Ban Ki-moon pledges to mobilize action to reach Millennium Development Goals

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged to mobilize national leaders in a drive to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – a set of anti-poverty targets for the year 2015 – when they come to United Nations Headquarters in New York for the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate in September.

“We are at the mid-point of a great campaign to end world poverty, set forth in the Millennium Development Goals. Too many nations have fallen behind. We need fresh ideas and fresh ideas and fresh approaches,” Mr. Ban told a news conference in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum.

The Secretary-General repeated his recent calls for attention to the poorest of the world’s poor, known as the ‘bottom billion.’

“They are the forgotten ones, the nearly 1 billion left behind by global growth,” he said.

Mr. Ban illustrated the urgent need for action with stark statistics showing that one child dies of hunger every five seconds; for two thirds of the world a glass of ordinary drinking water is a luxury; and 1 million people die from malaria every year.

“That is why I am launching, together with global leaders, a new initiative,” he said. “This September, the UN will host a high-level meeting on the MDGs, with a special focus on Africa.”

The aim, he said, is to “bring together world leaders and, together, demand action.”

Last year, Mr. Ban used a similar forum to spur action on climate change. “This year, we will do the same for the bottom billion,” he pledged.

“This is a sacred cause. The fight against global poverty and human suffering is a moral imperative.”