Comparing Millennium Development Goals

by:Kyleen Ellgen and Chase Staker

The Countries To Compare

Suriname
Located in Northern South America.

Rwanda
Located near central Africa

Suriname
Suriname is a small country located on the North East Atlantic coast of South America. Being the smallest sovereign country in South America it is only 64,000 square mile in area. Suriname has a population around 566,000 people but its high tourism makes Suriname rather crowded. Suriname is also fairly new having gained its independence 1975 from the Dutch.

Rwanda
Located just bellow the equator in central/east Africa, Rwanda is subtropical country surrounded by mountains to the east and west with lakes scattered throughout. Though agriculture is big in Rwanda, its main source of income is tourism. Having faced passed economic trials, Rwanda is quickly gaining its foothold again.

The Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals are eight goals that the United Nation agreed should be seen in every country by the year 2015. These include:
1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. To achieve universal primary education 3. To promote gender equality and empowering women 4. To reduce child mortality rates 5. To improve maternal health 6. To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases 7. To ensure environmental sustainability 8. To develop a global partnership for development

Lets see how each country is doing to achieve these goals.

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

How to measure: By comparing the Gross Domestic Product score (GDP) per capita for each country.

What is the GDP per capita? An approximation of the value of goods produced per person in the country, equal to the countrys GDP divided by the total number of people in the country.

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

History of GDP for Suriname

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

History of Rwanda Poverty

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

GDP per capita for:

Suriname in 2012- $12,300 (110th/262 countries)

Rwanda in 2012- $1,400 (203/262 Countries)

http://www.photius.com/rankings/economy/gdp_per_capita_2013_0.html

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

Other factors to consider: Suriname has recently developed into a independent country, this can have some effects on its economy. Rwandas 1994 genocide where Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000 to 1 million Tutsi and moderate Hutu. This damaged the countries economy greatly. The GDP per capita is an average and is subject to outliers effecting the reported GDP. Both countries, though from different areas of the world, have similar means of income, mainly agriculture and tourism.

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

Conclusion: Because Suriname has a higher GDP per capita it is producing and spending more money then Rwanda. And because their means of income are similar, this score can be considered appropriate for a comparison. Thus, Suriname is further along at accomplishing Goal 1 than Rwanda. Both countries have shown little growth since 2000. It is doubtful that by 2015 either will have completely eradicated poverty or hunger.

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

How to measure: By comparing the percentage of children currently enrolled in primary educational school. Why this method? Since these goals where implamented only fourteen years ago comparing the literacy rates or number of school graduates would not be an accurate measure of the progress made in these last few years.

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Child primary education enrolment rate for: Suriname in 2011- 92% Rwanda in 2012- 99%

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.NENR/countries/1W?display=default

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Some things to consider: Rwanda is now has the highest enrolment rate in Africa. Suriname has one of the lower enrolment rates in the Caribbean countries. Rwanda has made large strides in its effort to provide education.

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Conclusion: Because Rwanda has a higher percentage of children enrolled in primary education it has more of a change of reaching this goal than Suriname does.

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

How to measure: By comparing the countries Gender Gap Index score (GGI). What is the Gender Gap Index? It is a value which measures the loss of achievement, within a country, due to gender inequality. It uses three dimensions to do so: reproductive health, empowerment, and labor market participation. The higher the number, the more equality.

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Gender Gap Index for: Suriname in 2011- 0.6395 Rwanda in 2011- 0.453

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/oct/25/world-gender-gap-index-2013-countries-compare-iceland-uk

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Some things to Consider: Rwanda is the first country in the world to have met the Target for proportion of women in parliament. Rwanda has also met the Target for equal enrolment in primary school of boys and girls. In Rwanda girls continue to be disadvantaged in post-primary education and are especially disadvantaged in vocational education and training and science and technology. Suriname lacks female members in parliament. The ratio of girls to boys in secondary education is 2

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Conclusion: Even though Suriname has a higher GGI score, Rwanda has made enormous strides in its commitment to women equality. Rwanda is probably considered to be more equal than Suriname. Suriname will have to quicken the pace if it is to reach Goal 3.

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

How to measure: By comparing the mortality rate for children below the age of 5. What is Mortality Rate? The chance that 1 out of 1,000 children will die before they turn 5 yrs. old.

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

Child Mortality Rate for:

Suriname in 2012- 21%

Rwanda in 2012- 55%

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.MORT

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

Things to consider: Suriname has had steady child mortality rates since 2000 Rwanda has made improvements, but has some distance to go to achieve lower mortality rate goals. The following graph shows the improvements.

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

Conclusion: Because Suriname has a lower mortality rate for children under the age of five, it is closer to accomplishing Goal 4 than Rwanda. However, Rwanda has had greater progress than Suriname.

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Healing

How to measure: by comparing the countrys Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR). What is the Maternal Mortality Ratio? The ratio of women who die during pregnancy or childbirth over 100,000 live births.

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Healing

Maternal Mortality Ratio for: Suriname in 2010- 130 maternal deaths/100,000 live births Rwanda in 2010- 340 maternal deaths/100,000 live births

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MMRT

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Healing

Some things to consider: In order for Rwanda to meet the target goal it would be necessary to have around 90 percent of mothers deliver in a health center. At present just under half of mothers deliver in a health center. Though Suriname has had declined Maternal Mortality Rates, it is not very close to its target goal for 2015.

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Healing

Conclusion: Because Suriname has a lower Maternal Mortality Rate than Rwanda it is closer at accomplishing Goal 5. However, neither country is on course to meet its target goal for maternal healing.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases

How to measure: By comparing the Adult Prevalence Rate for HIV/AIDS between the two countries. What is the Adult prevalence Rate for HIV/AIDS? An estimate of the percentage of adults (aged 15-49) living with HIV/AIDS. The adult prevalence rate is calculated by dividing the estimated number of adults living with HIV/AIDS at yearend by the total adult population at yearend.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases

Adult Prevalence Rate for HIV/AIDS for: Suriname in 2009- 1.00% Rwanda in 2009- 2.9%

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2155rank.html

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases

Things to consider: Rwanda has no set goal for 2015, although progress has been made in this area. Suriname has made great efforts to identify HIV and AIDS causes, however plans to eradicate these diseases are not in full effect.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases

Conclusion: Because Suriname has a smaller percentage of its population effected with HIV or AIDS than Rwanda does, it is closer at accomplishing Goal 6. However, neither country is on tract to accomplish its 2015 target goal.

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability.

How to measure: By comparing the Environmental Performance Index score (ESI) for each country. What is the ESI? A system to measure a country's environmental quality. It looks at two main variables: Environmental health and ecosystem vitality. The higher the number the healthier the environment.

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability.

Environmental Performance Index for: Suriname in 2014: 53.57 Rwanda in 2014: 35.41

http://epi.yale.edu/epi/country-rankings

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability.

Things to consider: Rwanda has made little improvement in providing clean drinking, but some improvement has been made in improve sanitation. Suriname has not improved sanitation conditions, although 20% more people have access to clean drinking water. Suriname has already reached its target goals concerning Environmental Sustainability.

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability.

Conclusion: Suriname has a higher Environmental Performance Index score and has had more improvements in sanitation and clean water. This makes Suriname closer at accomplishing Goal 7 than Rwanda is.

Goal 8: Global Partnership for Development

How to measure: By comparing each countrys Official Development Assistance (ODA) per capita. What is ODA? It is the amount of money (In US dollars) a country receives from foreign organizations or countries to assist in development.

Goal 8: Global Partnership for Development

Official Development Assistance for: Suriname in 2011: 179 billion US dollars Rwanda in 2011: 113 billion US dollars

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/DT.ODA.ODAT.PC.ZS

Goal 8: Global Partnership for Development

Conclusion: Because Suriname receives more funding from foreign organizations and countries, it has developed more global partnerships than Rwanda. This fact shows that it is closer to accomplishing Goal 8.

SoWhos Closer?
It can be seen through empirical and subjective material that Rwanda has made much greater progress than Suriname in meeting the Millennium Development Goals. However, due to Suriname being more developed when these goals where implemented Suriname will achieve many goals that Rwanda will not. The conclusion is that both countries will have achieved roughly the same number of target goals for 2015 but Rwanda has had made more progress than Suriname.

Reference Websites
http://undpsuriname.org/images/publications/MDG_Progress _Report_2009.pdf www.iparrwanda.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task...