Sustainable development

Sustainable development

1. The United Nations Millennium Summit on sustainable development was held in New York in September. All member states of the United Nations reaffirmed their commitment to sustaining development and eliminating poverty by adopting the Millennium Declaration. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the road map for meeting the commitments of the Millennium Declaration, have been internationally accepted as a common global development framework. The commitment to this development framework, and to achieving the MDGs, was reiterated at the UN assembly in 2005.
2. Aimed at cutting world poverty in half in the span of two decades, the goals are People-centered, time- bound and measurable. They are simple, powerful objectives that every woman, man and young person in the street from Washington to Monrovia, Jakarta to Nairobi, and Quito to Cape Town can understand. They have the political support because they mark the first time world leaders have held themselves accountable to such an agreement.
3. It is important to realize that even though the MDGs are global, they can most effectively be achieved through action at the local level. It is at the local level that inequalities between people in a city can be addressed. It is at the local level that safe drinking water, electricity and other services including health and education are provided, that garbage is collected and that food is sold at markets.
4. In each city and town, there will be a local reality to be taken into consideration, and indeed the MDGs should be adapted to meet this reality. This is also the only way to make the most of local social capital and get the community involved. Of course, national level plans and actions are critical. But experience has shown that national plans must be linked with both local realities and the people they serve to be successful. The Summit finally agreed on the following global goals to focus on during the first two decades of the third millennium:
   GOAL 1: ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER
   GOAL 2: ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION
   GOAL 3: PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN
   GOAL 4: REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY
   GOAL 5: IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH
   GOAL 6: COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES
   GOAL 7: ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
   GOAL 8: DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT
5. To meet the MDGs, cities in low-income and middle-income countries need to draw up courageous, long-term strategies for investments in health, education, infrastructure, and environmental management sufficient to achieve the MDGs in the urban setting. These strategies must build on upgrading life conditions; security for poor urban residents; community participation; and enhanced international competitiveness through promoted urban infrastructure, including industrial zones, telecommunications, power and port facilities.

I – Comprehension
A- Choose the best title for the text from the list.
1. Applying the Millennium Development Goals
2. Explaining the Millennium Development Goals
3. Localising the Millennium Development Goals

B. Answer these questions from the text.
1. How often was the United Nation Millennium Summit organised?
…………………………………………………………………………
2. How long are the United Nations planning to reduce poverty?
…………………………………………………………………………
3. Which continents does the programme target?
……………………………………………………………………………

C. Here are some specific objectives that go with the Millennium Development Goals. Go back to the text and match each specific objective with a corresponding global one following the example.

D. Fin words that have the same meaning as the following
1. Repeated (paragraph 1):……………………………………….
2. Length in time (paragraph 2):………………………………….
3. Realised (paragraph 3):…………………………………………….
4. Concerned (paragraph 4):…………………………………………
5. Improving (paragraph 5):…………………………………………..

E. Complete the following paragraph with words from the text.
The UN General Assembly recognized the Millennium Development Goals as part of the………………………………………….
For implementing the Millennium Declaration. The…………………………………………… set target reductions in……………………………………… improvements in health , education, and protection of the environment. The aim behind this programme is to make all people on earth…………………………………………their rights. The………………………………of 2005 was another occasion to remind………………………………………… States of the United Nation of these MDGs.

F. What do these words refer to in the text 
1. their (paragraph 1) :………….
2. they (paragraph 2) : ………….
3. there (paragraph 4) : ………….