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8 Millenium Development Goals

The world has set itself the enormous challenge of halving poverty by 2015.  Fair trade, our purchasing power, can help get us there.

A bold and historic commitment.  At the United Nations Millennuim Summit in September 2000, leaders of 189 countries unanimously agreed on goals that were bold, historic and visionary.  Goals that were a fitting way to mark the start of a new millennium.

Leaders committed to eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), designed to rescue people from poverty and bring hope of a better life for all.  Comprising 18 targets and 48 indicators,  the goals provide a clear, unambiguous plan to reduce poverty, hunger and disease.

 

Goal 1 is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. “Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day. Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.”·

 

Goal 2 is to achieve universal primary education. “Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling.”

 

Goal 3 is to promote gender equality and empower women. “Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.

 

Goal 4 is to reduce child mortality. “Reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate among children under five.”

 

Goal 5 is about improving maternal health. “Reduce by three-quarters the maternal mortality rate.”

 

Goal 6 concerns the need to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. “Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.”

 

Goal 7 aims to reverse the “loss of environmental resources. Reduced by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. Achieve significant improvement in lives of atg least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020.”

 

And finally, Goal 8 is to “develop a global partnership for development.