The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest. Members of Susila Dharma work towards achieving the first seven goals.
- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day. Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
- Achieve universal primary education: Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
- Promote gender equality and empower women: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.
- Reduce child mortality: Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.
- Improve maternal health: Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio, and achieve universal access to reproductive health.
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.
- Ensure environmental sustainability: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources. Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss. Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.
- Develop a global partnership for development: Address the special needs of least-developed countries, landlocked countries and small island developing states. Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system. Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt. In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries. In cooperation with the private sector, make available benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications.
The UN publishes progress reports on the achievement of these goals on www.un.org/millennium goals