International Declarations and Commitments on HIV/AIDS

The United Nations Millennium Declaration (200

In September 2000, world leaders came together in New York for the Millennium Summit to discuss the role of the United Nations at the turn of the century. At this meeting, the United Nations Millennium Declaration was adopted by 189 nations, which committed their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and set out a series of time-bound targets to reach this goal by the year 2015. Deriving from the Declaration was a framework for progress, outlined in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The objective of the MDGs is to produce meaningful and achievable development targets aimed at reducing poverty, improving access to education and health care, especially for women and girls; halting and reversing the spread of pandemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; as well as developing, strengthening, and maintaining partnerships for development, including debt relief and development assistance. The MDGs are also strongly linked to human rights - the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter, and security.

The international framework for these eight goals has 18 targets as well as 48 technical indicators to enable measuring progress. Since their adoption by countries worldwide, the MDGs “have become a universal framework for development and a means for developing countries and their development partners to work together in pursuit of a shared future for all” (UN, 2007).

It has been noted that in order for the progress to be achieved by the 2015 deadline, nationally developed strategies and budgets must genuinely reflect the MDGs, and be backed by adequate funding and accountability.