What are the MDGs and why do they matter?

 

The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were agreed at the United Nations (UN) Millennium Summit in September 2000 and nearly 190 countries have signed up to them.

 

The eight MDGs are:

 

1.  Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

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

 

The intention is that almost all of these targets will be achieved by 2015.  While real progress has been made towards meeting some of the targets and positive changes have been seen, in too many cases progress is too slow.

• DfID Annual Report 2008 (Annex 3 and 4)

• UN's MDG monitor
  

The MDGs are not just targets set by governments. They are about the lives - and deaths - of ordinary people.

 

We have the skills and technology to make the necessary changes, and the wealth to honour our commitments (even in this time of financial crisis). There are no excuses. Also in the global world we live today, supporting achievement of the MDGs is not just the "right" thing to do, but it's in all our interests. No country is isolated. Problems in one part of the world directly affect us all.

Call to Action

In July 2007 Prime Minister Brown and the UK Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, supported by heads of state and prominent business leaders, launched the Millennium Development Goals Call to Action.

 

Speech by Gordon Brown at the United Nations, New York on 31 July 2007 [doc, opens in a new window]

The MDG Call to Action called for 2008 to be a year of action on the MDGs. Its aim was to galvanise not just governments but the private sector, NGOs, civil society, faith groups, cities and individuals to understand the need to meet the MDGs, rise to the challenge of doing so and build an international consensus about what needs to be done.

The Business Call to Action, focused on getting big business to support economic growth in the developing world by encouraging them to come together to develop new and innovative ways to spread growth, prosperity and opportunity. The UK held an event on 6 May 2008 for companies to discuss and unveil their ideas.

On 25 September Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held a high level event in New York bringing together all interested parties - leaders from 140 countries, professional groups, private businesses, faith groups and non-governmental organisations. At the closing plenary Ban Ki-moon announced over $16 billion of new commitments, including $4.5 billion for education and $3 billion for malaria.

This high level event does not represent the end of efforts to push forward fulfilment of the MDGs, nor the end of 2008, the end of the Call to Action. Actions by individual groups and the Business Call to Action continue and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an MDG Review Summit in 2010 to keep track of the progress.

Development policy

 

UK development policy is run by the Department for International Development (DfID), headed by a government Minister, Douglas Alexander. DfID manages British aid to poor countries and works to get rid of extreme poverty. For more detailed information about UK development policy, see the DfID website.

For UN development issues, see the UN Development Programme website.

Hungary

For more information on Hungary's development policies see: www.kulugyminiszterium.hu