The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
were created in response to the world's primary development challenges. From cutting poverty in half to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, the eight goals are drawn from the Millennium Declaration signed by 147 heads of state and governments in 2000. They serve as blueprints for governments toward building a better world in the 21st century. Specifically, signers and supporters of the MDGs have committed to making recognizable progress on addressing these issues by the year 2015.
Cisco has supported both the MDGs and the United Nations Development Programme, the UN sponsoring organization, since their inception. In FY08, Cisco joined representatives from Google and the UN to unveil the MDG Monitor, an online web-based portal that allows interested parties to access accurate and timely information on how much progress is being made toward achieving the MDGs both globally and at the country level, a project that Cisco helped develop.
Intended to serve as a resource for policymakers, development practitioners, journalists, students, and others, the tools at MDG.org provide information on the number of families living in extreme poverty (defined as an income of less than $1 per day), the number of underweight and malnourished children, and other indicators, on a global scale in real time. Country-specific reports, outlining progress by goal, are also available.
By using the power of the human network to bring focus to the needs of some countries, and the successes of others, Cisco firmly believes that the MDG Monitor can effectively promote renewed national efforts, and guide expertise and resources to those in need.
We also believe that Cisco’s education, human services, environmental, and partnership projects around the world are helping to address the MDGs.
