The Millennium Development Goals (MDG)

The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015 represent a culmination of unprecedented efforts, commitments and targets galvanized through an abundance of global discussions during the 1990s. They were drawn up from the United Nations Millennium Declaration and adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 Heads of State and government in September 2000.

The MDGs represent an ambitious promise from world leaders to respond to the world’s main development challenges. These range from the promotion of poverty reduction, education, maternal health, gender equality, and as well as the combating of child mortality, AIDS and other diseases, and environmental degradation. As the Millenium Declaration states, such efforts aim “to create an environment-at the national and global levels alike-which is conducive to development and the elimination of poverty.”

The MDGs are unique and powerful objectives as they are:

1. People-centred, time-bound and measurable
2. Based on a global partnership between developing countries pledging on improved policies and better governance and developed countries supporting such efforts
3. Receiving unprecedented support from the highest political levels from entire governments as well as major international financial institutions
4. Achievable

Alongside the eight goals, the UN has drawn up a set of 18 tangible targets to allow the international community to track progress. Together with the 48 selected indicators, progress achieved towards implementing the Declaration at both global and regional levels is reported each year.

Within the UK, the Department of International Development (DFID) has made achieving the MDGs the main focus of its work. Achieving the MDGs also involves a range of other government departments such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, HM Treasury, the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Trade and the Department of Health.