INTRODUCTION
All ideas belong to their age. Historical developments lead to new concerns among intellectuals and planners. In the twenty first century, sociologists of population are exploring new issues. Days are over when sociologists of population were involved primarily in model building or estimation of birth and death rates from incomplete or unreliable data. Enough data of acceptable quality on various aspects of population are now available. There are new experiences in implementing programmes and there are new discourses on development and population. This has produced new research initiatives and new ideas. Some of them are discussed here. One major factor that has changed the discourse on population in this century is the framework of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Therefore this module begins with the discussion of MDGs. There is a close resemblance in the MDG framework and the National Population Policy 2000 and the discussion of MDSs shows how our population policy has been influenced by MDGs.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS)
MDGs are created by an international body of statesmen. In September 2000, 189 nations adopted Millennium Declaration. The declaration was signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit. The Millennium Development Goals are drawn from the actions and targets contained in that declaration (UNDP, 2009). This includes eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges. These eight goals are further divided into 21 quantifiable targets that are measured by 60 indicators. |
