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| about the goals |
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Development is about freedom from misery and suffering, form hunger, from illiteracy, from disease, from poor housing and insecurity. Many inequalities in the world are in need of our recognition, time, and commitment to action. The Millennium Development Goals are a plan that, if implemented, could just be the greatest achievement of responsible development.
At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, 189 Heads of State and Governments pledged to work together to make a better world for all by 2015. On behalf of their people, they signed the Millennium Declaration which promises to free men, women and children from the dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty and make the right to development a reality for everyone. Eight Millennium Development Goals were adopted, committing rich and poor countries to work together in a global partnership to eradicate extreme poverty by 2015. Each Goal has been designed so that it is easy to understand, easy to implement and easy to measure.
Making the Connection
It is the primary responsibility of poor countries to achieve the first seven Goals. Goals 1 through 7 commit them to raise the poor out of poverty and hunger, ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school, promote gender equality, improve the health of mothers and children, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, and protect the environment. Developing countries must do more to integrate the Goals into their policies, plans and budgets and translate them into services and benefits for the poor. There is a need for more transparency and accountability so people can follow whether their governments are taking the right steps to move forward.But poor countries can not achieve the first seven Goals unless rich countries fulfill their responsibilities outlined in Goal 8. The developed countries need to give more aid and make sure that what they give is used more effectively. They also need to offer more sustainable debt relief and increase trade opportunities for poor countries by reducing tariffs and subsidies to agriculture which deny poor country farmers their best chance to earn a decent living. Achieving all the Goals should always be the focus because none can truly be realized without the others. |
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