Achieving the Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), arising from the Millennium Summit in September 2000, are the overarching development objectives of the international community. The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) goal of universal access to quality reproductive health services by 2015 is not one of the MDGs. Yet as this publication demonstrates, it is essential for meeting the MDGs.

The attainment of reproductive health and reproductive rights are fundamental for development, for fighting poverty and for meeting the MDG targets. Conversely, reproductive ill-health undermines development by, inter alia, diminishing the quality of women's lives, weakening and, in extreme cases, killing poor women of prime ages, and placing heavy burdens on families and communities.

This publication shows by means of analytical graphics, the fundamental importance of addressing population and reproductive health for achieving the MDGs.