At the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, 189 leaders from around the world adopted the Millennium Declaration and pledged to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty”.
Following consultations between international agencies including the World Bank, the IMF and the UN Development Group, eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to be achieved by 2015, were drafted to provide a practical way to implement the Millennium Declaration. The eight goals, adopted by the UN General Assembly and published in 2001, outline a comprehensive and ambitious plan to deal with some of the world’s most pressing development issues.
They are:
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Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
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Achieve universal primary education
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Promote gender equality and empower women
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Reduce child mortality
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Improve maternal health
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Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
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Ensure environmental sustainability
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Create a global partnership for development
In 2005, concern that the goals were not being met led to the momentous MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY campaign, of which UNICEF UK was a part. The campaign mobilised millions of people across the world to highlight global issues such as funding for HIV and AIDS treatment, debt relief and traded justice.
The same year, world leaders at the G8 Summit and the UN review meeting made ambitious promises to meet the MDG targets, including a promise of universal access to HIV and AIDS treatments by 2010, an overseas development aid (ODA) increase of $50 billion, and a specific commitment to double aid to Africa.
