Workshop in Nicaragua.
(Photo: Coordinadora Civil)

The achievement of the MDGs in Nicaragua is in imminent danger due to the serious difficulties faced by virtue of several factors, such as low economic growth, increasing population demanding food and work, and growing corruption. Although there has been progress in some of them, this is not enough and does not approach the goal.

Ugandan anti-corruption sign.
(Photo : futureatlas.com)

The government of Uganda has continuously allocated resources to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but its failures in fighting corruption slow down progress, says David Obot, researcher for the Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations (DENIVA) and main author of the Ugandan civil society contribution to the Social Watch Report 2013. Uganda may reach three of the eight MDGs by 2015. The other goals would be missed, particularly those related to sectors where corruption is highly concentrated.

Children in Lubumbashi.
(Photo: J McDowell, Flickr.)

The crisis of the Congolese economy was due to the fall in copper prices and the oil shock of 1974, followed by the "Zairisation" of the country, and it was reinforced by bad governance and high population growth, which sends every year to the labor market a lot of people of working age.

This crisis was exacerbated by the sack of 1991 and 1993 and the liberation wars of 1996 and 1998. There is great poverty in the country and we do not find the least political will in terms of job creation.

Students in Santiago, Chile
(Photo : Hans Peters/Flickr/CC)

Chile remains the Latin American country with the best performance in terms of achieving the goals of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to the Millennium Government Network. Despite this level of achievement, which the report estimates at about one third of the target set for 2015, the deep social unrest massively expressed in the streets by Chilean society over the past two years regarding the state of public education and health, environmental depredation by large corporations and, above all, the obvious widening of the gap of inequality, raise questions about what this means in practice.

Iraqi widow with her sons.
(Photo: CODEPINK Women
For Peace/Flickr/CC)

Political disputes and security challenges have hindered the stability required for the development of Iraq, according to the Iraqi Al Amal Association’s contribution to the Social Watch Report 2013. To get on the right track, says Al Amal, the Iraqi government must conduct the census that has been delayed since 2007, to collect reliable information for the design of comprehensive, effective and appropriately funded development plans.

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