ONE of the reasons successive governments didn’t feel the pressure to meet MDG targets was the absence of active citizenry which allowed the officialdom to go scot-free all these 15 long years.

The country was governed both by democratic and military dispensations during the period, but the result was pretty much the same as the term ‘MDG’ failed to ignite the fancy of the masses; the youth, which constitutes around 55 per cent of population, being no exception on this count.

A random sample survey conducted by Dawn comprising 100 young adults — 18 to 25 years of age — pursuing a Business degree at leading universities in Karachi, threw up the shocking conclusion that only six per cent were aware of the term. And even they simply claimed to have “heard the terminology somewhere”. Asked to recall the goals, they were clueless.

As such, the next question about the list of targets and indicators that were to be measured remained completely unanswered.

It suited the governments to keep the masses ignorant, but those studying at premier institutions of higher learning can’t be absolved of their responsibility to behave like aware citizens.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2015

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