The UN member states established the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 with the objective of achieving fundamental improvement in eight target areas over 15 years.

Millennium Development Goals

MDG 1          eradicating extreme poverty and hunger

MDG 2          achieving universal primary education

MDG 3          promoting gender equality and empowering women

MDG 4          reducing child mortality

MDG 5          improving maternal health

MDG 6          combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

MDG 7          ensuring environmental sustainability

MDG 8          global partnership for development

There have been notable successes with the MDGs as this World Bank report notes, with the proportion of people living in extreme poverty falling by half, and an increase of 2 billion people with access to clean drinking water.

In the post-2015 period, however, we will need a new operational framework to build on these successes and to make further progress in the MDGs. UN member states are currently working together to establish the Sustainable Development Goals to meet future objectives.

According to the World Bank, development finance will be a key component to future successes, including cooperation between UN member states, better and more efficient aid and a mobilization of domestic resources and strong local institutions. Better tracking of progress will also be an important aspect of the post-2015 framework.

The 60 million girls Foundation has contributed to the 2nd MDG through various projects in some of the poorest areas of the world. This year, we are supporting a school project in the Khost region of Afghanistan and will continue funding for a secondary school in Kenya’s Masai Mara (please see our website for a complete list of projects at http://www.60milliongirls.org/).