Millennium Campaign

‘End poverty by 2015’ is the historic promise made by 189 world leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, when they agreed to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Shortly after, in 2002, the UN Millennium Campaign - a UN interagency initiative - was set up by former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to support citizens’ efforts to hold their governments accountable for achieving the MDGs.

The UN Millennium Campaign is active in more than 40 countries spanning North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

While the Campaigns in the south focus primarily on Goals 1-7, which highlight the responsibilities of southern Governments, the Campaigns in the north work towards achieving greater accountability from northern Governments for their Goal 8 commitments. Achieving Goal 8 means increasing aid quantity, improving aid quality, and creating trade opportunities to enable poor countries to lift themselves out of poverty.

The UN Millennium Campaign strongly believes that Governments will keep their promises only when they will feel the pressure exerted on them by their voters.

How WAGGGS is working with the Millennium Campaign

In 2009, the Millennium Campaign awarded WAGGGS with seed funding in order to develop resources for its Global Action Theme educational programme which helps girls and young women to learn about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The grant also enabled WAGGGS to produce a number of free fabric badges for Member Organizations in developing countries and to encourage their involvement in the Stand Up Against Poverty campaign.

More information about the Millennium Campaign