|Putting Our Faith in the Millennium Development Goals| By
Adrienne Germain and Jennifer Kidwell Monday Developments,
August 8, 2005 Five years ago, the world’s governments defined
eight Millennium Development Goals to inspire action and monitor
progress on eliminating global poverty by 2015. They represent a
vision for collaboration among all people committed to moral, as
well as material, global progress. Putting Our Faith in the
Millennium Development Goals The MDGs are not just a list of
numeric targets. They are grounded in enduring values —
compassion, justice, fairness and peace — because much of the
anti-poverty community, including many in the women’s movement,
are people of faith and spirituality. Faith helped frame the
MDGs, and it can help transform them into reality. As Secretary-
General Kofi Annan has recognized, women’s health and rights are
also essential to fulfilling the MDGs. After all, as the ancient
Chinese proverb says, “Women hold up half the sky.” Nonetheless,
every year more than 500,