In 2000, world leaders agreed the UN Millennium Declaration;

it signalled a growing recognition that, for the United Nations to be able to fulfil its objectives in maintaining peace and security and protecting human rights, poverty and inequality needed to be eradicated.

The core achievement of the Millennium Declaration was its formal articulation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

The MDGs are eight time-bound objectives which range from halving world poverty to cutting child mortality, achieving universal primary education and ensuring environmental sustainability.

GOAL 1: ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER - Click here to read an article on impacts of the global economic crisis in New World - UNA-UK supports Your Voice Against Poverty, Put People First and the Jubilee Debt Campaign

GOAL 2: ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION - Click here to read an article on girls' education - UNA-UK supports the Girl Effect.

GOAL 3: PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN - Click here to read an article on violence against women. - UNA-UK's the VSO campaign for a new women's agency at the UN.

GOAL 4: REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY - Click here to read more about UNICEF's work on child mortality

GOAL 5: IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH - Click here to read an article on maternal mortality by former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health

GOAL 6: COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA & OTHER DISEASES - Click here to visit the UNAIDs website.

GOAL7: ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY - Within efforts to reach MDG 7, UNA-UK is emphasising action to meet the challenge of climate change. To find out more about our climate change conference series click here. - We support the I Count campaign and is a member of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, a civil society movement seeking to mobilise pubic pressure in support of immediate and comprehensive political action to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

GOAL 8: DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT - Within efforts to reach MDG 8, UNA-UK is emphasising poverty reduction through increased aid, more debt cancellation and trade justice. It is a member of The World Can't Wait: Your Voice Against Poverty, the coalition born out of Make Poverty History, the irrepressible anti-poverty coalition which dominated headlines in 2005. - UNA-UK has also encouraged members of the public to get involved debt alleviation by lobbying MPs to sign an early day motion on vulture funds. - UNA-UK is actively involved in promoting trade justice through its support of the Trade Justice Movement.