In September 2000, 189 world leaders met at the United Nations and promised to free more than a billion people from extreme poverty by 2015.

They agreed on a roadmap setting out eight time-bound and measurable goals to be reached by 2015, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The good news is that there has been significant progress in reaching some of these goals, with poverty reduction on target, more children in school, and more people able to access life-saving medicines. The bad news is many hard-won achievements have been undone by the global food and economic crises. Many families must choose between feeding their children and sending them to school, climate change is threatening agriculture and livelihoods in poor countries, and 960 women die in pregnancy or childbirth every day for want of simple medical care.

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