UN General Assembly discusses sustainable developments goals

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the global public health academic community to be active partners in the future development framework as the international community starts to set its post-2015 anti-poverty goals. “Our hope is that governments will fashion and reach consensus on an ambitious and coherent global agenda with a single set of goals by 2015 that are every bit as inspiring as the MDGs have been,” Ban said yesterday at the Global Colloquium of University Presidents, hosted by New York University. Noting the importance of public health, he added that there appears to be growing consensus that, in addition to specific health goals, “we should develop concrete health targets under all development goals.” The eight MDGs, agreed at a UN summit in 2000, set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a ‘Global Partnership for Development.’ This September, the President of the General Assembly will convene a special event on the MDGs to assess progress ahead of the 2015 deadline, as well as identify remaining gaps and challenges ahead.