Building upon the lessons.

• Position: Millennium Development Goals

BUILDING UPON THE LESSONS of four decades of United Nations efforts, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) outline a universal framework for development: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger (Goal 1), achieve universal primary education (Goal 2), promote gender equality and empower women (Goal 3), reduce child mortality (Goal 4), improve maternal health (Goal 5), combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (Goal 6), ensure environmental sustainability (Goal 7) and develop a global partnership for development (Goal 8). While these Goals are distinct, they are not to be understood as separate from one another--progress in one area is only possible if the others are also tackled at the same time. Moreover, the MDGs, drawn from the Millennium Declaration adopted by all UN Member States in 2000, are not merely lofty statements of intent but a set of 18 concrete targets--and precise monitoring mechanisms to track and review progress towards the achievement of these Goals.

We have crossed the midpoint between the adoption of the MDGs and the 2015 target date--and the data available indicate results have been uneven. "There is a clear need for political leaders to take urgent action", Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states in his foreword to The Millennium Development Report 2007, the latest update on global progress towards the MDGs, "or many millions of people will not realize the basic promises of the MDGs in their lives".

While we have seen some gains worldwide, the overall success is still far from assured, with each region telling a different story. Sub-Saharan Africa is not on track to achieve any of the MDGs. Even regions that have shown substantial progress, including parts of Asia, face challenges in areas such as health and environmental sustainability. Urbanization, deforestation and increasing water scarcity represent pervasive obstacles worldwide, with climate change increasing the burden. Development and security are mutually dependent: insecurity due to armed conflict and instability in post-conflict countries make long-term development efforts extremely difficult; in turn, a...