The annual Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report, released by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 23 June 2010 in New York, reveals that the world has made huge strides in reducing extreme poverty, tackling HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and boosting access to clean drinking water, but is still not progressive enough in critical areas including improving maternal health and reducing child mortality.

“This report shows how much progress has been made. Perhaps most important, it shows that the Goals are achievable” expresses the Secretary-General in the foreword of the 2010 report. However, MDG targets number four and five, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health, have been indicated as the two slowest moving goals, and there is uncertainty as to whether these 2015 targets will be met if not given more attention.

“For too long, maternal and child health has been at the back of the MDG train,” Mr. Ban said at the 14 April 2010 launch of an initiative of a joint action plan among governments, businesses, foundations and civil society organizations for mothers in developing countries, “but we know it can be the engine of development.”

Continuing this conversation at the press conference on 23 June 2010 Mr. Ban expressed, “Mothers are the foundation of our society. When mothers are healthy families are healthy,” and “by focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable, we lay the foundation for a more sustainable and prosperous tomorrow.” Women and children in underdeveloped countries are certainly among the most vulnerable.

As indicated in the report, MDG targets number four and five set out to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds, and reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters while also achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015.

Current data indicates that child deaths are falling but not quickly enough to reach the target date, with the highest rates of child mortality still found within sub-Saharan Africa. Four preventable diseases - pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and AIDS - account for almost forty-three percent of all deaths, and revitalizing efforts against these diseases could save millions of children.

Similarly, the world health organization’s (WHO) preliminary data on the maternal health of women shows signs of progress as well as a reduction in maternal mortality; however the rate of reduction is still short of the 5.5 per cent annual goal necessary to meet the 2015 target.

Importantly, as with the causes of infant mortality, the vast majority of these maternal deaths are avoidable. Haemorrhage has been indicated as the leading cause, at almost 40 percent for all maternal mortality, and can be prevented or managed through a range of interventions administered by skilled health-care providers and adequate equipment and supplies.

The 2010 MDG Report reveals that much progress has been made, especially as the rural-urban gap in skilled care during childbirth has narrowed. More women are receiving skilled healthcare during pregnancy than ever before, yet the numbers indicate this increase has still only resulted in one in every three rural women in developing regions receiving the recommended care during pregnancy.

Part of the discrepancy in the MDG target results, and the lagging of maternal and child health goals, is due to the fact that women and children tend to suffer disproportionately in time of crisis or hardship, as evidenced during the recent financial and economic crisis and food crisis, as well as from the impacts of climate change. The MDG resources need to reach these most vulnerable peoples in order for continued progress.

Mr. Ban announced that an estimated 60 billion dollars of extra funds is required in order for these goals surrounding mothers and children to be met. Encouraged by positive responses from world leaders on these issues, Mr. Ban indicated that it was his desire to stress this need at the G20 Summit in Toronto, taking place 26-27 June 2010.

In continued efforts to speed the progress of the MDGs, and encourage adequate additive funding for mothers and children and all vulnerable peoples, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also announced the newly established “MDG Advocacy Group” at a press conference on 23 June 2010. Mr. Ban explained that this group is made up of “a real collection of superheroes defeating poverty.”

More specifically, this Group is a collection of seventeen current and former political leaders, business people and thinkers from around the world who will work to galvanize support for achieving the Goals. Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will co-chair the group, and the first meeting is set to take place in July, 2010, just two months before the world’s leaders will gather at UN Headquarters in New York for the September High-Level Summit also aimed at accelerating progress towards the MDGs.

“The world is still making progress in reducing poverty” Mr. Ban voiced, and “we must not fail the billions who look to the international community to fulfil the promise of the Millennium Declaration for a better world. Let us keep the promise”.

The MDG assessment report is based on data from more than twenty-five UN agencies and International organizations and indicates clearly which areas are improving and where obstacles are being faced. The world continues to make advances towards the MDGs despite the global economic downturn, but the rate of improvement remains too slow and countries must step up their commitments as the 2015 target deadline is fast approaching.