. However, inequalities have also not been narrowing. Rather, the picture is one of a strong persistence of existing inequalities. In addition, there are different distributional patterns underlying changes in the summary indices of inequality which will need to be taken into consideration in designing programmes to reach the poor.

This paper is an argumentation presented with review of literatures on the topic, In broader context gave the comprehensive picture on microcredit concept and its working principle to fight against poverty. In the beginning the causes for rural credit problems, reasons for stagnation in the rural society instead of growth and development causing poverty thrift, which is more to reality in almost all the developing countries in the world is reviewed and discussed. Then ephemerally explained how micro-credit can become a new development strategy to tackle the problem in a massive way in the context of globalization giving the success example Bangladesh. Later explanations on definitions of microcredit were given with narrowed down focus a bit on meaning of micro-credit. In the Later part discussed the picture of micro-credit experiments and experiences at the world level, with few experiences of developing Asian countries like Bangladesh and India. The “micro-credit outreach to reach the Millennium Development Goals is also discussed and concluded with topics for future debate.

Since the year 2000, achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has become the central focus of the international community. Using an empowerment framework, this study assessed the impacts of the four projects associated with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) or its Nigerian blueprint, National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). It gathered data with semi-structured interviews/focus group and interpretation based on qualitative content analysis. Findings suggest that PRSPs present opportunity for Nigeria to achieve the MDGs, especially one and five, but that opportunity is being overshadowed by the desire to see economic growth rather than human development. Hence, the projects associated with NEEDS tend to reinforce the existing problems, participants were exposed to exploitation and its attendant consequences such as deprivation, destitution and homelessness. However, it is hard to imagine what could have happened to poverty in Nigeria without PRSPs and not within the scope of this study to draw conclusion about the degree of poverty, but the views of the forty-two participants suggest that they have lost hope in the MDGs. Hence, without a drastic modification of the Nigerian government's modus operandi, reduction in absolute poverty in Nigeria by half in 2015 or even 2030 will remain a dream.

The Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) of United Nations had set the target of reducing high rates of under-five and infant mortality (IMR) by two thirds to be reached by 2015 using 1990 as the benchmark year. By the availability of time series data on IMR from United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME, 2012), led by UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank and United Nations, it has become possible to track the rate of progress towards this goal. Using the UN IGME 2012 data for all the South Asian Countries, I have considered three specific issues in this article. (1) How does the South Asian Countries fair in reducing the IMR towards this MDG target? Although the time series data exhibit declining trends for all the countries in South Asia, to what extent such trends are attributed by their average annual progress trajectory over the period for which data are available? (2) Whether deterministic or stochastic trend can attribute the IMR decline in South Asian countries and what alternative time series models be used to forecast the decline in Infant Mortality? Can we find a serviceable representative model for the entire region? (3) In case, a satisfactory representative model for the entire region exists, how do we assess the forecast accuracy for this model and quantify the propagation of forecast error?

Since the year 2000, achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has become the central focus of the international community. Using an empowerment framework, this study assessed the impacts of the four projects associated with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) or its Nigerian blueprint, National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). It gathered data with semi-structured interviews/focus group and interpretation based on qualitative content analysis. Findings suggest that PRSPs present opportunity for Nigeria to achieve the MDGs, especially one and five, but that opportunity is being overshadowed by the desire to see economic growth rather than human development. Hence, the projects associated with NEEDS tend to reinforce the existing problems, participants were exposed to exploitation and its attendant consequences such as deprivation, destitution and homelessness. However, it is hard to imagine what could have happened to poverty in Nigeria without PRSPs and not within the scope of this study to draw conclusion about the degree of poverty, but the views of the forty-two participants suggest that they have lost hope in the MDGs. Hence, without a drastic modification of the Nigerian government's modus operandi, reduction in absolute poverty in Nigeria by half in 2015 or even 2030 will remain a dream.

Learner pregnancy is one of the challenges impeding the unlocking of the potentials of women in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper estimated the prevalence of learner pregnancy and identified its predictors in the North West province of South Africa. The paper used cross-sectional data on 582 black women and the nested logistic regression model to analyse the data. The study found that 38% of the women become pregnant at school. Learner pregnancy was significantly higher for women who had sexual debut at <18 years; were in grades 8 and 9 or higher at age 14; attained

Learner pregnancy is one of the challenges impeding the unlocking of the potentials of women in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper estimated the prevalence of learner pregnancy and identified its predictors in the North West province of South Africa. The paper used cross-sectional data on 582 black women and the nested logistic regression model to analyse the data. The study found that 38% of the women become pregnant at school. Learner pregnancy was significantly higher for women who had sexual debut at <18 years; were in grades 8 and 9 or higher at age 14; attained

Learner pregnancy is one of the challenges impeding the unlocking of the potentials of women in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper estimated the prevalence of learner pregnancy and identified its predictors in the North West province of South Africa. The paper used cross-sectional data on 582 black women and the nested logistic regression model to analyse the data. The study found that 38% of the women become pregnant at school. Learner pregnancy was significantly higher for women who had sexual debut at <18 years; were in grades 8 and 9 or higher at age 14; attained

Learner pregnancy is one of the challenges impeding the unlocking of the potentials of women in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper estimated the prevalence of learner pregnancy and identified its predictors in the North West province of South Africa. The paper used cross-sectional data on 582 black women and the nested logistic regression model to analyse the data. The study found that 38% of the women become pregnant at school. Learner pregnancy was significantly higher for women who had sexual debut at <18 years; were in grades 8 and 9 or higher at age 14; attained

In recent years there has been a growing body of literature on the interconnectedness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the need to maximize opportunities for education and their linkages. The existing empirical studies confirm some of the arguments about the benefits of education and the linkages to the MDGs. With the developmental outcomes of basic education in mind, this desk study set out to examine in what ways, and under what conditions investment in education is important in relation to the millennium development goals. It provides a synthesis of research on the potential contribution of basic education to achieving the MDGs, focusing on key texts produced by the international institutions. Within this review a key focal point will be the context in which education appears to impact the various MDGs outcomes, which is referred to as the “enabling environment”. The report sought to explore the evidence about the contribution of basic education to poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs within certain countries or regions. It considered the critical support systems, policy environments and national capacities upon which good quality basic education depends, and assessed the role of basic education in developing and sustaining these. In response to the global call to achieve the MDGs by 2015, many countries are making remarkable progress demonstrating that setting bold, collective goals in the fight against poverty yields results. Expanding access and improving the quality of education are both imperative for MDG progress. A balance must be struck to move both objectives forward. It is widely stated that expanding education is critical to making further progress on the MDGs, for broadening the growth of education, and for tackling persistent poverty and inequality (ADB, 2008; Kabeer, 2010; UNICEF, 2010; UN, 2011). Various reports stress continuing disparities in MDG progress between different regions.

In recent years there has been a growing body of literature on the interconnectedness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the need to maximize opportunities for education and their linkages. The existing empirical studies confirm some of the arguments about the benefits of education and the linkages to the MDGs. With the developmental outcomes of basic education in mind, this desk study set out to examine in what ways, and under what conditions investment in education is important in relation to the millennium development goals. It provides a synthesis of research on the potential contribution of basic education to achieving the MDGs, focusing on key texts produced by the international institutions. Within this review a key focal point will be the context in which education appears to impact the various MDGs outcomes, which is referred to as the “enabling environment”. The report sought to explore the evidence about the contribution of basic education to poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs within certain countries or regions. It considered the critical support systems, policy environments and national capacities upon which good quality basic education depends, and assessed the role of basic education in developing and sustaining these. In response to the global call to achieve the MDGs by 2015, many countries are making remarkable progress demonstrating that setting bold, collective goals in the fight against poverty yields results. Expanding access and improving the quality of education are both imperative for MDG progress. A balance must be struck to move both objectives forward. It is widely stated that expanding education is critical to making further progress on the MDGs, for broadening the growth of education, and for tackling persistent poverty and inequality (ADB, 2008; Kabeer, 2010; UNICEF, 2010; UN, 2011). Various reports stress continuing disparities in MDG progress between different regions.

In recent years there has been a growing body of literature on the interconnectedness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the need to maximize opportunities for education and their linkages. The existing empirical studies confirm some of the arguments about the benefits of education and the linkages to the MDGs. With the developmental outcomes of basic education in mind, this desk study set out to examine in what ways, and under what conditions investment in education is important in relation to the millennium development goals. It provides a synthesis of research on the potential contribution of basic education to achieving the MDGs, focusing on key texts produced by the international institutions. Within this review a key focal point will be the context in which education appears to impact the various MDGs outcomes, which is referred to as the “enabling environment”. The report sought to explore the evidence about the contribution of basic education to poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs within certain countries or regions. It considered the critical support systems, policy environments and national capacities upon which good quality basic education depends, and assessed the role of basic education in developing and sustaining these. In response to the global call to achieve the MDGs by 2015, many countries are making remarkable progress demonstrating that setting bold, collective goals in the fight against poverty yields results. Expanding access and improving the quality of education are both imperative for MDG progress. A balance must be struck to move both objectives forward. It is widely stated that expanding education is critical to making further progress on the MDGs, for broadening the growth of education, and for tackling persistent poverty and inequality (ADB, 2008; Kabeer, 2010; UNICEF, 2010; UN, 2011). Various reports stress continuing disparities in MDG progress between different regions.

For the new development goals to be effective, it is necessary for institutional reforms to be implemented, as well as for a commitment to be made specifying who is in charge of what in order to achieve the objectives., Para que las nuevas metas de desarrollo sean efectivas, hace falta implementar reformas institucionales, así como un compromiso específico de quién tiene que hacer qué para cumplir los objetivos.

For the new development goals to be effective, it is necessary for institutional reforms to be implemented, as well as for a commitment to be made specifying who is in charge of what in order to achieve the objectives., Para que las nuevas metas de desarrollo sean efectivas, hace falta implementar reformas institucionales, así como un compromiso específico de quién tiene que hacer qué para cumplir los objetivos.

In recent years there has been a growing body of literature on the interconnectedness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the need to maximize opportunities for education and their linkages. The existing empirical studies confirm some of the arguments about the benefits of education and the linkages to the MDGs. With the developmental outcomes of basic education in mind, this desk study set out to examine in what ways, and under what conditions investment in education is important in relation to the millennium development goals. It provides a synthesis of research on the potential contribution of basic education to achieving the MDGs, focusing on key texts produced by the international institutions. Within this review a key focal point will be the context in which education appears to impact the various MDGs outcomes, which is referred to as the “enabling environment”. The report sought to explore the evidence about the contribution of basic education to poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs within certain countries or regions. It considered the critical support systems, policy environments and national capacities upon which good quality basic education depends, and assessed the role of basic education in developing and sustaining these. In response to the global call to achieve the MDGs by 2015, many countries are making remarkable progress demonstrating that setting bold, collective goals in the fight against poverty yields results. Expanding access and improving the quality of education are both imperative for MDG progress. A balance must be struck to move both objectives forward. It is widely stated that expanding education is critical to making further progress on the MDGs, for broadening the growth of education, and for tackling persistent poverty and inequality (ADB, 2008; Kabeer, 2010; UNICEF, 2010; UN, 2011). Various reports stress continuing disparities in MDG progress between different regions.

In recent years there has been a growing body of literature on the interconnectedness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the need to maximize opportunities for education and their linkages. The existing empirical studies confirm some of the arguments about the benefits of education and the linkages to the MDGs. With the developmental outcomes of basic education in mind, this desk study set out to examine in what ways, and under what conditions investment in education is important in relation to the millennium development goals. It provides a synthesis of research on the potential contribution of basic education to achieving the MDGs, focusing on key texts produced by the international institutions. Within this review a key focal point will be the context in which education appears to impact the various MDGs outcomes, which is referred to as the “enabling environment”. The report sought to explore the evidence about the contribution of basic education to poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs within certain countries or regions. It considered the critical support systems, policy environments and national capacities upon which good quality basic education depends, and assessed the role of basic education in developing and sustaining these. In response to the global call to achieve the MDGs by 2015, many countries are making remarkable progress demonstrating that setting bold, collective goals in the fight against poverty yields results. Expanding access and improving the quality of education are both imperative for MDG progress. A balance must be struck to move both objectives forward. It is widely stated that expanding education is critical to making further progress on the MDGs, for broadening the growth of education, and for tackling persistent poverty and inequality (ADB, 2008; Kabeer, 2010; UNICEF, 2010; UN, 2011). Various reports stress continuing disparities in MDG progress between different regions.

In recent years there has been a growing body of literature on the interconnectedness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the need to maximize opportunities for education and their linkages. The existing empirical studies confirm some of the arguments about the benefits of education and the linkages to the MDGs.With the developmental outcomes of basic education in mind, this desk study set out to examine in what ways, and under what conditions investment in education is important in relation to the millennium development goals. It provides a synthesis of research on the potential contribution of basic education to achieving the MDGs, focusing on key texts produced by the international institutions. Within this review a key focal point will be the context in which education appears to impact the various MDGs outcomes, which is referred to as the ―enabling environment‖. The report sought to explore the evidence about the contribution of basic education to poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs within certain countries or regions. It considered the critical support systems, policy environments and national capacities upon which good quality basic education depends, and assessed the role of basic education in developing and sustaining these.In response to the global call to achieve the MDGs by 2015, many countries are making remarkable progress demonstrating that setting bold, collective goals in the fight against poverty yields results. Expanding access and improving the quality of education are both imperative for MDG progress. A balance must be struck to move both objectives forward., Special issue

In recent years there has been a growing body of literature on the interconnectedness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the need to maximize opportunities for education and their linkages. The existing empirical studies confirm some of the arguments about the benefits of education and the linkages to the MDGs. With the developmental outcomes of basic education in mind, this desk study set out to examine in what ways, and under what conditions investment in education is important in relation to the millennium development goals. It provides a synthesis of research on the potential contribution of basic education to achieving the MDGs, focusing on key texts produced by the international institutions. Within this review a key focal point will be the context in which education appears to impact the various MDGs outcomes, which is referred to as the “enabling environment”. The report sought to explore the evidence about the contribution of basic education to poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs within certain countries or regions. It considered the critical support systems, policy environments and national capacities upon which good quality basic education depends, and assessed the role of basic education in developing and sustaining these. In response to the global call to achieve the MDGs by 2015, many countries are making remarkable progress demonstrating that setting bold, collective goals in the fight against poverty yields results. Expanding access and improving the quality of education are both imperative for MDG progress. A balance must be struck to move both objectives forward. It is widely stated that expanding education is critical to making further progress on the MDGs, for broadening the growth of education, and for tackling persistent poverty and inequality (ADB, 2008; Kabeer, 2010; UNICEF, 2010; UN, 2011). Various reports stress continuing disparities in MDG progress between different regions.

Background: The poor health status of people globally is a reminder of the social gradient of health that exists within countries and between countries. Together, the structural determinants and conditions of daily life constitute the social determinants of health (SDH), and result in much of the health inequity between and within countries. In an attempt to address the SDH, and challenge the world to tackle poverty and gender inequalities in the world's poorest countries, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were created. Goal three of the global Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aims at empowering women through policies and programs that builds women's capabilities, improves their access to economic and political opportunity, and guarantees their safety. Yet, further research is needed to understand how exactly education empowers women and translates into "better lives" for women. Purpose: The overall goal is to examine how women navigate, negotiate, and mediate their sexual and reproductive health in the complex university environment. Methods: The study was cross-sectional in design and employed mixed methodology. It consisted of key informant interviews, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and self-administered questionnaires. Results: The case study of Ethiopia provides important lessons learned and an understanding of how to effectively implement strategies to address MDG3. Results of this study suggest that interventions should enhance women's power to make decisions and their ability to access resources. The power dynamics that continue to keep women down must be addressed to allow them the opportunity to rise to the level of their male peers.

There is a stark contrast between the ambitious investment promotion efforts of many least developed countries (LDCs) and their often minimal commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Service (GATS). At a time of urgent need to address domestic infrastructure and investment gaps, this situation cannot be a positive signal for investors (either domestic or foreign), and may be a missed opportunity to address services aspects of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). LDCs often lack internationally credible mechanisms for making commitments, which contributes to their evident difficulty in attracting the more employment-generating types of investment that could bring greater opportunities for poverty alleviation. Considering that most LDCs, under domestic laws, have already opened a wide range of services sectors to foreign direct investment (FDI), there may be an opportunity to enhance the international consistency and credibility of LDC investment promotion efforts by making GATS commitments, while preserving substantial policy space with regard to the actual status quo. While reforms to domestic regulations are undoubtedly of greater importance to attracting FDI, GATS commitments, including partial commitments, can be used to publicize LDC investment priorities in services (such as attracting new businesses, encouraging joint ventures and technology transfer, etc.), and make them legally binding internationally. Offers to make new GATS commitments can further be used as bargaining chips in the current Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations. Mali has been selected as a case study, due to the fact that trade and investment policies are clearly and consistently documented.

It has long been recognised that the role of the construction industry in socio-economic development goes beyond its share in national output. A number of studies have focused on the issue of employment creation others have emphasised its multiplier effect on other sectors of the economy. The role of construction infrastructure in the process of development has gained a new stimulus following the United Nations Millennium Declaration at the Millennium Summit in New York in September, 2000. Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), measured through 21 targets, were devised. According to international development agencies, the services provided by infrastructure have a pervasive effect on the economic and social targets related to the MDGs. Using data obtained from World Bank and United Nations publications, and making use of an analysis developed in previous works, this study presents some prospects of the pattern of development of the construction industry in two groups of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to their level of economic development. Some insights for the growth strategies of the construction industry in the groups of countries are also presented.

It has long been recognised that the role of the construction industry in socio-economic development goes beyond its share in national output. A number of studies have focused on the issue of employment creation others have emphasised its multiplier effect on other sectors of the economy. The role of construction infrastructure in the process of development has gained a new stimulus following the United Nations Millennium Declaration at the Millennium Summit in New York in September, 2000. Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), measured through 21 targets, were devised. According to international development agencies, the services provided by infrastructure have a pervasive effect on the economic and social targets related to the MDGs. Using data obtained from World Bank and United Nations publications, and making use of an analysis developed in previous works, this study presents some prospects of the pattern of development of the construction industry in two groups of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to their level of economic development. Some insights for the growth strategies of the construction industry in the groups of countries are also presented.

Access to electricity is important to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The centralized model of large thermal power stations and a central grid is a conventional system to supply electricity to consumers. This centralized model has failed to provide electricity and to achieve the rural electrification objective in developing countries. Un-electrified areas of the developing world are generally located in remote, hilly and forested regions, where grid extension is likely to be impossible for various reasons. Instead of this, decentralized renewable energy (DRE) for electricity generation has provided an avenue to electrify these remote areas and improve their social and economic conditions. This research is an attempt to seek a balanced view between a centralized conventional source of electricity and decentralized renewable energy for rural electrification. Research has shown the various benefits of decentralized renewable energy (DRE) for rural electrification in Maharashtra, an Indian state. Maharashtra is presently experiencing serious electricity shortages, of around 4 GW. Therefore, prioritization of the distribution of electricity has led to conflict between the government and inhabitants of Maharashtra. Renewable energy (RE) has been looked at to provide electricity in remote areas of Maharashtra. However, there are around 5 554 villages that have not been electrified yet, and it would not be feasible to electrify them with centralized grid electricity. This research concludes that there is indeed discrimination in terms of the quality of electricity supplied to rural consumers as compared to city-based domestic consumers. The way RE has been pursued in Maharashtra for rural electrification is not so impressive, and has been restricted to small-scale use and domestic lighting. The experience drawn from successful examples of DRE in other parts of India has shown that large-scale application of DRE is possible to replicate in Maharashtra. Neverthe

This thesis aim to describe and analyze different organisations’ work with reducing child labour. In order to understand the complex matter of child labour, a case study concerning children’s situation within the mining industry in Peru has been made. The first part of the thesis has been designed to be an introduction to the matter, with a description of the mining industry in Peru and the situation of child labour. The two following parts are more analytic in character. The second and third part discusses how the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be used as an instrument of reducing child labour. Further, top down and bottom up-theories will be discussed as different approaches and working methods for organisations. In addition to find the answers to our questions, interviews have been conducted with employees of the organisations (ILO, UNICEF and Save the Children), articles and literature have been analyzed and finally Internet have contributed with information about child labour, Peru, the organisations, theories and the MDGs. This study claims that child labour is a complex matter and one possible solution to reduce it can be through promoting education. This can only be viable if organisations work together with governments, using a combination of top down and bottom up approaches.

Main development problem in developing country is the contradiction between unemployment and poverty. It is caused by the strong relation between both problem. Poverty in so many cases mostly started by the lack access of productive human source to the job ? eld. The complexity of the problem drive the worldwide commitment in reducing poverty all over the world by the draft of development goals, called Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) To promote the development, the effort to reduce poverty that mainly started by the unemployment must involve the society in participative platform. The participation pattern possibly reducing poverty to be more grounded, strengthen commitment between society in responsibility to reduce unwelfare . The local genius, for instance Lembaga Perkreditan Desa (LPD) that is own by the village association has the strategic role in reducing poverty trough the improvement of its social function beside the main function which is to improve the members welfare. The social function means the commitment and togetherness between member to institution and between members.

The Gender Equality and Justice is the problem that has been discussed globally since hundred years ago in order to reduce the gender inequality and injustice among people. The commitment to reduce the gender inequality valid for all aspects of human life including education, economy, politic, social, and culture. The importance of the discussion even become one from eight point of the International commitment through The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which is promote by United Nation (UN). The emerge of attention in gender issue is being in accordance with the shift of development paradigm from the security and stability (security) approach into the welfare and equality (prosperity) approach or from the production into the humanity approach in more democratic and open atmosphere. The strong relation to the construction of social and culture that rooted in society border the achievement of gender equality and justice. But with the strong struggle and continuous effort the gender ideology that tends to bring the detriment to one gender will be eliminated successfully. As the conclusion, if the motivation occurs among the people, it shows that our society is able to ful? ll one of the agreements of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which is also become the International commitment.