Deputy Secretary-General stresses vigilance to reach UN Millennium Goals

Stressing that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide a “unique road map” for building a better world, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro has warned against faltering in global efforts to deliver on the pledges to slash poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy by 2015.

“At the mid-point towards the 2015 deadline, we must not diminish our sense of urgency,” Ms. Migiro said yesterday at a special event in New York on the MDG Achievement Fund. “We must mobilize the resources and implement the policies that can give us a chance to reach the MDGs – in all countries and for all communities.”

In a world where 2.5 billion people struggle to survive on less than $2 per day, the Goals provide a “unique road map for building a better and fairer world for all of humanity,” she said.

Ms. Migiro referred to reaching the MDGs as one of the UN’s greatest challenges. “It has reinforced the conviction of all of us within the UN that we can and must do better in supporting our partners’ development efforts; that we can and must be more results-oriented; and that this is absolutely not the time for ‘business as usual.’”

She also hailed Spain for its initiative on the MDG Achievement Fund, which was set up by the Madrid Government and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in December 2006. The Spanish Government has committed €528 million to the Fund.