UN Millennium Development Goals and Poland's Place

There are eight UN Millennium Development Goals which were set to establish a target goal for nations on the world’s most pressing issues. These targets are meant to be met by 2015.


 1.The first goal is to end poverty and world hunger. To meet the first target for this goal, the percentage of people living, between 1990 and 2015, on less than $1 USD day should decrease by 50% by 2015. In Poland in 2009, 0.1% of the population lived on less than $1 USD a day. However, it is reported that 2.6 million Polish resident, 6.7% of the population were living in extreme poverty in 2011. A 1% rise since 2010. The second target is to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all including women and young people. In order to investigate gender differences in work, the employment-to-population ratio by sex can be viewed to account for differences in gender equality. Poland’s employment-to-population ratio for males was 58.1 in 2010. For females, it was 43.4.The difference in ratio shows developments in gender equality but still uneven rates of employment. In looking at age, Poland had a youth unemployment rate was 22.4 for both sexes in 2012. This is calculated by the ratio of youth to adult unemployment rates. The third target for this goal states the proportion of people who suffer from hunger should be reduced by 50%. In 2007, Poland only had 5% of their population estimated as being undernourished. Reducing this number to 2.5% will be a target Poland will most likely be able to meet by 2015.

 2.The second UN Millennium Development Goal is to achieve universal primary education. This goals target is to ensure by 2015, that children of both sexes in all countries are able to complete a full course of primary schooling. Poland is coming close to reaching 100% for both genders attendance in full course primary schooling. In 2010, 96.1% of males and 95.9% of females attended a full course in primary schooling. Of the youth in Poland, 100% of children both female and male are literate. Increasing positive views on education and the opportunity for all to be schooled in Poland make it very possible to meet 100% in the next three years.

3. The third UN Millennium Development Goal is to promote gender inequality and empower women. The target is to demolish gender disparity in all levels of education. Enrollment in secondary schooling in Poland was 92% for males and 94% for females. Since gender inequality is more of a problem in Poland, than in other European nations, it is promising to see higher rates of female enrollment in secondary school. With growing education of woman, education of females will only continue to enhance as knowledge is shared about benefits of education.

 4. The forth UN Millennium Development Goal is to reduce child morality. The target for this goal is to reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate of children under five years old. In Poland, of children under-five years old, there were 6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010. For children 0-1 years old, there are 5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010. Available health care in Poland allows for prevention and treatment in many diseases which cause mortality of children in other areas of the world. In Poland, 98% of children were vaccinated for measles by age one in 2010. Similarly, 96% of children in were vaccinated for polio by age one in 2010. In 2010, there were also no deaths due to either of these diseases in children under 5 years old.

5. The fifth UN Millennium Development Goal is to improve maternal health which states that the Maternal Morality Ratio should be decreased by three quarters by 2015. In addition, it strives to achieve universal access to reproductive health. In Poland in 2010, there were 5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Maternal health is protected by Poland’s medical providers and access to health care. Of births in Poland, 99.9% of them were performed by skilled health professionals in 2005. Having a medical staff after birth ensures the safety of the mother and child. As a result, Poland’s maternal mortality will continue to stay low or even decrease.

            The sixth UN Millennium Development Goal is to combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other life-threatening diseases. The first target of this goal is to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. Poland has some of the lowest rates of HIV/AIDS in Europe, with only 0.1% of the population for males and less than 0.1% for females. The second target is to achieve by 2010 universal care of HIV/AIDS. Poland has universal health care for resident, including the treatment of HIV/AIDS. This goal also encompasses halting and reversing the spread of malaria and other diseases. TB has a prevalence rate of 29.0 per 100,000 population. The death rate from TB is only 2.0 per 100,000 population. Prevalent diseases in Poland range from the mumps and measles to rubella. Diseases such as malaria and yellow fever are not seen in Poland. Decreases the spread of disease and keeping HIV/AIDS low in Poland will continue with these rates to meet their 2015 projection goals.


7. The seventh UN Millennium Development Goal is to ensure environmental stability. The first goal is to integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources. Poland has a large number of natural resources which is not set to diminish in the next 50 years.  It also looks to reduce biodiversity loss and lower the percentage of population without safe drinking water and sanitation by 50%.  In urban areas, 96% of the population is using improved sanitation. In rural areas, 80% of the population is using improved sanitation. By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers. Poland has not offered much economic help from slum dwellers and has no population in an area designated slum.

8. The eighth and last UN Millennium Development Goal is to develop a global partnership for development. Nations should develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system. In doing this, the partnership would address the special needs of least developed countries. In joining the EU in 2004, Poland united with nations in order to meet goals of development. They would also address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing states. In addition, they would deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries and, in cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries. Poland is currently facing a medical issue of not having access to up-to-date drugs. As a result, they will need to increase their accessibility before helping other nations. In cooperation with the private sector, they would also make available benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications. Poland is not a lead in technological advances but is placing more emphasis on its development. They recently received money from China in order to start this development.