The Millennium Development Goals represent a unique partnership between developed and developing countries to create an environment – at the national and global levels alike – which is conducive to development and the elimination of poverty. In Somalia, the inter-related set of eight goals will most likely not be attained by the deadline – 2015. The multiple challenges Somalia faces, ranging from insecurity to lack of central governance and prevalent poverty present obstacles to the achievement of the goals and their targets. Yet, the private sector, and agricultural, fisheries and livestock sectors, as well as relative stability in Somaliland and Puntland (north of Somalia) offer opportunities that can be exploited to advance overall development in the country. Below is statistical information updated in March 2012 on progress made towards the MDGs in Somalia.  | MDG 1 - Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
| Targets:
| • Target 1.A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day • Target 1.B: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people • Target 1.C: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger | Stories from Somalia: | A sustainable income at last 07/04/2010
A turnaround 07/04/2010
A dream comes true 07/04/2010
How goats brought hope to Faud
Escape to camp brings fortune Women IDPs put their life back on track with 75US$ 08/06/2010
Project brings prosperity 07/04/2010
A better livelihood for Safiyo
It’s worth the investment Hope for Siciido 07/04/2010
Being sure about the next meal | Latest statistics from Somalia: | • About 43% of the Somali populations live in extreme poverty, on less than USD 1 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) per day (UNDP/World Bank Socioeconomic Survey, 2002). • 73% of the population lives on less than USD 2 a day. (UNDP/World Bank Socioeconomic Survey, 2002). • The prevalence of underweight children under five years of age has increased dramatically over the years, from 18% in 1997, to 26% in 1999, to 36.5% in 2006. The prevalence of underweight children under five years of age and acute malnourishment tends to be higher for male children (Source: UN Statistics Division (UNSD), UNICEF Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2006) • Somalia has had stunting rates consistently above 20%, at serious/acute levels according to WHO classifications. Stunting is a significant indicator for the endemic poverty and chronic hunger in Somalia and it afflicts 21.1% of Somalia’s children according to most recent national median stunting rates. Unfortunately, 1 in 5 children stunted in Somalia will not be able to reach their full development potential (Source: FSNAU, 2010). • 71% of Somalia’s population is undernourished, significantly more than the average levels in Arab and other least developed countries (Source: UNSD 2003) • The employment-to-population ratio for Somalia stood at 52.6% (Source: KilmNet,ILO, 2010) |  | MDG 2 - Achieve Universal Primary Education | Targets: | • Target 2.A: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling | Stories from Somalia: | A school project helps to expand business 07/04/2010
| Latest statistics from Somalia | • Somalia has one of the lowest enrolment rates in the world today. Out of the three zones, Somaliland has the highest levels of gross enrolment rate (GER) of 44%, while the South Central had a GER of 22% and Puntland 40.3% (Source: Primary School survey, UNICEF, 2007). • From 1998 to 2007, a high disparity in favour of males whose GER is significantly higher than that of females has remained (males’ GER has increased from 12% to 36% compared to 7% to 24% for females). The gap between female and male students increases further in higher education (Source: Primary School Survey, 2007) • Literacy rate for women (aged 15-24) is merely 25%, with disparities across the zones, with the lowest literacy rate of 19% in the South Central, 32% in Puntland and 36% in Somaliland (Source: UNICEF MICS 2006, UNSD). |  | MDG 3 - Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
| Targets: | • Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015 | Stories from Somalia: | Bringing justice to IDPs 11/06/2010
Hargeisa women lawyers 08/06/2010
Vocational training tailor-makes a new future 01/04/2010
From porter to community mobilizer
Women select women councillors in Puntland
Somali women put their foot down on the new Constitution 29/07/2010 | Latest statistics from Somalia: | • For Somalia, the Gender Parity Index (GPI), which is the ratio of female to male primary and secondary net attendance ratios, for both secondary and tertiary education is significantly behind by global comparisons, at 27% and 18% respectively. The GPI for tertiary education has actually declined to 18% from 22% in 1990 (Source: UNESCO, UNSD) • Women generally have a weak position in the labour market and represent a large proportion of vulnerable employment. The share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector remained constant at 22% from 1990 to 2002, experiencing a significant increase only afterwards to a share of 36% in 2010. Women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector reached its highest value in Puntland 40% followed by Somaliland 36%, while the lowest value is in South Central at 33% (Somalia Household Survey, 2010 and UNSD). |  | MDG 4 - Reduce Child Mortality
| Targets: | • Target 4.A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate | Stories from Somalia: | | Latest statistics from Somalia: | • The under-five mortality rate (U5MR) reached its highest in South-Central with 231 deaths per 1,000 live births and its lowest in Somaliland with 188, and 225 in Puntland in 1999 (Source: UNSD, UNICEF MICS 2000 and 2006). • The U5MR was slightly lower in urban areas at 134, compared to 136 in rural and nomadic areas (Source: MICS 2000 and 2006). • The infant mortality rate is defined as the number of infants who die before reaching one year old for each 1000 live births. This rate has decreased from 152 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to 86 deaths per 1000 live births in 2006 (Source: UNDS, MICS 2000 and 2006). | | | MDG 5 - Improve Maternal Health
| Targets: | • Target 5.A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio • Target 5.B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health | Stories from Somalia: | | Latest statistics from Somalia: | • The level of maternal mortality in Somalia, which is extremely high and on the rise, has been the highest worldwide, at 1200 per 100,000 live births in 2008. (Source: UNSD, MICS). • In Somalia the vast majority of childbirths (55.9%) take place with the help of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA). Conversely, only 3.4% of deliveries are handled by medical doctors, 9.4% are assisted by family members, and 25.4% are done with the help of nurses and midwives. • Half of the births that take place in urban areas are attended by skilled health personnel, while the figure is as low as 10% in nomadic populations. • The percentage of current contraception use among married women (15-49 years old) in Somalia is no more than 15%. In addition, use of modern contraception methods is even much lower (1.2%) (source: UNDP-RCC, estimates from MICS 2006 files) • Antenatal care coverage, an indicator of access and use of health care during pregnancy, is very low, at 31.6% in 2006 (Source: MICS 2006). |  | MDG 6 - Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases
| Targets: | • Target 6.A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS • Target 6.B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it • Target 6.C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases | Stories from Somalia: |
Female religious leaders lead the fight against AIDS
HIV/AIDS: Targeting “high risk” groups in Somalia
| Latest statistics from Somalia: | • About 0.7% of the population comprises people between 15 and 49 years living with HIV. Existing data shows that the prevalence in Somaliland surpassed the 1% for a generalized epidemic compared to Puntland and South-Central (Source: UNAIDS (2010) “Somalia Country Progress Report 2010,” United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS). • The UNAIDS estimates the number of new HIV infections in Somalia was a total of 6,712 (3462 (51.5%) females and 3250 (48.5%) males) for 2009. The percentage of HIV incidence rate for people aged (15-49) has been increasing over time, especially over the past decade. • More than 90% of people with advanced HIV infection are still in need of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy (Source: UNSD).
Approximately 4,500 deaths each year are estimated to occur as a direct result of malaria. Children under five years of age are the most vulnerable: in Somalia, the death rate due to malaria per 100,000 people is 65%, half of which are deaths of children 4 years and below (Source: UNSD). • The percentage of children under 5 sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets was only 11.4% in 2006. • According to the mid-point estimates, Somalia’s tuberculosis prevalence was 494 cases per 100,000 population in 2009. During the first half of the 1990-2009 period, TB was the leading culprit of death in the economically active age groups in Somalia (Source: UNSD, World Bank 2006). |  | MDG 7 - Ensure Environmental Sustainability
| Targets: | • Target 7.A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources • Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss • Target 7.C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation • Target 7.D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers | Stories from Somalia: | Borama communities successfully battle soil erosion Residents clean up Garowe 11/06/2010
Water reservoirs come with extra rewards A smile from an internally displaced people’s camp 01/04/2010 | Latest statistics from Somalia: | • The felling of acacia trees for charcoal production is rife and has a detrimental impact on the sustainability of the pastoralist livelihood. This is likely to continue as long as an alternative source of energy for cooking is not encouraged among the Somali populations. • Only 10.6% of Somalia’s land area is covered by forest (Source: UNSD, FAO 2011). • Overall, in 2008 nearly 29 percent of the population is using an improved source of drinking water – 58 percent in urban areas. Only 25 percent of the population in Puntland and Central South gets their drinking water from an improved source (MICS 2006). There has been a significance increase of 8 per cent in access to safe water from 21 percent in 1995 to 29.3 percent in 2006. However, Somalia is not on track to achieve access to improved water source target. • About 37% of Somalia’s population uses improved sanitation facilities (Source: UNSD, MICS 2000- 2006). |  | MDG 8 - Develop a Global Partnership for Development
| Targets: | Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developed countries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States. • Target 8.A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction - both nationally and internationally • Target 8.B: Address the special needs of the least developed countries
Includes: tariff and quota free access for the least developed countries' exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction • Target 8.C: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States (through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly) • Target 8.D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term
Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developed countries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States. • Target 8.E: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries • Target 8.F: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications | Stories from Somalia: | | Latest statistics from Somalia: | N/A | Achieving the MDGs: Challenges
Somalia faces many challenges in achieving the MDGs. Persistent insecurity, coupled with natural disasters such as floods and droughts, have contributed to Somalia's stunted development and economic growth, and to some of the most dismal MDG indicators worldwide. Since poverty increases the risk of civil war and insecurity, poverty reduction efforts are vital. Without peace and security, nothing can be achieved. Somali women's lack of education and the country's cultural norms give women limited control over resources. They remain minimally represented in the government and judiciary, though this trend is slowly changing. Violence against women and female genital mutilation are still rife in the country. Only a quarter of all births are attended by skilled health personnel and 1,100 women per 100,000 live births die in childbirth each year.
Extensive deforestation in Somalia undermines livelihoods and threatens an already deeply fragile environment. Less than half the population has access to sanitation, and less than a quarter can access clean drinking water.
Programmes and interventions on a local and national basis have, however, helped progress towards the MDGs in some areas. There has been an increase in primary school enrollment, a decrease in child mortality, improvement in maternal health and alleviation of extreme poverty and hunger. In other areas, however, indicators have remained stagnant or even worsened, and some cannot be calculated at all due to lack of reliable data.
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