News Archives » millennium development goals

MDG Target on Access to Safe Drinking Water Met! March 12th, 2012

“Today we recognize a great achievement for the people of the world. This is one of the first [Millennium Development Goals] MDG targets to be met. The successful efforts to provide greater access to drinking water are a testament to all who see the MDGs not as a dream, but as a vital tool for improving the lives of millions of the poorest people.”

- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement responding to a report released by the World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund.

The WHO/UNICEF report concluded that the world has met the MDG target of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water well before the 2015 deadline. However, while they praised this accomplishment, several media outlets and observers (including Stephanie Cappa on the InterAction blog), have pointed out that the related MDG target on sanitation is off-track and unlikely to be met by 2015.

Read the report: Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation 2012 update

Advance global health: achieve the Millennium Development Goals November 30th, 2010

The sixty-third annual Conference of the United Nations Department of Public Information for Non-Governmental Organizations (DP-INGO) adopted a Declaration on the global health and the MDGs. It was formally submitted to the General Assembly by the Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations.

Read the Declaration (Download PDF)

United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals September 20th, 2010

Global leaders have gathered for the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in New York which runs September 20-22. The world is watching to see if this summit will make serious progress towards achieving the eight MDG goals by 2015.

In September 2000, world leaders came together at United Nations Headquarters to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets with a deadline of 2015. The goals adopted became known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The eight MDGs are broken down into 21 quantifiable targets that are, in turn, measured by 60 indicators.

The eight MDGs  are:

1. Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty;

2. Achieve universal primary education;

3. Promote gender equality and empower women;

4. Reduce child mortality;

5. Improve maternal health;

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;

7. Ensure environmental sustainability;

8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development.

Civil society and faith based organizations are planning a variety of campaigns to raise awareness and promote action supportive of the MDGs.

A calendar of side events at the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals.

Watch Live the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals.

Learn more…

World Youth Conference in Mexico: August 23-28, 2010 August 23rd, 2010

The World Youth Conference opened today in Mexico City. It is an initiative of the Government of Mexico, in partnership with the United Nations system and civil society organizations designed to bring together government representatives and civil society organizations to identify priorities of action on youth to be addressed in the international development agenda beyond 2015. With five years to go before the deadline set by the international community to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Mexico, in partnership with the United Nations system, has invited all countries to participate in the World Youth Conference 2010.

For more information please visit: http://www.youth2010.org/

Millennium Development Goals: Report 2010 July 13th, 2010

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2010 is now available on the UN MDG website. The report, which presents the yearly assessment of global progress towards the MDGs, warns that while some progress has been made, it is uneven. And it pinpoints the areas where the accelerated efforts are needed to meet MDGs by 2015.

“…….The Millennium Declaration represents the most important promise ever made to the world’s most vulnerable people. The MDG framework for accountability derived from the Declaration has generated an unprecedented level of commitment and partnership in building decent, healthier lives for billions of people and in creating an environment that contributes to peace and security.”

“The Millennium Development Goals are still attainable. The critical question today is how to transform the pace of change from what we have seen over the last decade into dramatically faster progress. The experience of these last ten years offers ample evidence of what works and has provided tools that can help us achieve the MDGs by 2015. The Millennium Development Goals summit in September will be an opportunity for world leaders to translate this evidence into a concrete agenda for action….”

This report is based on a master set of data that has been compiled by an Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators led by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, in response to the wishes of the General Assembly for periodic assessment of progress towards the MDGs. The Group comprises representatives of the international organizations whose activities include the preparation of one or more of the series of statistical indicators that were identified as appropriate for monitoring progress towards the MDGs,

The Report is available in PDF form [80pp]. Download PDF

The report is available in PDF form in all UN languages, including: English,  French, and Spanish

Stand Up Against Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals September 22nd, 2008

Join this campaign in support of the Millennium Development Goals (October 17-19, 2008)

Stand in Solidarity

Mark the 2008 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Stand in solidarity with those who continue to face poverty with hope and support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Last year over 43 million people Stood Up to demand that world leaders keep their promise to end poverty and inequality. Join the global movement of people who refuse to stay seated in the face of increasing inequality and broken promises.

Click here to read more »

Return to Top