- ATD Fourth World

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG)

At the Millennium Summit, Heads of State declared that they would, “Spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected.". Eight objectives for 2015 were set out: eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality, improve maternal health; combat HIV/ AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; develop a global partnership for development.

Ten years later, what progress has been made?

The financial crisis has caused setbacks for the fight against poverty. “The United Nations estimates that an extra 73 to 103 million people will stay poor, or slide into poverty as compared to pre-crisis growth conditions. (…) Even before the crisis, despite some significant progress, many countries were falling behind in meeting the majority of the goals”. (Source: UNDESA)

Can we speed up the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals?

On December 8th 2009, a delegate from ATD Fourth World, declared at a meeting with the deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Poor families are often treated like unwanted objects. This causes them great hardship. States must fight against discrimination and arbitrariness. To obtain secure access to healthcare and education, we ask the United Nations to work together based on our experiences and knowledge, because the current situation cannot continue and the day has to one day come for all people to be happy.”

To speed up the implementation of the MDGs, we must act in partnership with those who live in extreme poverty. To do so,ATD Fourth World calls for people living in extreme poverty to become the central focus of the Millennium Goals, for the impact of the MDG to be evaluated together with these people, and for future policies against extreme poverty to be based on the enjoyment of human rights for all, not on emergency or short-term measures.

This is the message that ATD Fourth World will deliver to international organizations and the citizen-led campaigns that will take place worldwide in the run-up to the September 2010 Summit.

The financial crisis that the world has been facing since September 2008 is the opportunity to create new policies and links of solidarity to protect people living in poverty, or potentially facing it, in the event of a crisis. States have been capable of taking decisive action against the crisis. Now they must learn from it, committing to run the economy for the needs of everyone, and honoring their commitments in the fight against poverty, both within their own borders, and in global solidarity.

Thierry Viard
Executive Secretary
International Movement ATD Fourth World