U N I T E D    N A T I O N S    N A T I O N S    U N I E S

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

---

MESSAGE ON THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The adoption of the Millennium Development Goals was a seminal event in the history of the United Nations. These eight commitments, ranging from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education—all by the target date of 2015 -- form a blueprint agreed by all the world's countries. They represent a set of simple but powerful objectives that every man and woman in the street, from New York to Nairobi to New Delhi, can easily support and understand.

Why are the Millennium Development Goals different from other bold pledges that became broken promises over the past 50 years? For three reasons.

First, the Millennium Development Goals are people-centred, time-bound and measurable.

Second, the Millennium Development Goals have unprecedented political support.

Third—and most important—the Millennium Development Goals are achievable.

These goals are not just wishful thinking. They are certainly challenging, but they are also technically feasible, even in the relatively short time allowed. Nevertheless, overall progress has been uneven at best. There is no autopilot, no magic of the marketplace, no rising tide in the global economy that will lift all boats. Good, democratic governance and sound development strategies are paramount. Equally vital is a true partnership engaging developed and developing countries alike.

That is why the United Nations and its partners are mounting a major effort to promote progress towards the MDGs—including new operational support to developing countries; a set of annual reports that will monitor progress on a country-by-country basis; a comprehensive new research initiative that draws on the best of global thinking on each issue; and a series of campaigns aimed at raising awareness and mobilizing support for the Goals among policy-makers and the general public.

In short, the Millennium Development Goals represent a new way of doing development. They are a tool both for mobilizing support and for holding Governments accountable; they represent a call to action and a way of keeping track of the results that matter most: improvements in the daily lives of poor people across the planet. It is a call to which every one of us can and should respond. I thank every one of you for your commitment to that response, and hope that many more will follow your example.

******