Keeping the promise: united to achieve the Millennium Development Goals

The General Assembly,

Adopts the following outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting of
the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development
Goals:

The Millennium Declaration in 2000 was a milestone in international cooperation, inspiring development efforts that have improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world. Ten years later, world leaders will gather again at the United Nations in New York to review progress, assess obstacles and gaps, and agree on concrete strategies and actions to meet the eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

This is the latest in a series of reports for Asia and the Pacific on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Coming in the midst of the global financial and economic turmoil,it should offer a unique opportunity to redress the information balance – to register the impact on the poor and the implications for the achievement of the Goals. However, it is difficult to offer a fully up-to-date report since reality has been moving too fast for the MDG data to keep pace.

The Millennium Declaration set 2015 as the target date for achieving most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),which established quantitative benchmarks to halve extreme poverty in all its forms. As the date approaches, less than six years away, the world finds itself mired in an economic crisis that is unprecedented in its severity and global dimensions. Progress towards the goals is now threatened by sluggish — or even negative — economic growth, diminished resources, fewer trade opportunities for the developing countries, and possible reductions in aid flows from donor nations.

The Millennium Campaign’s annual report for the year 2008

Citizen Score Cards and Shadow Reports from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria

PRESIDENT KIBAKI OF KENYA AND PRESIDENT KAGAME RESPOND

QUESTION & ANSWER INITIATIVE:Questions were collected from the public asking their respective presidents in preparation for the High Level Event that will focus on the progress of MDGs. The features targeted 10 countries these include South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, Rwanda and DRC. This is the first of the responses from the Presidents others will be published as we receive them.

Between 6th – 8th December, 2007 the UN Millennium Campaign (UNMC) organized a retreat for its partners from the 13 priority countries in Africa to discuss the achievements and lessons learnt from campaigning in Africa. Key stakeholders who attended the meeting included civil society partners (including GCAP National Coalitions and the GCAP Global Secretariat), media partners and other CSOs not linked directly to GCAP. Two members of the funders group Oxfam GB and ActionAid International Africa Regional Office were invited to attend.