MDG

MDG commonly refers to the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight international development objectives adopted by United Nations member states in 2000. The goals were intended to guide global efforts to reduce poverty, improve health and education, promote gender equality, and pursue sustainable development, with measurable targets to be achieved by 2015. Progress was tracked through a set of global indicators and periodic reviews.

The eight goals are: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.

Results from 2000 to 2015 were mixed. Extreme poverty declined in many regions, as did child mortality and several disease indicators, and some education measures showed improvement. Progress, however, was uneven across regions and populations, and critiques highlighted data quality and measurement gaps, concerns about inequality, and criticisms that the framework underemphasized structural factors, climate change, and long-term sustainability.

In 2015 the Millennium Development Goals were succeeded by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a universal framework for 2015–2030 comprising 17 goals and 169 targets. The MDGs helped mobilize policy attention, funding, and accountability for development, and their influence is evident in ongoing global development planning and reporting practices.