Call to Action on the Millennium Development Goals
25 January 2008
Statement at World Economic Forum 2008 Annual Meeting at Davos, Switzerland
At the Millennium Summit in 2000 the international community – every world
leader, every international body, almost every country – vowed to spare no
effort to achieve the seven key Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Half way to 2015 we have made some vital progress:
- 3 million more children survive every year;
- 2 million people now receive AIDs treatment;
- There are 41 million more children in school;
- 2 million lives are saved every year by immunization;
- Polio, leprosy and neonatal tetanus are on the verge of elimination;
- African economies have been growing at 6% for the past three years,
and are set to grow faster in the years ahead.
This progress inspires us all to do more. We know we can make a difference.
But we still face an enormous challenge – a development emergency:
- 72 million children are still not in school and many who are receive
a very poor quality education.
- Half of the developing world lack basic sanitation. If current
trends continue, the world is likely to miss the MDG sanitation target
by almost 600 million people.
- Over half a million women still die each year from treatable and
preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
- Over 33 million people are living with HIV, and more than one
million people die of Malaria every year, including one child every 30
seconds.
- 980 million people still live on less than $1 a day.
So without an extraordinary effort we will fail to achieve the MDGS.
2008 is a critical year. If we don’t begin to get back on track we will fail.
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Today in Davos we - the undersigned - commit to work to make 2008 a turning
point in the fight against poverty.
We are pleased to join the 19 countries and 21 private sector companies that are
now signed up to the MDG Call to Action.
And we pledge to work together to help the world get back on track to meet the
MDGs.
We know we will only succeed if governments, the private sector, faith groups,
civil society, and NGOs work together.
And to catalyse, inspire and focus activity within this broad coalition - and to
measure progress towards the 2015 pledges - today we agree that the world
community should set some 2010 milestones towards our 2015 goals including:
- 75 million more people lifted out of extreme poverty in Africa;
- 25 million more children in school;
- 4 million more children’s lives;
- 35 million more births need to be attended by skilled health
personnel between now and 2010;
- 70 million more people given improved access to water.
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A series of international meetings throughout 2008 will identify what more we
all need to do to meet these goals and agree concrete action plans:
In the spring the private sector will meet and announce new measures to
help achieve the MDGs.
In June, European leaders will set out more the EU can do to accelerate
progress towards the MDGs.
In July the Japanese G8 will focus on development and climate change.
In September, at the UN - and for the first time ever - governments,
businesses, civil society organisations, NGOs and faith groups will all convene
to mark the halfway point to the MDGs, take stock of progress, and agree
additional steps the international community will take to accelerate action.
And the Italians have agreed to take this forward into 2008 with their G8.
The world is witnessing a development emergency, and we need a world wide effort
to get back on track to meet the MDGs. We commit to join and redouble our
efforts.
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This statement is endorsed by:
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations, New York
Bono, Musician, DATA (DEBT, AIDS, TRADE, AFRICA), United Kingdom
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
John T. Chambers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cisco, USA
William H. Gates III, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation, USA
H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, President of Nigeria
Peter Piot, Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
and Undersecretary-General, United Nations, Geneva
Neville Isdell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
Jacques Diouf, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO)
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, World Bank
Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered
Geeta Rao Gupta, President, International Center for Research on Women
Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive, International Save the Children Alliance
Ahmed Abaddi, Secretary-General, Mohammadian League of Scholars
Ian Davis, Managing Director, McKinsey & Company
Indra Nooyi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo
Stefan Oschmann, President, Human Health, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Canada,
Merck & Co.
Lesley-Anne Knight, Secretary-General, Caritas Internationalis
Ingrid Mattson, President, Islamic Society of North America
Awraham Soetendorp, Rabbi, Jewish Institute for Human Values
25 January 2008, Davos, Switzerland
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