Millennium Development Goals• The Millennium Development Goals were created by the

United Nations in an effort to fight problems that many countries were facing. It was created in 2000, and consists of eight specific goals supported by 189 different countries around the world. The plan is for each country to have met certain targets for each goal by the year 2015.

• We will be comparing the country of Qatar and the country of Guyana, and how they are doing on the eight millennium development goals.

1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and HungerThe two statistics that we are going to be comparing for this goal are each countries unemployment rate and their population below poverty line. Unemployment rate is a percentage of the labor force without jobs. The population below poverty line is a percentage of people in the country that fall below the countries poverty line. We see that Qatar is better off. Their economy and industries produce way more and allow them to be better off financially and ultimately better supporting their population. With a working economy people are capable of getting work and providing for their families. In Guyana there is not as much opportunity for work, and thus a lot more poverty, stealing, and crime as people are trying to provide.

Qatar

Unemployment Rate:

0.5% (est. 2012)

Pop. Below Poverty Line:

N/A

Guyana

Unemployment Rate:

11% (est. 2007)

Pop. Below Poverty Line:

35% (est. 2006)

2. Achieve Universal Primary EducationThe three statistics that we are going to be comparing for this goal is each countries education expenditures, their literacy rates, and school life expectancy. The education expenditures is a percent of the countries GDP put towards bettering education and learning for youth. Literacy is the percentage of the country that is able to read and write above the age of 15. The school life expectancy is the total number of years of schooling that a child can expect to receive in his or her lifetime. While Guyana puts a larger percentage of it’s money to education, they still have lower literacy rates and less school per child. Qatar however, is a very wealthy country and it’s 2.5% is most likely a substancial bit more than even Guyana’s 3.6%. That could contribute to the difference and advantage that Qatar has.

Qatar

Education Expenditures:

2.5% of GDP (2008)

Literacy Rate:

96.3%

School Life Expectancy:

13 years

Guyana

Education Expenditures:

3.6% of GDP (2011)

Literacy Rate:

91.8%

School Life Expectancy:

11 years

3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower WomenThe few statistics that we are going to be comparing for this goal is each countries number of women serving in Parliament, or the government leadership. We will also look at the unemployment percentage for women, and finally their average school life expectancy. It looks like BLANK country is doing better with this Millennium goal. We felt that these would be accurate representations of the nations respect and gender equality for women. If they receive the education and job opportunities that men do, then they are being respected and treated as equals.

Qatar

Women in Parliament:

0 out of 35

Unemployment Rate of Women(Age 15-

24):

Dfua compared to uiagg

Average School Life Expectancy:

Guyana

Women in Parliament:

21 out of 67 Members are Women

Unemployment Rate of Women (Age 15-24):

50% compared to men 43%

Average School Life Expectancy:

11 years

4. Reduce Child MortalityThe three statistics that we are going to be comparing for this goal is each countries infant mortality rate, the percentage of children under the age of five that are underweight, and the child employment rate. These three statistics give a general idea of what kind of lives children live in each of these countries. Do they receive the nourishment they need? Are they forced to work? Do they live to see their teenage years? The country of BLANK is doing better at this millennium goal because BLANK.

Qatar

Unemployment Rate:

0.5% (est. 2012)

Pop. Below Poverty Line:

N/A

Guyana

Infant mortality Rate:

34.45/1000 live births

Children Under 5 Years old Underweight:

11.1%

Child Employment Rate (age 5-14):

30,255 which is 16% of that age group

5. Improve Maternal HealthThe two statistics that we are going to be comparing for this goal is each countries maternal mortality rate and the health expenditures of the country. Maternal mortality rate is the annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births, and health expenditures are the percentage of the GDP spent on healthcare. From these to areas, we can see that Guyana has a lot of room to improve. Again, Guyana appears to spend more money on Healthcare and is still lacking, however, their total GDP is far smaller than Qatar’s.

Qatar

Maternal Mortality Rate:

7 deaths/ 100,000 live births (2010)

Health Expenditures:

1.8% of GDP (2010)

Guyana

Maternal Mortality Rate:

280/100,000 live births (2010)

Health Expenditures:

5.8% of GDP (2010)

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and other diseasesThe three statistics that we will use to compare our two countries show the amount of people with and who have died from HIV/AIDS. The adult prevalence rate, people living with HIV/AIDS, and deaths caused by HIV/AIDS are the specific categories. I think much like the rest of these goals, Guyana struggles from poverty. We know that HIV/AIDS is spread a lot easier with unsanitary healthcare, and the poverty that engulfs Guyana.

Qatar

Adult Prevalence Rate:

less than 0.1% (est. 2009)

People living with HIV/AIDS:

fewer than 200 (est. 2009)

Deaths:

fewer than 100 (est. 2009)

Guyana

Adult Prevalence Rate:

1.2% (est. 2009)

People living with HIV/AIDS:

5,900 (est. 2009)

Deaths:

Fewer than 500 (est. 2009)

7. Ensure Environmental SustainabilityWe will look at each countries urbanization growth, as well as their sanitation facility access. The urbanization of each country will in ways help and hurt the Environmental sustainability. While better technology will allow for better utilization and gathering of resources, more infrastructure and urbanization will also use a lot land and resources. BLANK is doing better in this area because of BLANK.

Qatar

Unemployment Rate:

0.5% (est. 2012)

Pop. Below Poverty Line:

N/A

Guyana

Urbanization:

29% of total population

Rate of Urbanization:

.5% rate of annual change

Sanitation Facility Access:

84% of population

8. Develop a Global Partnership for DevelopmentThe three factors that we will measure to compare globalization are exports, imports, and industrial production growth rates.

Qatar

Exports:

Imports:

Industrial Production growth Rate:

Guyana

Exports:

$1.311 Billion (est. 2012)

Imports:

$2.065 Billion (est. 2012)

Industrial Production growth Rate:

6% (est. 2012)

SummaryBetween our two countries, Guyana and Qatar, it is clear that Qatar has

the better grasp and standing regarding most of the Millennium goals. They have a very stable economy which leads to better social and health related self reliance. Hans Rosling spoke about this concept that the most important area of structure in a country should be social stability. However, if you strive for that before you work on government and economy, it will never happen. The means to achieve these goals are economic growth and stability and structured and working government. Qatar has most certainly done well in these areas and this is why they have an upper hand in the other areas of growth. While Guyana is somewhat worse off, that doesn’t mean they do not strive for the same success. They have plans in place and working to better use government spending to improve various areas of the country as well as the populations wellbeing and health.

References