United Nations Millennium Development Goals

In 2000, almost 200 countries agreed to end extreme poverty and hunger by the year 2015. The action plan that came out of this UN gathering was the MDGs. Eight goals that would cut poverty in half. Canada needs to be a world leader on poverty.

The MDGs are an eight-point road map with measurable targets and clear deadlines for eradicating extreme poverty and improving the lives of the world’s poorest people. It is an agreement made by both developed and developing countries; a promise world leaders made to each other and to the
world’s citizens.

As the United Nations Secretary-General stated in 2008:

We are the first generation to possess the resources, knowledge and skills to eliminate poverty. Experience shows that where there is strong political resolve, we see progress. And where there is partnership, there are gains.

Poor people around the world look to their Governments and to the United Nations for help and solidarity. We are accountable to them.

So let us live up to our responsibility.

Read more about the Millennium Development Goals:

	1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
	2. Achieve universal primary education Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
	3. Promote gender equality and empower women Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.
	4. Reduce child mortality Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.
	5. Improve maternal health Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio and to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015
	6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Have halved by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. Have halved by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.
	7. Ensure environmental sustainability Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources. Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Have achieved by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers
	8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system (includes a commitment to good governance, development, and poverty reduction – both nationally and internationally). Address the special needs of the Least Developed Countries (includes tariff and quota free access for Least Developed Countries' exports, enhanced program of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries [HIPC] and cancellation of official bilateral debt, and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction).