Understanding the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in Kazakhstan was a challenge because while I have gained a good understanding of the issues going on there and which goals need the most work by reading about the country on various websites, I am still separated by a degree which prevents me from understanding the implementation the goals with as much accuracy as I would prefer. According to the United Nations Development Programme in Kazakhstan, they have accomplished a large majority of the goals or are making sufficient efforts working towards achieving them. It appears that the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals have been effective in helping Kazakhstan to further develop as a nation.
I think the biggest issue that Kazakhstan currently faces is with the rural areas. There is a large disparity between the urban centres and the rural regions of Kazakhstan. Urban centres such as Almaty, are developed and modernised, while most rural regions do not even have access to clean drinking water. However, they have achieved the target for Goal 1, which addresses poverty, so further elaborating on this goal would benefit the country greatly. Perhaps what they need to address first is their healthcare system. Maternal mortality is still very high even though it has decreased substantially. A solid programme that addresses maternal and infant health that is enforced all across the country will help further reduce their mortality rates. They need to make clean drinking water all across Kazakhstan their top priority. Unsanitary drinking water is the cause of lots of health problems, so by having clean drinking water available, they will be reducing a good portion of their health problems they have to treat. Outside of the Millennium Development Goals, the country needs to work on their freedom ratings. The country is essentially run by an authoritarian dictatorship and any opposition is squashed. While it is understandable that they want to maintain power, opposition can be healthy as it can help promote more national growth. One thing that Kazakhstan has done an exceptional job on is their education. 99% of the population receive a primary school education and 100% of them make it through from Grade 1 to Grade 5. Kazakhstan has been doing an effective job at furthering their progress on this goal by looking at secondary level and even tertiary level. In 2012, Kazakhstan announced that they were going to modernise their education system to bring it out of its Soviet era days. Kazakhstan has been making substantial efforts to modernise their country and rid themselves of old Soviet era systems and relics. In 2012, they banned the use of old Soviet built aeroplanes, and while much of their technology are still remnants of their previous Soviet days, they are working to update that too. Overall, I believe that Kazakhstan has been doing a decent job of modernising and developing their country, helping it to prosper; however, there is still room for improvement, particularly in those rural areas.

















Heather Campbell

Globalization - Herman

Science Leadership Academy