Millennium Development Goals

In September 2000, at the start of the millennium, world leaders gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration and its eight key objectives to be reached by 2015:

• Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger (MDG 1)
• Achieve Universal Primary Education (MDG 2)
• Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women (MDG 3)
• Reduce Child Mortality (MDG 4)
• Improve Maternal Health (MDG 5)
• Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases (MDG 6)
• Ensure Environmental Sustainability (MDG 7)
• Develop a Global Partnership for Development (MDG 8)

Since 2000, Canada has committed to the Millennium Development Goals through a number of major initiatives

With its additional $1.1 billion commitment to maternal, newborn, and child health through the Muskoka G-8 initiative, Canada's total commitment to reducing child mortality (MDG 4) and improving maternal health (MDG 5) will be $2.85 billion from 2010 to 2015.

Canada has prioritized basic education for its direct and proven impact on poverty reduction and sustainable development. It has pledged to contribute $150 million to basic education in Africa by 2010-2011 and is on track to fulfil this commitment. CIDA continues to address the needs of exceptionally vulnerable groups, including children in fragile and conflict-affected states such as Afghanistan, Haiti, and Sudan. In 2008-2009, it allocated approximately 11 percent of its overall aid budget to basic education.

Canada is also on track to doubling its international assistance, reaching $5 billion by March 31, 2011. Canada has already met its commitment to double aid to Africa and is moving to untie fully all of its aid by 2012-2013. All of Canada's food aid was untied by 2008, as was 91 percent of its total aid, substantially increasing the effectiveness of each dollar according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Improving the quality of aid is essential to achieving sustainable development results. As such, reinforcing its continued commitment to support developing countries in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Canada announced five priority themes for the international assistance envelope:

• Increasing food security
• Securing the future of children and youth
• Stimulating sustainable economic growth
• Advancing democratic governance
• Ensuring security and stability

The first three themes are being advanced principally by CIDA, in support of which it has integrated, in all of its programs and policies, three crosscutting themes:

• Environmental sustainability
• Equality between women and men
• Strengthened governance institutions and practices

These crosscutting themes also support achievement of the MDGs.

• United Nations Millennium Declaration (PDF, 62 KB, 9 pages)
• Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (PDF, 169 KB, 12 pages)
• Accra Accord (PDF, 548 KB, 38 pages)

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