Resource information
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
are a challenge the global community has set for itself.
They are a challenge to poor countries to demonstrate good
governance and a commitment to poverty reduction. And they
are a challenge to wealthy countries to make good on their
promise to support economic and social development. The MDGs
have captured the world's attention, in part because
they can be measured, as this little book demonstrates. More
important, the goals address our most human concerns for the
welfare of everyone with whom we share this planet. The
authors are now one third of the way to the target date of
2015, and there are 100 million fewer people living in
extreme poverty than in 1990. By 2015, 500 million more will
have achieved at least a minimally acceptable standard of
living- the greatest decrease in poverty since the beginning
of the industrial revolution. But progress has been uneven,
and many of the poorest countries, especially in Africa, lag
behind. Extreme poverty means having less than $1 to meet
your daily needs. But poverty is not measured in money
alone. Poor people lack education, they lack health care,
and they often live on wasted lands or in city slums.
Solving these problems will require a substantial investment
in people as well as in physical assets. Wealthy countries
can help, not only through their aid programs- which are
important but also by opening their markets and by sharing
knowledge. Most important of all, developing countries must
unleash the potential of their citizens, empowering them to
create a place for themselves and their children in the world.
