The Millennium Review Summit

On September 14th - 16th, Heads of State from around the world converged on New York for the Millennium Review Summit.

This was the first official chance the world had to check in with itself and find out how progress is going on achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Set in 2000, a list of eight targets (see article below) is supposed to be achieved by 2015. With five years gone, and only ten to go, are we on track and what needs to happen to make sure we get there? This is one of the big sets of questions the politicians will be looking at. Running alongside the MDG discussions, there is a reform process happening within the UN itself.

At the end of the Summit a declaration, agreed by all the Heads of State, will state what the community of nations believes is important, and what they think needs to change. A blueprint, in many ways, for what will happen at an international level in the coming few years.

It won't, in itself, do much on the foreign aid, trade and debt agenda, but it will enshrine certain principles and actions as agreed norms, and will be the standard bearer for international agreements on a range of important issues for years to come.

To find out more about the UN and the Millennium Development Goals go to www.undp.org/mdg/

[Source: MAKEpovertyHISTORY.org]