2010 is Millennium Development Goals YearBy Indra Kumari Nadchatram NEW YORK/KUALA LUMPUR, 22 December 2009 - The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has announced that 2010 will be the year of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to assess progress in realising its 21 targets by the agreed deadline of 2015. Established by the UN General Assembly at the turn of the Century, the MDGs aim to reduce poverty, improve health, promote peace, human rights, gender equality, and environmental sustainability. Countries will use their respective 1990 indicators as a benchmark to assess progress. If the MDGs are achieved, more than 1.4 billion people will be lifted from extreme poverty, while thirty million children will live to celebrate their fifth birthday. Nine years later, only mixed progress has been achieved with some countries like Malaysia realising results for several targets within the first five years. The UN however is concerned that the current economic crisis could delay reaching the targets or altogether negate achieved successes. “We have been moving too slowly to meet our goals,” said Secretary General Ban in July when expressing concern that the crisis could force many people into poverty and hunger as unemployment rises. According to him, the next half decade must be the time to deliver on long-standing development promises to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Secretary General Ban called on government leaders to attend the Millennium Development Goals Summit in 2010 and "engage fully in ensuring a successful, practical, action-oriented outcome that delivers results for the billions of people struggling to meet their basic needs and to live in dignity and peace." ..............................................................................................
Year of Millennium Development Goals  Millennium Development Goals  Newsline: MDGs
22 September 2010:
Reaching the most vulnerable children 21 September 2010: MDGs, five years to go 7 September 2010: The MDGs with equity 16 March 2010: MDG Progress Report released for UN Summit .............................................. UN Summit Newsline |
