Background
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.
2013: MDG Acceleration and Beyond 2015
On 25 September 2013, the President of the UN General Assembly hosted a special event to follow up on efforts made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At the Special Event towards achieving the MDGs, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented to Member States his report entitled “A Life of Dignity for All”. In the outcome document adopted by Member States, world leaders renewed their commitment to meet the MDG’s targets and agreed to hold a high-level Summit in September 2015 to adopt a new set of Goals building on the achievements of the MDGs.
On 23 September 2013, the Secretary-General hosted a high-level forum to catalyze and accelerate further action to achieve the MDGs and enrich the deliberations of the General Assembly and beyond. The forum focused on concrete examples of scaling up success and identifying further opportunities. Additional commitments to boost MDG achievement were announced, bringing the total to more than $2.5 billion.
Goal 1: 2013 Fact Sheet 
Goal 2: 2013 Fact Sheet
Goal 3: 2013 Fact Sheet
Goal 4: 2013 Fact Sheet
Goal 5: 2013 Fact Sheet
Goal 6: 2013 Fact Sheet
Goal 7: 2013 Fact Sheet
Goal 8: 2013 Fact Sheet
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were the eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. All 189 United Nations member states at that time, and at least 22 international organizations, committed to help achieve the following Millennium Development Goals by 2015:
- To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- To achieve universal primary education
- To promote gender equality and empower women
- To reduce child mortality
- To improve maternal health
- To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
- To ensure environmental sustainability[1]
- To develop a global partnership for development[2]
Each goal had specific targets, and dates for achieving those targets. To accelerate progress, the G8 finance ministers agreed in June 2005 to provide enough funds to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to cancel $40 to $55 billion in debt owed by members of the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) to allow them to redirect resources to programs for improving health and education and for alleviating poverty.
Critics of the MDGs complained of a lack of analysis and justification behind the chosen objectives, and the difficulty or lack of measurements for some goals and uneven progress, among others. Although developed countries' aid for achieving the MDGs rose during the challenge period, more than half went for debt relief and much of the remainder going towards natural disaster relief and military aid, rather than further development.
As of 2013, progress towards the goals was uneven. Some countries achieved many goals, while others were not on track to realize any. A UN conference in September 2010 reviewed progress to date and adopted a global plan to achieve the eight goals by their target date. New commitments targeted women's and children's health, and new initiatives in the worldwide battle against poverty, hunger and disease.
Among the non-governmental organizations assisting were the United Nations Millennium Campaign, the Millennium Promise Alliance, Inc., the Global Poverty Project, the Micah Challenge, The Youth in Action EU Programme, "Cartoons in Action" video project and the 8 Visions of Hope global art project.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) replaced the MDGs in 2016.
