A critical assessment of the failure to achieve the so-called Millennium Goals has come from the five major Austrian humanitarian organizations, Caritas, Care, SOS-Kinderdorf, “Licht für die Welt” and Red Cross, which held a joint press conference on the matter in Vienna on 3 July. “We are still very far from the objective of halving world poverty by 2015”: that is the overall judgement of the aid organizations. Though recognizing “positive trends in development in Asia and in Latin America”, the representatives of the organizations pointed out that “the sub-Saharan African states are for the most part excluded from this progress”. “Global expenditure on cooperation in development needs as a matter of urgency to be increased”, said Christoph Petrik-Schweifer of Austrian Caritas, who called “alarming” the 5% decrease throughout the world of allocations to development between 2005 and 2006. Petrik-Schweifer criticized the Austrian government that currently allocates only 0.21-0.26% of GDP to aid to development. Ulrike Schelander, head of “Care Österreich”, underlined the lack of attention to the protection of women in the Millennium Goals. “Poverty is synonymous with women”, she declared, pointing out that some 2/3 of those living in situations of “acute poverty” are women, and that the percentage of women who have tested positive for the HIV virus has increased from 35 to 50%. “The campaign to eradicate female poverty is only possible with better opportunities for education and with the political participation of women”, she added. Schelander also mentioned the problem of violence against women. The prevention and curbing of such violence “must be inserted among the Millennium Goals”. A negative assessment of the Goals was also presented by Denis Djulic, delegate for cooperation in development of SOS Kinderdorf. Djulic described the situation of Africa, which remains at the bottom of the league table in terms of reduction of child poverty. Compared with the figures for 1990, infant mortality has even increased in 16 countries, of which 14 are in Africa. In Rwanda and in Somalia, infant mortality is now worse than it was in 1970. Lastly, Rupert Roniger, director of “Licht für die Welt”, denounced “the failure to include the disabled” in development aid throughout the world.
