NDRD

Gulf Cooperation Council
Network for Drylands Research & Development

شبكة دول
مجلس التعاون الخليجي لدراسات

الأراضي القاحلة و التطوير

Human Insecurity

This important topic takes a little time and will also be available in December 2008

Irresponsible Leadership
Worst Case Scenario - Nigeria
Irresponsible and inappropriate government policy undermines here human security by reducing access to, and the quality of, the already scarce natural resources that are important to sustain existence. This situation reflects in the view of the data from the "Norwegian Refugee Council" on Nigeria in the scope of the Global IDP Project. Since the so called "democracy" was established in 1999, more than 10,000 people have been killed and some 800,000 internally displaced by outbreaks of communal violence across the country.

While conflicts are created and strengthened by politicians both at a local and national level who seek to gain advantage from social division, once triggered the violence seems to have its own momentum. Consistent with a BBC report in May 2004, the failure of the government to provide adequate education for a vast majority of the population has left behind a frustrated and angry underclass of largely urban, unemployed youths. It is among this disempowered segment of society that ambitious politicians and religious leaders look for support or new recruits.

Millennium Development Goals

At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders agreed on a set of goals to guide and coordinate international development efforts. The Millennium Development Goals are to:

• eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• achieve universal primary education
• promote gender equality and empower women
• reduce child mortality
• improve maternal health
• combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
• ensure environmental sustainability
• develop a global partnership for development

These goals are linked to measurable targets, such as cutting in half the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day, halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water, and reducing by two thirds the mortality rate of children under five—all by 2015.

See the official UN MDG Website for further information:
and the
The Millennium Development Goals Report 2005