Millennium Development Goals

The United Nations Millennium Declaration was adopted in September 2000 by world leaders at the United Nations headquarters in New York. One hundred eighty-nine states committed themselves to a series of targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the majority of which are to be achieved by 2015. The overall aims of the MDGs are to support the reduction of poverty and to improve quality of life. There are eight key, interconnected goals, with a number of associated targets:

• 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.
  A global partnership for development

[Page 276]The first goal, the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, ...