Master Plans for Development

The MDGs at Ten: Mobilizing for the Final Five Years

A decade ago, at the Millennium Summit in September 2000, the world joined together in a 15- year effort to combat poverty, hunger and disease.

The Millennium Development Goals, which emerged from the Summit, incorporate key goals and targets of the broader development agenda, agreed on at earlier UN Summits and Conferences. The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Fourth World Conference for Women, in particular, provided a broad conceptual underpinning for the MDGs.

All three of these development frameworks are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. The goals UNFPA works on most directly are MDG 3 (gender equality and women’s empowerment), MDG 4 (child health), MDG 5 (maternal health and universal access to reproductive health) and MDG 6 (HIV and other diseases). However, the Fund’s work in the these areas is essential to achievement of all eight development goals, and the ICPD Programme of Action serves as a kind of blueprint for achieving them.

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals will require greater attention to population, reproductive health and the empowerment of women and young people.

 Preparing for the final push

Much has been accomplished in this decade, and the MDGs have been a real spur to progress in many countries. However, progress is uneven and action needs to be accelerated if the goals are to be met.

Throughout 2010, UNFPA will join with other agencies to review progress, identify gaps, and commit to a concrete action agenda to achieve the MDGs and internationally agreed development goals. These activities (see list below) will culminate in a September MDG 10-Year Review Summit, a High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly, which will bring together heads of state and government, joined by leaders from citizen activist groups, foundations and the private sector.

The aim of the 2010 Summit process is to mobilize urgent global action on development, specifically to:

• Accelerate urgent actions towards the MDGs
• Highlight the interconnections between achieving the MDGs and broader development issues
• Give special attention to improving the lives of those in countries with special needs, including conflict and post-conflict zones
• Stimulate investment in development, especially in areas that directly address the MDG implementation gaps and current challenges.

The review process is already well underway. Last year, in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of ICPD UNFPA and its partners conducted a thorough review of progress and gaps in implementing the Programme of Action, and a similar analysis for Beijing at 15 is taking place throughout 2010. Conclusions and recommendations from these two processes will inform the MDG review.