Talking about the MDGs
I expect all of you know what the MDGs are: the Millennium Development Goals, signed up to by donor and developing countries alike, as targets for alleviating poverty in the world. For more information go to: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ This blog is to share with you a presentation I made about these goals and taking them forward, at the launch of the mid-term MDG review publication for the Asia region at the UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo. I had been rather hesitant in accepting the invitation because I have always been rather uncomfortable with the MDGs. But I decided to take the bull by the horns and start by explaining why I am saying I am uncomfortable with the MDGs. This in no way denies the fact that the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs served to focus the world’s attention on poverty, and on issues like hunger, infant mortality, education etc. There are many reasons for my discomfort, and several of them have implications for what I would like to see as the way forwa