Millenium Development Goals

During the Millennium Summit held in New York in September 2000, all 189 UN Member States adopted the Millennium Declaration, which contained a group of goals and targets that have since become known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals, working together, aim to halve poverty by 2015.   The Goals include measurable, time-bound targets addressing poverty and hunger, education, maternal and child health, the prevalence of diseases including HIV/AIDs, gender equality, the environment, debt, trade justice and aid.

The Millennium Declaration

The MDGs are derived from the broader "Millennium Declaration" that was signed in 2000 by all UN member states. Please take a moment to scan the Millennium Declaration. It reaffirms values including equality, mutual respect, and shared responsibility for the condition of all peoples. It relates the MDGs to an even a broader context, including peace and human rights.

The Goals

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

Goal 2: Ensure access to primary schooling for all children

Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the number of children 5 years old or younger who die from preventable illnesses

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the number of women who die giving birth

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources

Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people 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

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development (trade/aid/debt)

Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system

RESOURCE IDEAS FOR ADULT EDUCATION

Episcopal Resources (online and free)

MDG Prayers and Theological Reflections

A Theological Reflection On The Millennium Development Goals

A Bidding Prayer For An End To Global Poverty And Instability

Evening Prayer for Advent with Prayers for an End to Global Poverty

A Theological Reflection on the Millennium Development Goals for the Season of Advent

An Advent Bidding Prayer for an End to Global Poverty and Instability

National Council of Churches Resources

Eradicating Global Poverty: A Christian Study Guide to the Millennium Development Goals (Cost: $8.00 per book plus shipping)