Millennium development goals

Abstract

The Fifty-fifth World Health Assembly in 2002 reaffirmed its commitment to the UNMillennium Declaration and the related Millennium Development Goals (‎MDGs)‎through Resolution WHA 55.19. In 2002, the Fifty-fifth Session of WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia discussed the MDGs and the commitment of the Member countries to these development goals. The Twenty-second Meeting of Ministers of Health of countries of the South-East Asia Region in September 2004reviewed the progress made towards achieving MDGs in the Region and recommended that Member States should identify specific challenges and develop appropriate intervention programmes, with the support of all partners in health, that focus on the health needs of the underprivileged and poorest segments of the population.A High-Level Forum on the MDGs in Asia and the Pacific met in Tokyo in June 2005 and reviewed the progress made and challenges faced by countries in Asia and the Pacific and highlighted actions that can be initiated at the country level. The Fiftyeighth World Health Assembly in May 2005 requested Member States to reaffirm theMDGs as critical for health development, and to develop nationally relevant “roadmaps” that incorporate the actions as a guide to accelerating progress towards achieving health-related MDGs. The work of WHO on MDGs has not only formed an integral part of its activities but has also contributed to the collective efforts of the UN.Ten out of the 11 SEA Region Member countries have submitted at least one countryreport on the progress in achieving MDGs to the UN Secretary-General.The Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDGs revised the monitoring framework of MDGs and some of their targets and indicators in November 2007 to facilitate bettermonitoring of progress in achieving MDGs (‎Annexure 1)‎.Agenda Item 11.2 of the WHA 61 was on monitoring of the achievements of thehealth-related Millennium Development Goals. Observing the slow progress in achieving health-related MDGs, the resolution on “monitoring of the achievementsof the health-related Millennium Goals” was passed (‎Annexure 2)‎.The views and recommendations of the ACM on this agenda item will be submitted to the Twenty-sixth Meeting of Ministers of Health for its consideration.