Rich nations under pressure to honour G8 pledge to Africa
One of the most powerful lobby groups ever assembled will gather in Berlin this week to press the German chancellor, Angela Merkel - the current chair of the rich nations club, the G8 - to ensure that it keeps the promise it made in 2006 to double aid to the world's poorest countries.

The Independent, April 22, 2007

Many women leaders, not much equality
"Progress has been made in reducing gender discrimination in Asia and the Pacific, though the pace has been uneven between sub-regions and individual countries," says the 2007 annual regional survey carried out by the Bangkok-based Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Inter Press Service News Agency, April 20, 2007

Top UN official urges action by all development partners to reach anti-poverty goals
UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro has urged action by all partners to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the time-bound anti-poverty targets that were set by world leaders meeting at the UN in 2000, to address the disparities in today's world. "Midway to the MDG target date of 2015, the world has registered mixed progress towards these targets," she said in an address at Boston University Wednesday, hailing advances in many parts of the world, including a number of Asian countries.

Associated Press of Pakistan, April 19, 2007

Superpower for some
Sixty years after independence, India is rapidly transforming itself from an underdeveloped country into a leading world economy. But the problems of poverty that blighted the country when Pope Paul VI wrote his 1967 encyclical Populorum Progressio still need radical solutions.
The Tablet, April 21, 2007

The Millennium Development Goals: Broken Promises
"The Millennium Development Goals are the world's agreed goals to cut poverty, hunger, and disease. Established in 2000, their targets were to be met by 2015. We are now at the halfway point. So far, despite endless words about increasing aid to poor countries, the rich G-8 countries are reneging on their part of the bargain... It's time for the rich countries to stop giving lectures to the poor, and instead to follow through on their own words. And G-8 citizens must hold their governments accountable for what they have pledged but not delivered."

Professor Jeffrey Sachs
The Sunday Times Online, April 22, 2007

The Millennium Campaign
The Millennium Campaign informs, inspires and encourages people's involvement and action for the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals. An initiative of the United Nations, the campaign supports citizens' efforts to hold their government to account for the millennium promise. The site provides a wealth of information about the MDGs, including country information, news, a worldwide calendar of events, and links to other websites. There are also specific sections for children and youth. You can stay informed about the campaign by receiving personalised updates and action alerts. By accessing the site's Action Centre, you can send a letter online directly to different groups of stakeholders or participate in an online chat.

www.millenniumcampaign.org

MDG Card Game
Do you want to learn more about the MDGs in a fun way? Or do you think you already know everything there is to know about them? Then test your knowledge while playing the online MDG Card Game! Match the cards, answer the trivia questions, and based on your speed and accuracy, accumulate the most points to be eligible for one of TakingITGlobal's prize packs. If you want to play without having to be online, Windows and Mac OS X versions of the MDG game can be downloaded.

TakingITGlobal

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Prayer for the Millennium Goals

In a world where so many go hungry,
Let us make the fruits of Creation available for all.

In a world where one billion of our brothers and
sisters do not have safe drinking water,
Let us help the waters run clear.

In a world where so many children die so young,
And so many mothers die in childbirth,
And so many families are ravaged by disease,
Let us bring health and healing.

In a world where women carry such heavy burdens,
Let us recognise and restore the rights of all.

Let us join together, with a new sense of global community,
A new awareness of our need for one another.

And for this fragile planet,
To meet the clear challenges of the Millennium Goals,
To bring hope as substantial as bread,
To make human dignity as visible as wheat in the fields. AMEN.

From the Centre of Concern, cited at www.ssndba.org