What are the Millennium Development Goals?
Q: What are the Millennium Development Goals?
A: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight targets set by the United Nations in 2000 that all 189 UN member states and at least 23 international organizations agreed to try to help achieve by 2015.
Q: What are some of the goals?
A: Some of the goals include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.
Q: How did developed countries help progress towards these goals?
A: In June 2005 G8 finance ministers agreed to provide enough funds to the World Bank, IMF and AfDB to cancel $40-$55 billion in debt owed by poor countries so they could use resources for improving health, education and reducing poverty. Developed countries also increased their aid for MDGs during this period with more than half going towards debt relief while much of the rest went towards natural disaster relief and military aid instead of development.
Q: What was the timeline for reaching these goals?
A: All 189 UN member states (there are 193 now) said they would try to help achieve the goals by 2015 with each goal having specific targets and dates for reaching those targets.
Q: What is debt relief?
A: Debt relief is when a creditor agrees to reduce or forgive a debtor's financial obligations either partially or completely. In this case it refers to cancelling $40-$55 billion in debt owed by poor countries so they can use resources for improving health, education and reducing poverty.
Q: Who provided funds for debt relief? A: The G8 finance ministers provided enough funds to the World Bank, IMF and AfDB in order to cancel $40-$55 billion in debt owed by poor countries.
