Big news came out today: The annual report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – eight goals established in 2000 by world leaders at the United Nations – shows that the world is making significant progress in reducing poverty and improving lives.
This didn’t happen by chance; it happened by choice.
The MDGs have provided common goals for the global community to rally around and spurred partners into action. No doubt, there is a lot of work left to do and we need to do better in many areas, but today’s report is a sign that when we act, progress is possible.
Here are five facts from the report to give you hope in a better world.
- FACT: In 1990, an estimated 12.6 million children died before the age of 5. By 2012, that number had been nearly cut in half to an estimated 6.6 million children.
- FACT: Global actions to prevent and treat malaria averted an estimated 3.3 million deaths, mostly of children under 5, from 2000-2012.
- FACT: The proportion of people living in extreme poverty was cut in half between 1990 and 2010.
- FACT: All developing regions in the world have achieved, or are close to achieving, gender parity in primary education.
- FACT: From 1990-2012, more than 2.3 billion people gained access to an improved source of drinking water.
Want to learn more about the MDGs? Visit the UN’s website, un.org/millenniumgoals, and visit our website between every Monday between now and Monday, August 18 for our “MDG Mondays” blog series.