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From?Vol. XLIV, No. 4, "The MDGs: Are We on Track?", 2007

The Millennium Development Goals are the international community's most broadly shared, comprehensive and focused framework for reducing poverty. Drawn from the Millennium Declaration, adopted and agreed to by all Governments in 2000, the MDGs represent the commitments of 51³Ô¹Ï Member States to reduce extreme poverty and its many manifestations: hunger, disease, gender inequality, lack of education and access to basic infrastructure, and environmental degradation.

The MDGs set quantitative objectives to be achieved by 2015. They also drive international development policy by spelling out the responsibilities of rich countries to support poor countries through aid, debt relief and improved market access. The Goals confirmed the importance of the 51³Ô¹Ï, with its unique legitimacy and convening power, as the multilateral body best placed to build global coalitions and political action to address global problems. At the Millennium Summit in 2000, the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey in 2002, the UN World Summit in 2005 and other international events, world leaders pledged to establish national policies and strategies needed, and to provide the resources necessary to achieve the Goals. The MDG agenda has become a uniting and organizing principle for the work of the entire international system in the area of development -- a testament to the universal buy-in into the Goals. The MDGs also provide a rationale for the 51³Ô¹Ï family to work together more coherently and effectively, so as to give countries the support they need to achieve the Goals.

The stakes are high. If the MDGs are implemented in time in all parts of the globe, 500 million fewer people will be living in extreme poverty and some 300 million fewer will go hungry, while 30 million fewer children will die before their fifth birthday. In addition, about 350 million more people will have access to safe drinking water and a further 650 million more to sanitation. Real economic and social opportunities will open up on an unprecedented scale.

There is good news, including in sub-Saharan Africa, where the biggest challenges remain. Countries are demonstrating that rapid and large-scale progress is possible when Government leadership, policies and strategies for scaling up public investments are combined with financial and technical support from the international community. Malawi has raised agricultural productivity; primary school enrolment has gone up in Ghana, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda; Zambia has improved access to basic rural health services; Niger has made strides in large-scale reforestation; Senegal is on track to meet the MDG target on water and sanitation; and malaria incidence has fallen in Niger, Togo and Zambia.

Yet, at the midpoint between the adoption of the Millennium Declaration and the 2015 deadline for reaching the MDGs, large parts of the world remain off track. Even regions that have made substantial progress, including in Asia, face challenges in areas such as health and environmental sustainability. The number of extreme poor in Asia continues to rise, albeit at a decelerating rate compared to the 1990s. And in sub-Saharan Africa, not a single country is on track to achieve the MDGs by 2015. That is why Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and I have made it a priority to scale up efforts to reach the MDGs around the world, particularly in Africa.

A central element of this effort is the MDG Africa Steering Group, which the Secretary-General launched in September 2007, together with the leaders of the UN system and other major multilateral and intergovernmental organizations working for development in Africa, namely the African Development Bank, the African Union Commission, the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World Bank.
The Steering Group has resolved to work on three main fronts:

• Reviewing and strengthening international mechanisms to support African countries in five key areas: health, education, agriculture, infrastructure and statistical systems.
• Making aid more predictable, so that African Governments can plan for greater investments in the MDGs.
• Collaborating more closely and effectively at the country level to support African Governments in reaching the MDGs.

The Steering Group is supported by the MDG Africa Working Group, which I chair, composed of representatives of the 51³Ô¹Ï system and other major multilateral organizations. Our task is to reach out to African Governments, prepare action plans for achieving the objectives of the Steering Group, mobilize and coordinate the efforts of the institutions represented, and prepare periodic progress reports.

Rapid progress is possible, if we use all the tools, resources and commitments available to support countries in reaching the Millennium Development Goals. In the critical years leading up to 2015, the Secretary-General and I will have no higher priority.