24 September 2013 – With just over 800 days left to achieve the most ambitious anti-poverty programme the world has ever seen, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gathered yesterday at UN Headquarters heads of State and representatives of business, civil society and philanthropic organizations to fuel a final push to propel the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) across the finishing line.
The day-long meeting – formally called MDG Success: Accelerating Action and Partnering for Impact and convened by the Secretary-General – has so far generated some $2.5 billion in pledged funds towards boosting MDG achievement.
In his remarks at the opening of the event, Mr. Ban acknowledged that progress remains incomplete in reaching the eight goals to reduce poverty and fight diseases by the end of 2015. Although many MDGs agreed by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000, are yet to be met, Mr. Ban told the meeting that success is within reach because people working together all over the world have proved that transformational change is possible in an accelerated timeframe.
"Poverty has plummeted, health has begun to improve and literacy has soared. What first seemed fanciful and naïve to some has become achievable."
So far the meeting has generated some $2.5 billion in pledged funds towards boosting MDG achievement. They include:
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