UN Millennium Project: Millennium Development Goals 2015

The primary goal of initiating this on-line academic discussion was and still remains a forum to bring about positive change to the architectural and urban infrastructure of African cities, which in turn will improve the quality of life for the residents of these cities.

In a similar initiative, I highly encourage anyone who stumbles upon this article to review the United Nations Millennium Project website and look at the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). These goals are very specific and I believe an excellent start to getting developing cities on the right track, and if successful, these goals can set the precedent for how developing cities can chose to improve their current infrastructures.

I will attempt to give a brief history and outline of the UN Millennium Project and Goals, and to give you my professional opinion on these initiatives. I will also outline (in future posts) three areas that I believe have been neglected and/or have not been properly stressed and could use some improvement.

Brief History: The September 2000 gathering of world leaders at the UN in NYC was by far the largest such gathering in history. The gathering was for the Millennium Summit, and at this meeting the world leaders adopted the UN Millennium Declaration which was to commit their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting the target date of 2015 to achieve their target goals which have become known as the Millennium Development Goals.

In 2002 the Secretary General of the UN commissioned the Millennium Project to develop a concrete action plan to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals by identifying the areas of need and deciding their targets of success. In 2005, the Independent Advisory Board headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs presented its final recommendation to the United Nations.

Millennium Development Goals: The advisory board identified eight (8) goals or the Millennium Development Goals as follows;
Goal 1 – Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty
Goal 2 – Achieve Universal Primary Education
Goal 3 – Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Goal 4 – Reduce Childhood Mortality
Goal 5 – Improve Maternal Health
Goal 6 – Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
Goal 7 – Ensure Environmental Stability
Goal 8 – Develop a Global Partnership for Development

*For the targets and indicators for each of these goals, please visit the UN Millennium Project’s official website or the Millennium Development Goals’ official website for accurate information and project updates.

I would highly encourage all like-minded professionals in all related fields to look at these goals and offer any insight, help, advice, and/or donations to this worthy cause. I truly see the MDG has a very significant step toward a positive future for developing countries not just in Africa but world-wide.