Luncheon Meeting to Launch the Reports of the UN Millennium Project

This is a very important day for the United Nations and I would like to thank the United Nations Foundation for inviting me to participate in this event.

Let me start by saying that UNFPA welcomes the reports of the Millennium

Project. We have contributed to the Project; we have been waiting for the reports and we are committed to working with partners to carry the recommendations forward.

These reports truly reflect some of the world’s best thinking on practical and achievable ways to improve the well-being of millions of people who are trapped in poverty and poor health. The reports build on the United Nations Conferences and Summits of the 1990s, and they point the way forward. They recognize that there is no single magic bullet; there is no single bright star to guide us. Rather, there is a whole constellation of vital actions and actors that are needed if we hope to improve the quality of life for individual men and women, reduce poverty, poor health and environmental decline.

In short, we have to join hands and work together. I would like to take this opportunity to affirm the commitment of UNFPA and the whole UN system to forge effective partnerships for progress. We know we cannot do it alone. We will continue to reach out and expand effective partnerships and alliances for action. By reaching out to our partners in government, in civil society, in the academic world, and in the private sector, we will achieve a bigger impact, and register greater success. And we must take this spirit of cooperation into the planning, implementation and review processes at the country level. Here there is an important role for civil society organizations—in helping to design national strategies, to deliver vital services, to promote human rights, and to contribute to good governance.

I cannot possibly conclude my remarks today without expressing appreciation for the Millennium Project’s recognition of sexual and reproductive health and gender equality as necessary elements for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has stated: The MDGs cannot be achieved if questions of population and reproductive health are not squarely addressed. And that means stronger efforts to promote women’s rights and greater investment in education and health, including reproductive health and family planning. These issues are absolutely central to success.

Respecting the human rights of women and children not only improves their lives, it has a catalyzing effect across all sectors, reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, improving maternal and child health and reducing poverty. We will not reduce rising HIV infection rates unless we link services to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS with services for sexual and reproductive health.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the team of the Millennium Project. You have made a significant contribution to the field of international development. In the final analysis, what we are talking about is improving the quality of life of millions of individual human beings as a basic human right and generating the global solidarity and partnerships that are needed to make a positive and substantial difference.

This is a tremendous challenge that depends in large part on the leadership of governments. The United Nations system is fully committed to supporting national efforts in making these investments in development and to making them work.

In closing, I urge donors and developing countries alike to allocate the financial, political and personal resources to implement the vision of the Millennium Project. We have before us a roadmap for development that, if carried out, would bring immense benefits not only to members of our current generation but also to generations to come.

Thank you.