In 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit, 189 world leaders adopted the Millennium Declaration and agreed to collective commitments to overcome poverty through a set of eight mutually reinforcing interrelated time-bound goals (MDGs) with related targets.

The MDGs synthesise and respecifies the goals of 1990s global UN conferences and provide an accountability framework and global partnership for progressively eradicating poverty in all its dimensions. The MDGs are at the forefront of the global development agenda and represent the international community’s commitment to eradicate poverty by 2015. In September 2005, the UN World Summit resoundingly endorsed the MDGs. In the outcome document of the Summit, it was agreed that by 2006, all developing countries will prepare bold national strategies to achieve the MDGs, and that developed countries would increase their assistance to developing countries, particularly through higher levels of ODA.