Millenium Development Goals A glance at the MDGs in the
Dominican Republic. The country is a signatory of the
“Millennium Summit Declaration” that took place in the year 2000
and during which the challenge of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) for the year 2015 was taken on. The first challenge
listed in the MDGs, to “Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger”,
requires decisive political will for its fulfilment, because to
achieve it it is essential to promote greater and better
redistribution of the wealth generated by the economic growth
the country has enjoyed over the last decade. About 42.2% of the
Dominican population lives in poverty, while 8% lives in extreme
poverty. During the previous decade, the former figure was at
63.4% and the latter stood at 12.8% (1) We have to admit that
there has been progress, but a significant increase in social
investment is still needed. The Dominican Republic is ranked
third lowest in Latin America in terms of social spending. (See
graph). This means that we are among