Millennium Development Goals, The (MDG)

A United Nations agenda outlining development targets aimed at tackling extreme poverty to be achieved by 2015. There are eight Millennium Development Goals in total: eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/ AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development. There has been significant progress made in achieving these goals, although the project has received criticism due to the lack of uniformity in the advances thus far.