UN Foundation Board of Directors: We’re at a Defining Moment in the Fight to End Poverty, Promote Opportunity for All

Global Leaders on the United Nations Foundation Board Call for Continued Focus on Millennium Development Goals

Today marks 500 days until the target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight goals established in 2000 by world leaders at the United Nations to improve lives around the world. In recognition of the day, the United Nations Foundation Board of Directors released the statement below:

“The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – an ambitious, unprecedented agenda to improve lives – have mobilized the world to act and that action is making a tremendous difference. Fewer families are going hungry and more girls are going to school; fewer women are dying in childbirth and more children are celebrating their 5th birthdays; fewer people are living in extreme poverty and more people are living with greater opportunities to follow their dreams.

“This progress is important, yet our work remains unfinished. We’re at a defining moment in the fight to end extreme poverty and promote opportunity for all people. Over the next 500 days and beyond, all of us must do what we can to build momentum and empower more people. We especially need to focus on goals that are far behind and communities that have been left behind. What we do now will reverberate for generations to come.

“Partnership is key to progress. By working together across countries, across sectors, and with the UN, we can continue to move forward on the world’s goals and lay a strong foundation for the next agenda. We must seize this MDG moment as a global opportunity for all.”

The members of the UN Foundation Board of Directors are: Founder and Chairman Ted Turner (United States); Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah (Jordan); Kofi Annan (Ghana); Fábio Barbosa (Brazil); Gro Harlem Brundtland (Norway); Igor Ivanov (Russia); N.R. Narayana Murthy (India); Hisashi Owada (Japan); Emma Rothschild (United Kingdom); Nafis Sadik (Pakistan); Timothy E. Wirth (United States); Andrew Young (United States); Yuan Ming (China); and Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh).

More information on the Millennium Development Goals can be found at un.org/millenniumgoals, and more information on MDG 500 can be found at MDG500.org.

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About The United Nations Foundation

The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals. For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org.