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 Image courtesy of Andy Mettler/World Economic Forum
In 2000, all UN Member States declared that they would spare no effort to
achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals included
halving world poverty, putting all children into school and halving the number
of people without access to drinking water, all by 2015.
Since 2000, huge progress has been made in the global effort to tackle
poverty.
For example:
- Twenty-six million more children are now in school in Ethiopia and Bangladesh.
- Drinking water is available to 45 million more people in India and Pakistan.
- Free health care is being provided to 5 million more Zambians.
More detailed information is available on the
 MDG
Indicators website and The World Bank's
Online
Atlas of the Millennium Development Goals
But seven years later and halfway to 2015 we’re off track.
- Seventy-two million
children still don’t go to school.
- Almost 10 million children die each year
before their fifth birthday of disease.
- More than half a million women die each
year due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth.
- Every day over 6,800
people become infected with HIV and over 5,700 people die from AIDS.
The eighth Millennium pledge was that we would "develop a global partnership
for development". The MDG Call to Action was launched in July 2007 by Gordon
Brown
speaking alongside the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, with the support of 14 heads of state or
governments and 21 private sector leaders,
to encourage the international community to accelerate progress to reach the MDGs.
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Questions & Answers |
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Q: What is the Call to Action?
A: The Call to Action is an international effort to
accelerate progress on the MDGs and help make 2008 a turning
point in the fight against poverty. Q: Who is involved?
A: Not just governments - north and south - but
the private sector, NGOs, faith groups, professional bodies, cities
and civil society. Q. When and how? Call to Action
supporters will push for an action plan which helps to
accelerate progress on the MDGs at key moments in 2008,
particularly the EU and G8. A pivotal moment will be 25
September, when the UN hosts an MDG summit in New York. Q.
Why do we need the Call to Action? Because we're halfway
to 2015 and, at the current rate, we will fail to meet all of
the MDGs. Read more
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The MDG Call to Action seeks to:
- Mobilise not just governments but the private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society, faith
groups and cities to do more to deliver the Millennium
Development Goals.
- Obtain support for and commitment to a collaborative action
plan which scales up successes and addresses gaps in current efforts.
- Push forward the need for accelerated action at every
possible opportunity in 2008, including through the G8 and EU.
- Set milestones and steps towards the MDGs, so that progress can
be measured, lessons learned, and gaps identified.
2008: A critical year for progress
 Image courtesy of
Andy Johnstone/Panos Pictures
Today, more than 35 countries, representing over half the world’s population and
75% of the world’s economy, have already pledged to join the Call to
Action.
Representatives from business, faith groups, NGOs and professional groups are
also looking at what they can do to help meet the 2015 targets as part of the
Call to Action.
The UN Secretary-General has declared 2008 a critical year to make progress on
the MDGs.
The Call to Action seeks to support this effort through as many
existing multilateral processes as possible this year, including the European Union and the
G8. Pivotal to this will be a meeting convened by the UN Secretary-General and
the President of the General Assembly on 25 September, bringing together world
leaders, civil society and the private sector.
The current signatory countries are:
Europe: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, EC, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Hungary, Ireland,
Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Turkey, UK
America/Australasia: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, USA
Middle East/Africa: Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria (signed Davos statement),
Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Uganda
Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Nepal, South Korea, Vietnam |
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown
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"The goals the world has set are not being met and we face an
emergency - a development emergency - and we need emergency action if we
are to meet them." July 2007 |
UN Secretary-General
Ban ki-Moon
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"I speak to those who are most vulnerable to climate change and
those who suffer the most grinding poverty. Let 2008 be the year of the
bottom billion." January 2008 |
World Bank President Robert Zoellick
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"The World Bank welcomes Prime
Minister Brown's leadership and focus on the MDGs. I look forward to
attending a session hosted by the United Nations Secretary General this
September to concentrate on achieving the MDGs in Africa." July
2007
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Who is involved?
The Call to Action will engage a broad set of people and organisations – not just governments
in the developed and developing world.
- The private sector has the technology, skills and expertise for wealth and
job creation that, if fully mobilised, will help meet our goals. And it is in
its best business interest to help poor countries develop. We call on the
world’s entrepreneurs to put their talents towards creating businesses and jobs in the
new economies and encouraging a new generation of entrepreneurs for the future.
- Professionals in fields such as medicine and education have knowledge and
experience to help us cure diseases and inspire the young. We call on them to
help improve the provision of basic services and train a new generation of
doctors, nurses and teachers.
- Non-governmental organisations have challenged us all to make poverty history and held us to account
for our promises. We call on them to continue to challenge us by proposing new
directions - and inspiring new people and organisations - to ensure that everyone with a contribution
to make is involved, and that our development efforts are sustainable.
- Faith groups have the power to mobilise millions, across the world. We call
on them to ensure that everyone is included in our action, and to make sure that
we collectively meet the needs of those who are most in need, particularly women
and children.
- Cities are where most of us live. We need to harness the knowledge
and spending power of cities in the developed world to help those in the poorest
through their procurement and buying power.
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How will the Call to Action be taken forward in 2008?
 The Call to Action will be taken forward in a range of ways
in 2008, involving the
different stakeholders and primarily through key moments such as:
- A conference involving the private sector in May 2008:
The UK and UNDP co-hosted the Business Call to Action (BCTA) event,
bringing together business leaders from around the world to showcase
initiatives, challenge others to act and sign up to the BCTA.
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- European Union meetings throughout 2008:
The EU has indicated that 2008 is an important year for the MDGs. Fifteen
of the 27 EU countries have already signed the Call to Action. At
the June Council, EU heads of state also welcomed the Agenda for
Action on the MDGs. This sets out how they intend to keep their
commitments and deliver their 2005 aid pledges. The Agenda includes
key milestones on health, education and water, and the EU’s
contribution to these up to 2010.
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- The G8 summit in Japan in July 2008:
The MDGs were an overarching theme of the development strand of the
G8 summit in Japan. The G8 reaffirmed its promises on official
development assistance (ODA) and made commitments on climate change,
food security, malaria and health workforce coverage in Africa.
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- The United Nations meeting on the MDGs on 25 September:
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the President
of the General Assembly Srgjan Kerim have issued invitations to the
high-level event on the MDGS in New York that they will be hosting
on September 25th. This event will bring together governments, the
private sector and civil society.
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Today, we have the knowledge. We have the technology. And we have the wealth
to make a difference for millions of people on our planet by helping to lift
them from grinding poverty and giving them the opportunity to learn, be
healthy and make enough to support their families. Let’s now demonstrate that we
also have the will to take on those responsibilities and make that difference.
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Call to Action - News and events
Business Call to Action
 The Business
Call to Action (BCTA) event took place on 6 May 2008. It was attended by
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the President of Ghana, the President of Rwanda, 78
top CEOs, the President of the General Assembly (PGA), the head of UNDP, 29
Ambassadors of Call to Action (CtA) signatory countries, 24 leading figures from
NGOs and business organisations, and Ministers from DFID, FCO and BERR.
The event was co-hosted by UNDP and the UK Government. By showcasing existing
success stories, it aimed to inspire companies to commit to concrete
transformative initiatives that use their core business. The new initiatives
that were showcased will enable poor people to access up-to-the-minute
information, money and business expertise as well as create new business and
employment opportunities. More about the Business Call to Action.
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EU agrees agenda for action on MDGs
European Heads of State backed an Agenda for Action on the Millennium
Development Goals at the June Council. In what has been described as an historic
move, EU Member States set out how they intend to keep their promises to the
world’s poorest people in the short-term by agreeing to the Agenda. In this year
of action on the Millennium Development Goals, this is the first collective step
towards accelerating progress on the MDGs.
The Agenda commits EU Member states to deliver their 2005 aid pledges. It sets
out key milestones to be achieved by 2010 - on education, increased EU
investment of 4.3 billion Euros to recruit 6 million of the 10 million more
teachers needed globally, and on health an extra 8 billion Eurso to provide 21
million trained birth attendants helping to prevent deaths in childbirth.
This is a strong call to action ahead of the G8 in July and the UN Secretary
General’s MDG Summit on 25 September. It follows an announcement on 13 June that
the European Union will carry out a major review of progress towards the MDGs.
The team will be led by renowned economist Francois Bourguignon.
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Faith groups calling for action
Different faith groups are stepping up their efforts to call on global
leaders to deliver the MDGs as part of the Call to Action campaign.
The Church of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury has announced he will host a
Walk of Witness during the Lambeth Conference. On July 24 Bishops and
Archbishops from around the globe will join different faith leaders to call for
an end to world poverty.
Senior Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus have been invited to join the more than 600
Bishops and Archbishops for the walk through Whitehall to Lambeth Palace where
they will hold a rally to call on global leaders to keep their promise to
deliver the MDGs by 2015 - to make it happen.
As part of the event, those present will pledge to work harder themselves to
deliver the MDGs.
Secretary of State Douglas Alexander said:
"For centuries faith groups have been working to eradicate poverty, often
providing health and education services to the poor. Through their network of
followers they have the power to mobilise millions across the world to make
poverty history.
"We are pushing to accelerate progress on the Millennium Development Goals and
truly form a global partnership for development. In this year of action on the
MDGs we must keep the promises we’ve made to the world’s poorest."
Recently, Catholic Bishops from G8 countries banded together to write to G8
Heads of State calling on them to step up efforts to tackle poverty and deliver
the MDGs.
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Related speeches
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Links
Last updated: 14 July 2008
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