Millennium Development Goals facts for kids

The Millennium Development Goals are a UN initiative.

The Millennium Development Goals (or MDGs) were a set of eight important aims created by the United Nations. These goals were agreed upon in the year 2000. Nearly all countries in the world, along with many international groups, promised to work together to reach these goals by 2015. They wanted to make the world a better place for everyone.

What Were the MDGs?

The eight main goals were:

• End Extreme Poverty and Hunger: This meant making sure fewer people lived in extreme poverty and that everyone had enough food.
• Achieve Universal Primary Education: The goal was for all children, boys and girls, to be able to finish primary school.
• Promote Gender Equality: This aimed to give girls and boys, women and men, equal chances in life.
• Reduce Child Mortality: The idea was to lower the number of young children who died before their fifth birthday.
• Improve Maternal Health: This focused on making childbirth safer for mothers.
• Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other Diseases: The goal was to stop the spread of serious diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria.
• Ensure Environmental Sustainability: This meant protecting the environment for future generations.
• Develop a Global Partnership for Development: This encouraged rich and poor countries to work together to achieve these goals.

Each of these goals had specific smaller targets. They also had clear dates for when these targets should be met.

How Were the Goals Funded?

To help countries reach the MDGs, rich countries offered financial support. In 2005, finance ministers from the G8 group of countries made an agreement. They decided to give money to organizations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This money was used to cancel a large amount of debt owed by poorer countries.

This debt cancellation, which was between $40 and $55 billion, helped poor countries. It meant they could use their money for important things. Instead of paying back old debts, they could spend on improving health, education, and reducing poverty for their people.

Aid and Its Use

During the time the MDGs were active, developed countries did increase their aid. However, more than half of this aid went towards helping countries with their debts. A lot of the remaining money was used for things like helping after natural disasters or for military aid. Less of it went directly to development projects that would help reach the MDGs.

Images for kids

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  A poster at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, United States, showing the Millennium Development Goals

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  The Hollywood actress Geena Davis giving a speech at an event in New York. She spoke about gender roles in film and her organization's work to fight inequality in Hollywood (24 September 2013).

See also

In Spanish: Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio para niños