Deputy PM heads to Millennium Development Goals Summit
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has vowed to tell world leaders to "step up to the plate" and deliver on promises to boost aid for the developing world.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has vowed to tell world leaders to “step up to the plate” and deliver on promises to boost aid for the developing world.
Nick Clegg is travelling to New York to represent the UK Government at the United Nations talks on meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
The MDG’s, agreed ten years ago by world leaders, are clear and measurable targets aimed at improving the lives of millions of people around the globe.
Writing last week the Deputy PM said that with just five years to go until the 2015 target deadline, the MDG’s are “still woefully off track”.
At the summit the UK will push for a clear agenda setting out a path towards the achievement of the 2015 target, and will highlight its focus on women, girls and maternal health.
The Deputy PM said:
At [the] summit I will announce the UK’s commitment to double the number of women and newborn lives saved by 2015, saving the lives of at least 50,000 women in pregnancy and childbirth, a quarter of a million newborn babies and enabling 10 million couples to access modern methods of family planning.
In addition to the prime minister’s commitment at June’s G8 summit to spend £750m on tackling maternal mortality, we will overhaul all our aid programmes to see what we can do differently to save more women and babies, using new technology and new ways of working to make every penny of aid go further than ever before.
The UK will also use the summit to highlight its commitment to reduce malaria in heavily affected countries. About half the world’s population are at risk of malaria and more than 2,300 people die from the disease every day.
Read more: PM’s statement on G8 and G20
Read more: The coalition will cut maternal deaths by 2015 [Guardian website]