Millennium development goals

In the year 2000, almost all the countries in the world signed up to a set of eight international poverty reduction targets – the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

These targets commit the international community to eradicating extreme poverty by the year 2015.

The eight goals are:

eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
achieve universal primary education
promote gender equality and empower women
reduce child mortality
improve maternal health
combat HIV & AIDS, malaria and other diseases
ensure environmental sustainability
develop a global partnership for development

Each MDG includes specific targets, most of which must be met by the year 2015. For example, under Goal 1 – eradicating extreme poverty and hunger – the international community has committed itself to halving the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and those who suffer from hunger.

ActionAid believes that, if the goals are to be met, a number of changes will need to be made to the way the international system operates:

More and better aid: aid will need to at least double to $100bn per year, and will have to be made to work more effectively for people in poverty
Debt cancellation: most poor countries do not have enough money both to meet the MDGs and to pay debt service. For most low-income countries, total debt cancellation will be needed if the MDGs are to be met.

photo : ©Charles Eckert/ActionAid. Photo right: Frederic Courbet/Panos Picures/ActionAid.