The National Committee for UNIFEM in Australia

Promotes women's human rights, political participation and economic security

Millennium Development Goals (MDG's)

At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, 189 nations agreed on a vision for the future in the United Nations Millennium Declaration. The international community subsequently adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's), representing a common set of basic development goals in eight areas:

1. Eradicating extreme hunger and poverty

reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day
achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people
reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

2. Achieving universal primary education

ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling

3. Promoting gender equality and empower women

eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015

4. Reducing child mortality

reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five

5. Improving maternal health

reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio
achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health

6. Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it
halt and begin to reverse the incidences of malaria and other major diseases

7. Ensuring environmental sustainability

integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs
reverse loss of environmental resources; reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020

8. Developing a global partnership for development

develop further an open trading and financial system that is rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory, includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction— nationally and internationally
address the least developed countries' special needs, including tariff- and quota-free access for their exports; enhanced debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction
address the special needs of landlocked and small island developing States
deal comprehensively with developing countries' debt problems through national and international measures to make debt sustainable in the long term
in cooperation with the developing countries, develop decent and productive work for youth
in cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries, and
in cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies— especially information and communications technologies.

Much is happening around the world to fulfill the MDG’s, although much also remains to be done before the 2015 target date set by the Declaration is reached. The following are some examples of progress that has been achieved, as reported in the 2007 MDG Progress Report:

the proportion of people living in extreme poverty fell from nearly one-third to less than one-fifth between 1990 and 2004
enrolment in primary education grew from 80% in 1991 to 88% in 2005
child mortality has declined globally, and
women’s political participation has been growing, albeit slowly.

The advancement of women is critical in achieving these goals as all touch on essential aspects of women’s well being. UNIFEM, as well as being the only UN agency with the specific mandate to advocate for gender equality, is deeply involved with four critical entry points that help countries transform the promises of the goals into real progress:

Monitoring progress: UNIFEM helps women evaluate whether or not their countries are on track to meet the MDG’s, including through the use of sex-disaggregated data and indicators that fully account for gender gaps, and the budgets allocated to address those gaps.

Analysis: The UN Millennium Project has brought together 300 of the world’s top development scholars and practitioners. UNIFEM’s background papers, proven strategies and network of gender experts have made essential contributions to the project’s visionary proposals for how to achieve and pay for the MDG’s.

Advocacy: Longstanding partnerships with women’s organizations have ideally positioned UNIFEM to spread awareness, spark debate and encourage participation in MDG activities. These include the national and international advocacy efforts led by the UN Millennium Campaign, which rouses popular support for the MDG’s around the world.

Operational programs: All four branches of UNIFEM’s operational programs contribute to the MDG’s: reducing feminized poverty, ending violence against women, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and achieving gender equality in democratic governance. UNIFEM pilots innovative strategies and strengthens the capacity of other UN programs to support women’s advancement.