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In 2000, the member states of the United Nations committed themselves to creating a "more peaceful, prosperous and just world," to "free[ing] our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty," to making "the right to development a reality for everyone," and to ridding "the entire human race from want."

Are these just more well-meaning words?

Perhaps this time they will make a difference, because the joint declaration also set out eight goals—the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)--and each goal has specific, measurable targets that should be met by 2015. These goals aim to make definite improvements in the lives of the world’s poor people, judged, in most cases, against their situation in 1990. The need for accomplishing these goals is immense. Today, 1.1 billion people live on less than one US dollar per day (the internationally recognized poverty threshold)--430 million in South Asia, 325 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, 260 million in East Asia and the Pacific, and 55 million in Latin America. Too many children live lives characterized by hunger and illness, and all too often succumb to early death. Moreover, another 1.6 billion people live on between one and two dollars per day, often sliding temporarily below the one dollar per day threshold. To enable all these people to live in dignity, the eight goals to achieve by 2015 are:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger


2. Achieve universal primary education


3. Promote gender equality and empower women


4. Reduce child mortality


5. Improve maternal health


6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases


7. Ensure environmental sustainability


8. Develop a global partnership for development

These goals are all indispensable and they require complex, coordinated action. But with such an enormous yet essential mandate at hand, how best can we proceed to 2015?

Joachim von Braun is the director general of IFPRI.

M. S. Swaminathan is the chairman of the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, the co-coordinator of the Millennium Project's Task Force on Hunger, and president of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

Mark W. Rosegrant is the director of IFPRI's Environment and Production Technology Division.

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My attention has been recently drawn to an Essay entitled "Agriculture, Food Security, Nutrition and the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)", which would be included in the forthcoming 2003-2004 IFPRI Annual Report.

I have read this Essay with much interest and wish to congratulate you and your co-authors, Mr. Swaminathan and Mr. Rosegrant, for the quality of the analysis and the relevance of the findings and conclusions. This Organization fully supports your views that the interpretation of the MDGs should be modified to promote a reduction in the absolute number of people suffering from hunger in accordance with the goal set by the World Food Summit in 1996.

FAO also recognizes the essential role of agriculture and food and nutrition security in reaching each of the MDGs and the need to integrate them as components of any successful comprehensive MDG strategy.

In fact, I can share the content of your excellent synthesis on issues and opportunities in relation to the MDGs almost entirely and wish to thank you for this contribution which would certainly help to convince governments, donors and other stakeholders, within and outside the UN system, of the importance of agriculture and food and nutrition security in the development process. In this context, I would wish to draw the attention of the concerned authorities in all our Member Sates to this Essay and wonder whether you intend to produce it in other languages, in particular, Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish which are the other languages of FAO.

Please convey my congratulations and appreciation to Mr. Swaminathan and Mr. Rosegrant for a work well done.

Authors' response: The essay is currently being translated into Spanish.

Update: The essay is now available to download or order in Spanish, French, Chinese and Arabic.