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PRESS RELEASE
UN Summit concludes with adoption of global action plan
to achieve development goals by 2015
Secretary-General secures more than $40 billion for women’s and children’s health
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 22 September — A United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) concluded today with the adoption of a globa l action plan to achieve the eight anti-poverty goals by their
2015 target date and the announcement of major new commitments for women’s and children’s health and other
initiatives against poverty, hunger and disease.
The outcome document of the three-day Summit – Keeping the Promise: United to Achieve the Millenni um
Development Goals – reaffirms world leaders’ commitment to the MDGs and sets out a concrete action agenda
for achieving the Goals by 2015. Based on examples of success and lessons learned over the last ten years, the
document spells out specific steps to be taken by a ll stakeholders to accelerate progress on each of the eight
Goals. It also affirms that, despite setbacks due t o the economic and financial crises, remarkable pro gress has
been made on fighting poverty, increasing school en rolment and improving health in many countries, and the
Goals remain achievable.
In a major push to accelerate progress on women’s a nd children’s health, a number of Heads of State and
Government from developed and developing countries, along with the private sector, foundations, international
organizations, civil society and research organizat ions, pledged over $40 billion in resources over the next five
years. The Global Strategy for Women’s and Childre n’s Health – a concerted worldwide effort initiated by United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon – has the pot ential of saving the lives of more than 16 million women
and children, preventing 33 million unwanted pregna ncies, protecting 120 million children from pneumonia and 88
million children from stunting due to malnutrition, advancing the control of deadly diseases such as m alaria and
HIV/AIDS, and ensuring access for women and childre n to quality health facilities and skilled health workers.
“We know what works to save women’s and children’s lives, and we know that women and children are critical to
all of the MDGs,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sai d. “Today we are witnessing the kind of leadership we have
long needed.”
In addition, a number of other significant commitme nts on each of the eight Goals were made by Governm ents,
international organizations and partners as well as by business representatives at the Private Sector Forum
organized by the UN Global Compact. Highlights are shown below.
Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
The World Bank will increase its support to agricu lture to between $6 billion and $8 billion a year over the next
three years, up from $4.1 billion annually before 2 008, under its Agriculture Action Plan to help boos t
incomes, employment and food security in many low-i ncome areas.
The Republic of Korea pledged $100 million to supp ort food security and agriculture in developing countries.
Chile announced an Ethical Family Income initiativ e, to be launched in 2011, to supplement the income of the
poorest families and those in the vulnerable middle class.
Monster.com committed to expand access to job oppo rtunities for rural youth in India by promoting access to
Rozgarduniya.com, an Internet job portal, in 40,000 villages across nine states in India.
Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
Japan will provide $3.5 billion over five years fo r education in developing countries, beginning in 2011.
The World Bank will increase its zero-interest and grant investment in basic education by an additional $750
million, with a focus on the countries that are not on track to reach the education MDGs by 2015, espe cially in
sub-Saharan Africa.
Trinidad and Tobago committed to provide laptop co mputers to all secondary students within five years. Dell committed to give $10 million towards educati on technology initiatives this year.
Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
The Earth Institute, Ericsson and Millennium Promi se launched Connect To Learn , a non-profit global education
initiative to improve the access to and quality of secondary education for children around the world — especially
girls. Connect To Learn provides three-year scholarships to attend seconda ry school and covers tuition, books,
uniforms as well as access to broadband technology. The first 100 scholarships will be provided in Millennium
Villages in Ghana and Tanzania within the next 100 days.
UPS International pledged $2 million to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to empower women
through leadership and environmental sustainability programmes in 145 countries.
ExxonMobil committed to $1 million in a partnershi p with Ashoka’s Changemakers, the International Cou ncil for
Research on W omen and Thunderbird Emerging Markets Laboratory to support technologies that help women
increase their productivity and participate more ef fectively in the economy. The programme is expected to directly
benefit more than 13,500 people, with indirect bene fits reaching more than 475,000 in the next two years.
Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality and Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health
See the detailed list of commitments for the $40 bi llion in resources pledged for the Secretary-Genera l’s Global
Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health posted o n www.un.org/sg/globalstrategy.
Canada reaffirmed its commitment to mobilize more than $10 billion from G8 and non-G8 leaders, key donors and
private foundations over the next five years throug h the Muskoka Initiative for maternal, newborn and child health.
LifeSpring Hospitals committed to provide an estim ated 82,000 Indian women and their families with access to quality
healthcare. Over the next five years, LifeSpring wi ll increase the number of hospitals serving mothers and children
throughout India from 9 to 200, which will improve standards of care and reduce maternal and childhood deaths.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases
France announced funding of $1.4 billion to the Gl obal Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for 2011-2013,
an increase of 20 per cent. It is the first of a n umber of pledges expected ahead of the Global Fund’ s replenishment
meeting on 4-5 October. [Note: 46 per cent of this pledge – the portion dir ectly attributable to women’s and children’s
health – is included in the $40 billion for the Glo bal Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health.]
Japan announced a contribution of $800 million in the coming years to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
The United Kingdom announced a tripling in its fin ancial contributions to fight malaria, increasing its funds for
malaria from £150 million a year to £500 million by 2014.
China will, within the next three years, donate $1 4 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
The World Bank announced an increase in the scope of its results-based health programmes by more than
$600 million until 2015 to scale up essential healt h and nutrition services and strengthen the underly ing health
systems in 35 countries, particularly in East Asia, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Sumitomo Chemical committed to donate 400,000 of i ts anti-malarial Olyset Nets to every Millennium Village from
2010-2011. This follows its previous donation in 20 06 of 330,000 nets.
Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability
The United States announced a commitment of $50.82 million over the next five years for a Global Alliance for
Clean Cookstoves, a public-private partnership led by the United Nations Foundation seeking to install 100 million
clean-burning stoves in kitchens around the world.
Cameroon’s Energy Sector Development Programme wil l double energy production by 2015 and triple it by 2020.
The Asian Development Bank plans to double its fin ancing for clean energy to $2 billion a year by 2013.
WaterHealth International committed to build 75 wa ter purification plants in Bangladesh and expand its existing
network of water purification plants to an addition al 100 villages in India, providing access to clean water for
175,000 people in under-served communities in Bangl adesh and India.
PepsiCo committed to ensure access to clean water for 3 million people around the world by 2015.
Goal 8: Global Partnership for Development
The European Union offered funding amounting to €1 billion to the most committed and needy countries to make
progress on the goals they are furthest from achiev ing.
Belgium pledged €400,000 for the UN Conference on Least Developed Co untries, to take place in Turkey in 2011.
China committed to give zero-tariff treatment to m ore products from Least Developed Countries and to continue to
cancel debts.
For more information on the Global Strategy for Wom en’s and Children’s Health, including a detailed compilation
of the commitments made, please see: www.un.org/sg/globalstrategy
For more information on the Summit , including the outcome document and the group of M DG Advocates, UN Goodwill
Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace supporting the MDGs, please see: www.un.org/en/mdg/summit2010
Media contacts in the UN Department of Public Information: Martin a Donlon: +1 212 963 6816; [email protected];
Pragati Pascale: +1 212 963 6870; [email protected]; N ewton Kanhema: +1 212 963-5602; [email protected]
Issued by the UN Department of Public Information / Rev.3
