“By investing in the MDGs, we invest in global economic growth. By focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable, we lay the foundation for a more sustainable and prosperous tomorrow,” quoted the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ms. Consuelo Vidal in the opening of a media conference on Sunday 27 June, on the occasion of the release of the annual assessment report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the UN Secretary General (SG), Mr. Ban Ki-moon in New York on 23 June.

Ms. Vidal highlighted further excerpts of the SG’s message and stated, ‘The world has made huge strides in reducing extreme poverty, tackling HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and boosting access to clean drinking water’. ‘However’, she stressed, ‘there is still a lot to be done in other critical areas, such as improving maternal health’.

The UN Resident Coordinator emphasized, in reply to a question on whether achieving the MDGs would be practically possible by 2015, that the MDGs are not enforceable; they were born from the commitment and agreement of different countries and should serve as minimum and basic standards of living and justice. She added that if these goals are not achieved by the year 2015, it would be a failure for the international organizations, civil society and the governments, because they have not made the efforts required.

Referring to the report, the UN Resident Coordinator further cited that that the newly released report illustrates that the world leaders must focus on a variety of fronts such as spurring economic growth, encouraging food security and promoting clean energy to list a few. Ms. Vidal underlined the significance of MDG 3 which focuses on empowering women and bringing about gender equality and said that women are pillars to the achievement of all other MDGs. She also stressed MDG 8; partnership for development; and that it is immensely important to strengthen partnerships between the rich and poor countries for development, and also promote south-south partnership to help the world’s most vulnerable countries and people.

Ms. Vidal referred to the efforts made by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and highlighted, ‘Iran is making big efforts in achieving its national development goals and the MDGs'. She further reiterated the UN Country Team’s commitment to work with the Government of the I.R. Iran in realization of the MDGs with precision.

Following these opening remarks, a number of Iranian journalists posed their questions to Ms. Vidal in her capacity as the Resident Coordinator of the UN Country Team in the I.R. I., and the Representatives of UNICEF, UNESCO, UNIC, UNFPA and WHO  that were present in the Conference.

More on the MDGs Assessment Report

The MDGs annual assessment report , released on 23 June 2010 by the UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon, shows that the world has made huge strides in reducing extreme poverty, tackling HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and boosting access to clean drinking water, but is still lagging in other critical areas, such as improving maternal health and increasing access to decent sanitation. Based on data from more than 25 UN agencies and international organizations, the report indicates that the world has slashed the percentage of people living in extreme poverty – classed as earning less than $1.25 a day – in the past two decades.

During the release of the Report, Mr. Ban Ki-moon said, “Economic uncertainty cannot be an excuse to slow down our development efforts,” he said. “It is a reason to speed them up. By investing in the MDGs, we invest in global economic growth. By focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable, we lay the foundation for a more sustainable and prosperous tomorrow.”

But while that progress against poverty has continued despite the global economic downturn and the recent food crisis, the report notes that hunger and malnutrition are on the rise in some region, such as South Asia, and stubborn gaps persist between rich and poor and between urban and rural communities.

Girls also continue to lack the same opportunities as boys, especially in education – a girl in one of the poorest households is four times more likely than an equivalent boy to not be attending school.

And while Latin America and the Caribbean have made important progress on child health and gender equality, fewer than half of women in some African regions receive care from skilled health workers when giving birth.

The Secretary-General also announced that he is setting up the MDG Advocacy Group, a collection of 17 current and former political leaders, businesspeople and thinkers from around the world who will work to galvanize support for achieving the Goals.

To find out more about the MDGs, please click on the following link:

http://www.undp.org/mdg/