Millennium Development Goals
A Promise is Made
At midnight in 1999, humanity celebrated as never before. We were one global neighbourhood, delighting in our unity and in our differences; partying, joyful and full of hope - a spirit that continued for many with the television coverage of the Sydney Olympics. In so many ways the transition into a new millennium signified, at a popular level, transition into a new culture inspired by the vision of human unity and interdependence.
Millennium Summit
This visionary spirit was reflected in an extraordinary document. The Millennium Declaration was produced at the end of a special Summit of heads of state at the United Nations. A promise was made by the governments of the world to the peoples of the world. The Declaration was a negotiated, agreed statement of specific, targeted goals. All 191 members of the UN promised that by the year 2015 they would concentrate their efforts to fight together against poverty and hunger, gender inequality, environmental degradation, and HIV/AIDS while also improving access to education, health care, clean water and sanitation - all by 2015. Eight Millennium Development Goals were agreed, and Secretary-General Kofi Annan was instructed to make an annual report on progress towards meeting those goals.
What are the Goals?
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•To eradicate extreme poverty and halve the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.
•To provide universal primary education.
•To promote gender equality and empower women ensuring women's equal rights and opportunities, especially in primary and secondary schools.
•To reduce infant mortality by two-thirds.
•To reduce maternal mortality by three quarters.
•To halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
•To ensure environmental sustainability and reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.
•To develop a global partnership for development, including targets for developed countries to remove barriers to the import of goods from poorer countries and for Official Development Assistance from developed countries to increase to .7% of Gross National Income.
We are all Involved
The promise was made by governments but, at the same time it was recognized that these goals can only be achieved if all sectors of society from all parts of the world want them to be achieved. Governments respond to popular pressure - hence the call ‘keep the promise’. The Goals can only be achieved by a momentum of forces: government, not for profits, business, local government...
Millions of people in all parts of the world are now engaged as volunteers and as professionals in an unprecedented effort to achieve the Goals: civil servants; academics; community volunteers; economists; religious and voluntary agencies; businesses; foundations; special interest groups; corporations; politicians... A popular movement, www.one.org, led by Bono, Bob Geldoff and Nelson Mandela is mobilising large numbers of young people around the world, pressuring governments and reminding them to keep their promise and meet the goals.
Will the goals be met?
This is an open question. The data suggests that if we keep to the present pace of action most goals will not be met by 2015. BUT it is still feasible that most could be met. It's up to civil society to increase the pressure on governments and local governments to make this Marshall Plan of the new millennium high on their agenda.
