The UN Millennium Report proposes each country prepare a detailed shopping-list of interventions, from education and health to environmental protection, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Here are some examples:
- abolishing fees for school uniforms
- nitrogen replenishment treatment for agriculture
- free school meals
- breast feeding support with micronutrient supplements
- annual deworming of schoolchildren
- basic health training in villages
- antimalarial bednets
- eliminate health fees for essential services
- increase sexual health
- expanding AIDS, malaria and TB treatment, for example achieving the "3×5" target of getting 3 million people onto AIDS treatment by 2005 (the report came out in late 2004)
- slum upgrading
- establishing off-grid electricity sources for remote areas, including solar
- legislation to ensure property rights for women
- campaigns against violence towards women
- appoint science advisors for presidents and prime ministers, getting women into policy processes, community support for tree-planting.
Read Rav's post to get more background information and related articles. What I liked about his post is that many of the interventions can be implemented now by social-enterprise groups regardless of the actions of the UN and world governments. This is not to allow those governments to abrogate their responsibilities, but one of the hurdles to selling the Millennium Development Goals to the person in the street is that most are unaware of them and don't see any benefits either for themselves or those the MDGs are purported to help. Listening to my libertarian leaning psyche, I can appreciate the advice of Marshall Carter, who is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Boston Medical Center. In this video he leads an MIT class through a case study on corporate transformation, highlighting tips he believes are as salient for engineering students as for those focused on business services.
