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The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) commit the international community to an expanded vision of poverty reduction and pro-poor growth, one that vigorously places human development at the centre of social and economic progress in all countries. The MDGs also recognise the importance of creating a global partnership for change, as high-income nations must reform their domestic and international policies related to agriculture, trade, and sustainable development; enhance the effectiveness of their aid programmes; and help poor countries to reduce their debt burdens. For their part, low-income nations must address fundamental issues related to governance, rights and social justice. In all cases, countries must set their own strategies and policies, together with their global partners, to ensure that poor people receive their fair share of the benefits of development.

What are the MDGs? - The Global Challenge: Goals and targets

The Millennium Development Goals are an ambitious agenda for reducing poverty and improving lives that world leaders agreed on at the Millennium Summit in September 2000. For each goal one or more targets have been set, most for 2015, using 1990 as a benchmark.

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Target for 2015: Halve the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and those who suffer from hunger.

2. Achieve universal primary education
Target for 2015: Ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school.

3. Promote gender equality and empower women
Targets for 2005 and 2015: Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.

4. Reduce child mortality
Target for 2015: Reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate among children under five.

5. Improve maternal health
Target for 2015: Reduce by three-quarters the ratio of women dying in childbirth.

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Target for 2015: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.

7. Ensure environmental sustainability
Targets:

• Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources.
• By 2015, reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water.
• By 2020 achieve significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.

8. Develop a global partnership for development
Targets:

• Develop further an open trading and financial system that includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction – nationally and internationally.
• Address the least developed countries’ special needs, and the special needs of landlocked and small island developing States.
• Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt problems.
• Develop decent and productive work for youth.
• In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries.
• In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies – especially information and communications technologies.

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