Socioeconomics

Compiled by a panel of 27 top-level leaders appointed by the UN Secretary-General in 2012, A new global partnership: eradicate poverty and transform economies through sustainable development, provides a framework driven by five key transformative shifts. These build on and move beyond the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which committed the world to achieving a number of targets by 2015, including eradicating poverty.

World Health Statistics 2013 contains WHO’s annual compilation of health-related data for its 194 Member States, and includes a summary of the progress made towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and associated targets.
This year, it also includes highlight summaries on the topics of reducing the gaps between the world’s most-advantaged and least-advantaged countries, and on current trends in official development assistance (ODA) for health.

Poverty and gender inequality, in addition to the lack of access to education, increase vulnerability to HIV infection. This is one of the main messages of the Gender Equality, HIV and Education booklet recently produced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012 presents new estimates of undernourishment based on a revised and improved methodology. The new estimates show that progress in reducing hunger during the past 20 years has been better than previously believed, and that, given renewed efforts, it may be possible to reach the MDG hunger target at the global level by 2015. However, the number of people suffering from chronic undernourishment is still unacceptably high, and eradication of hunger remains a major global challenge.

With over 120 maps, charts and tables, the UNESCO World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education enables readers to visualize the educational pathways of girls and boys in terms of access, participation and progression from pre-primary to tertiary education.

The Atlas features a wide range of sex-disaggregated data and gender indicators from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. It also illustrates the extent to which gender disparities in education have changed since 1970 and are shaped by factors such as national wealth, geographic location, investment in education and fields of study.

The lives of girls and women have changed dramatically over the past quarter century. The pace of change has been astonishing in some areas, but in others, progress toward gender equality has been limited—even in developed countries.

This year's World Development Report: Gender Equality and Development argues that gender equality is a core development objective in its own right. It is also smart economics. Greater gender equality can enhance productivity, improve development outcomes for the next generation, and make institutions more representative.

The MDG Report 2011 highlights development successes, and says many are due in part to continued economic growth in some developing countries and targeted efforts in critical MDG areas, such as health. Increased funding from many sources, it says, has expanded key programmes, such as treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS. “Achieving the goals will require equitable and inclusive economic growth — growth that reaches everyone and that will enable all people, especially the poor and marginalized, to benefit from economic opportunities.” the Secretary-General said. “Between now and 2015, we must make sure that promises made become promises kept.

Since 1995, the South African Health Review (SAHR) has been an annual publication of the Health Systems Trust. Viewed as an authoritative and comprehensive publication, the SAHR provides a current and longer-term review of health policy developments and their implementation in South Africa, and monitors changes and challenges in the provision of equitable and accessible health care in the country.