Overview of the MDGs

At the dawn of the new millennium—in September, 2000—world leaders from all 189 United Nations member countries convened at the Millennium Summit to address the urgent and growing challenges of global poverty.  Their agreement, the Millennium Declaration, defined the major challenges facing humanity, while also outlining a framework for responding to these problems.  Their commitment was clear:

“We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected.  We are committed to making the right to development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want.” (Millennium Declaration, 2000)

From this pivotal meeting, eight goals were established to provide measurable and time-sensitive targets for tackling the challenges outlined in the Millennium Declaration.  These eight Millennium Development Goals are universally held by the United Nations and countless international organizations to reflect the most important steps needed to reduce poverty, inequality, and environmental exploitation.  The Goals consist of a series of targets aimed at the following elements, each to be achieved by 2015:

• Goal 1:  Eradicate income poverty and hunger
• Goal 2:  Achieve universal education
• Goal 3:  Promote gender equality and empower women
• Goal 4:  Reduce child mortality
• Goal 5:  Improve maternal health
• Goal 6:  Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
• Goal 7:  Ensure environmental sustainability, sanitation and clean water, and slum reduction
• Goal 8:  Develop global partnerships, trade, and communication for development

Since their creation, the Millennium Development Goals have guided international economic policy and aid.  However, many of the Goals remain unlikely to be achieved in many areas of the world by the target date of 2015.  Renewed commitment to the Millennium Development Goals is needed, not just from world leaders but from the public.