Boat in the Strait of Sicily, 40 miles from the Libyan coast. Photo Š Franco Pagetti/VII
recovery. And overlaying all aspects of social exclusion, poverty and low educational achievement create profound vulnerability. It is mainly the fragile, conflict, or disasteraffected countries that fell short in their pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals. And, it is among fragile States where the majority of maternal deaths in the world occur, as emergent life-saving care or access to it is lacking. The refugee and migrant crises of 2015 and the Ebola epidemic are reminders of how crises and emergencies take, disrupt and undermine lives, jeopardize prospects for countries’ development and can have an impact on the entire international community. Abandoning the countries and communities wracked by conflicts and disasters is not an option. While the number of disasters and conflicts has not risen in recent years, the scale, complexity and impact have, particularly in the poorest countries,
and women and girls have been disproportionately affected because they are disproportionately disadvantaged in terms of their access to services, including sexual and reproductive health and family planning, and their access to economic and social resources and institutions they need to build their social capital and better equip them to withstand and recover from crises. Fragility and vulnerability to conflict or the effects of disaster are exacerbated by many forces, including poverty, unequal development, denial of human rights and weak institutions. Fragility is a multi-dimensional challenge, requiring a multi-dimensional response. One way or another, we are, finally, one world, and our progress in moving forward will be forever hobbled until instability, conflict, and disaster are better mitigated or prevented and managed.
THE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 2015
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