In September 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit, 189 member nations came together to make the elimination of poverty and the fulfillment of human rights their highest priorities. From this path-breaking agreement was born the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)—eight objectives to accelerate human development, achieve universal equality, and attain a more peaceful world by 2015.

While ambitious, the MDGs are achievable, but only through a concerted global effort including groups and individuals at all levels. The responsibility does not rest with the poor countries alone. Rich nations must also take ownership of the MDGs and support policies and initiatives that strive to meet them.

The world in 2015 will be one of our own making: a reflection of our shared success—or failure—to meet the Goals and ensure that all people have the means to fulfill their individual potential.

Courtesy: www.netaid.org

Today, an estimated 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day. The first Goal calls for halving this number, as well as the number of people who suffer from hunger, by 2015. In many developing countries, the poor live on the margins of society, benefiting little from progress. They lack education, health care, adequate shelter, personal safety, and regular income—all the things needed to improve their quality of life. More...

Education is a powerful instrument for reducing poverty and inequality, improving health and social well-being, and laying the groundwork for sustained economic growth. It is essential for building democratic societies and dynamic, globally competitive economies. Providing universal primary education, however, remains a great challenge: There are currently 115 million children—60 percent of them girls—not in primary school, the majority living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. More...

In both rich and poor countries, gender discrimination persists, and its consequences are difficult to ignore. Nowhere is this more apparent than in some developing countries, where traditional beliefs and practices put a high premium on boys’ education, while girls are excluded. Even when girls start school, they are more likely to drop out for these reasons. Without at least a complete primary education, women face limited employment options, discrimination, lower pay, and less control over their health and well-being. More...

Keeping children alive and healthy, and enabling them to learn and thrive through adolescence, is imperative for the future of every country. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), on average in developing countries, for every 1,000 children, 100 die before the age of five. Around the world, thousands of children die every year from preventable causes: illnesses caused by contaminated water, inadequate immunization, injuries from war and civil conflict, high levels of poverty and malnutrition, HIV/AIDS and the high incidence of malaria and tuberculosis. More...

In 2000, more than half a million women died in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths, many of them preventable, occur in developing countries. Infections, severe blood loss and unsafe abortions account for the majority of deaths. Goal 5 calls for reducing the rate of maternal mortality by 75 % by 2015. More...

The rampant spread of infectious diseases threatens to reverse development progress, reduce life expectancy and cut productivity. With an estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS and 20 million deaths since the disease was first identified, AIDS poses an unprecedented health, economic, and social challenge on a global scale. More...

Our natural environment is the unequivocal basis of human survival. It is the foundation for all economic and, more importantly, human development. However, poorly managed economic development that has resulted in widespread pollution, land erosion and deforestation endangers the future of our natural resources—and our very survival. Because the environment provides the raw materials vital to sustaining human development, we must ensure that, in turn, international development policies work to preserve our natural environment. More...

The last goal is in some ways the most significant: without key partnerships between rich and poor countries, the previous seven goals may not be achievable. Great opportunities for growth and development exist in today's fast-changing global economy, but many poor countries have been left behind, lacking access to new technologies as well as the resources to participate in the globalization process. More...