The overarching objective of Irish Aid is the reduction of poverty, inequality and exclusion in developing countries. All of Irish Aid's policies and activities are measured against their contribution to the reduction of poverty and against the progress they achieve towards the development targets set by the international community.
The eight Millennium Development Goals, agreed by the UN at a series of international summit meetings, identify some of the main causes of extreme poverty in today’s world and underpin the poverty reduction policies and activities of Irish Aid. The Millennium Development Goals require the international community to:
- eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
- achieve universal primary education;
- promote gender equality and empower women;
- reduce child mortality;
- improve maternal health;
- combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
- ensure environmental sustainability;
- develop a global partnership for development.
Clearly the causes of poverty cannot be addressed in isolation and are interwoven to such a degree that a comprehensive, holistic and cross-sectoral approach is crucial, if a real and sustainable reduction in poverty is to be achieved.
The Millennium Development Goals, and the specific targets set to enable their achievement to be measured, provide the context in which Irish Aid priority sectors are decided. The topics represented within the ‘Our Work’ section of the website focus on these key sectoral areas addressed by the Irish Aid programme and how they are interrelated.
For more information on the Millennium Development Goals go to: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ |
