than in the eastern provinces: there were 12.5% underweight
children in the former compared to 5.8% in the latter.Figure 2. Prevalence of child malnutrition by residence, NigeriaSource: Omilola (2010).
Social exclusion, MDG progress and effective policies
Social exclusion matters because it undermines progress on the
MDGs and betrays the promise of social justice contained in the
Millennium Declaration. It slows down the rate at which a given
level of economic growth translates into poverty reduction.
Indeed, by disadvantaging certain groups from childhood, it
contributes to the inter-generational cycle of poverty. It has tragic
personal consequences: it undermines people’s sense of self worth
and agency. It is associated with despair, depression, substance
abuse and criminal activity. And it can have profound consequences
for the fabric of society: the grievances associated with social
exclusion lie behind many examples of civil conflict in the world
today.
In answer to the question posed by our report, the MDGs can
provide a pathway to social justice but only if attention is paid to the
social, cultural and political dimension of policies as much as to
their technical and economic dimensions. We have to go beyond
business as usual approaches, we have to make the additional effort.
Here we can learn from the countries that have made progress on