In 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit, Canada joined 189 world governments in the commitment to achieve the MDGs, a set of 8 goals aimed at improving the lives of the world’s poorest by 2015. 

The Target

• 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.

The Facts

Billions of people live in poverty all over the world. Poverty has many dimensions. 1.2 billion people live on less than a $1 a day. Millions do not have access to land and housing. Millions more do not have access to basic services like water and sanitation.

800 million people are undernourished and 153 million children are underweight. The challenges include distributing food more equitably and increasing productivity.

The Opportunity

Canada has the means to move forward and reach the targets to eradicate poverty and hunger by 2015. The current crisis must not be used as an excuse to limit aid. It must be remembered that people living in developing countries are being hurt by the economic crisis the most, particularly due to rising costs of fuel and food.

Aid works. When focused on poverty reduction, when delivered effectively and in sufficient amounts, aid raises people out of poverty and saves lives. 

Our Focus

The Canadian government should be open and transparent in reporting on how it has met its commitment to date. It needs to demonstrate leadership by providing a clear report on its delivery of aid to date, and ensure that aid is sufficient and implemented effectively  through 2015.