Measuring progress of the millennium development goals: A fuzzy comprehensive evaluation approach

The United Nations' target date to achieve its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to free people from extreme poverty and multiple deprivations is 2015. As the date approaches, several attempts have been made to evaluate the performance of the set goals, targets, and indicators. Although the methodology used to measure the performance of member countries has been questioned by many, the fiercest criticism so far has been the apparent lack of data with which to measure progress. The subjectivity of the MDGs further increases the complexity of the evaluation systems, but an effective measurability of each MDG is key to the overall success. This study applies a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method (FCEM) in evaluating the performance of individual member countries with regard to the MDGs. The result shows how, in the absence of data, the FCEM can be used to evaluate performance of member countries involved in the MDG project.