[B] Discussion Topic 2: Millennium development goals
The United Nations has set forth Millennium development goals.
Source: Millennium development goals: United Nation
Select one of these goals and describe its importance to public health. Then, based on your
selected goal, analyze the information presented in the UN’s 2012 Millennium development
goal report:
Source: 2012 Millennium development goal report: United Nation.
Describe the policy shifts. Conclude your post with a projection of policy change in order to
reach this goal. In your reply posts, collaborate with your classmates on how policy could
change to reach these goals.
Your completed responses should follow the conventions of Standard American English
(correct grammar, punctuation, etc.). Your writing should be well ordered, logical, and
unified, as well as original and insightful. Your work should display superior content,
organization, style, and mechanics. When citing sources, please be sure to use APA style
guidelines
Your initial response to each topic should be at least 200 words in length
Millennium development goals
One of the Millennium Development Goal is improving access to sanitation and water,
which is essential in mitigating disease and poverty. In addition, other goals can be achieved
quicker if this goal is fulfilled. As a result of inadequate water and sanitation, children have high
diarrheal rates. The significance of public health is noted in this case in regards to high mortality
rates and in the interaction between recurrent diarrhea, impaired child development, and
malnutrition. As opposed to breastfed children, infants who are bottle-fed are greatly exposed to
the impacts of un-safe drinking water. Interventions in hygiene, sanitation, and water supply
reduce child mortality by sixty five percent and diarrheal incidence by twenty five percent
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS 2
(United Nations, 2012). The underground water might have dangerous chemicals including
arsenic and fluoride. The consumption of these chemicals leads to critical health effects.
Policy shifts and policy change projection
According to the report, the percentage of population that has no sustainable access to
basic sanitation and safe drinking was would be halved by the year 2015. It is noted that more
than forty percent of the people without access to improved drinking water are basically from
sub-Saharan Africa. Measuring water quality is not yet possible globally (United Nations, 2012).
Hence, the dimensions of reliability, safety, and sustainability are not part of the proxy indicator
used for tracking progress towards MDG target (United Nations, 2012). Therefore, there is a
high likelihood that the proportion of people utilizing improved water sources is basically an
misjudge of the real numbers utilizing safe water supplies. There is a need for continued efforts
so as to promote universal monitoring of the sustainability, reliability, and safety of drinking
water, in addition to moving past the MDG target to global coverage.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS 3
Reference
United Nations. (2012). The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012.