A turning point in the fight against disparities, poverty and insecurity
The United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000 marked a
turning point in the fight against development disparities, poverty and
insecurity. Basing itself on the outcome of numerous UN conferences
held throughout the 1990's it saw world leaders agree on eight goals
for: reducing poverty, malnutrition and major diseases, for ensuring
education health and equal participation and for protecting the
environment. They are called Millenium Development Goals, MDGs.
- Everyone has enough food to eat
- All children can attend and finish primary school
- Women enjoy the same opportunities and respect that men do
- More children under the age of five grow up healthy and strong
- Fewer and fewer mothers die during child birth
- The number of people contracting devastating diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is continually reduced
- We leave a strong and healthy environment for our children and reverse the damage done
- The global community unites and works together to make the world more equitable and fair
A Roadmap to development
At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, 189 Member States adopted the Millennium Declaration and pledged to reach the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
This represented an unprecedented consensus by world leaders on the major global challenges of the 21st century as well as a common commitmen to meet these challenges.
The Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
contained within it, set out a vision of inclusive development that
expands the choices of all people in segments of society, and
prioritizes the elimination of structural, institutionaland cultural
obstacles to participation in development.
It provides a road map and vision of a world free from poverty and hunger, with universal
education, better health, environmental sustainability, freedom, justice and equality for all.
MDG1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day
Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
MDG2: Achieve universal primary education
Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling
MDG3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015
MDG4: Reduce child mortality
Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the mortality rate among children under five
MDG5: Improve maternal health
Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
MDG6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015
Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases by 2015
MDG7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes;Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015
MDG8: Develop a global partnership for development
Develop further an open trading and financial system that is rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory. This includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction at national and international level.
Learn more on MDGs by clicking on the following links:
UN Millennium Development
Goals
Millennium
Promise
Millennium
Project
The Millennium
Campaign