Setting Goals for the World: Ending Poverty in Our Generation

Save the Children’s Vision for a Post-2015 Framework
A new year always brings a sense of possibility. Against the backdrop of newness, many of us try to set goals for the coming year. While the chances of sticking to those goals are low for most of us, data shows that when goals are clear, measurable, realistic, and shared with others, they are far more likely to be achieved. This has been proven for individuals, families, organizations and even countries. But, what about setting goals for the world?

Save the Children, in collaboration with their many partners, including UNICEF, have presented a set of 10 goals for the world—goals that have at their core, the needs and best interests of children. They are bold, ambitious and exciting. They are also clear, measurable, realistic, and being widely shared with others. The possibility of every child having access to disease-preventing vaccines, a wide range of nutritional foods, education, sanitation, and clean water has staggering implications.

Since 2000, the world has been striving towards the Millennium Development Goals, established under the banner of the United Nations and set to expire in 2015. Known as the MDGs, there has been much success, and some goals that have not proceeded as well.

Save the Children’s ambitious plan, focused on the world’s children, takes the MDGs to their next natural level.

• Goal 1: By 2030 we will eradicate extreme poverty and reduce relative poverty through inclusive growth and decent work
• Goal 2: By 2030 we will eradicate hunger, halve stunting, and ensure universal access to sustainable food, water and sanitation
• Goal 3: By 2030 we will end preventable child and maternal mortality and provide healthcare for all
• Goal 4: By 2030 we will ensure all children receive a good-quality education and have good learning outcomes
• Goal 5: By 2030 we will ensure all children live a life free from all forms of violence, are protected in conflict and thrive in a safe family environment
• Goal 6: By 2030 governance will be more open, accountable and inclusive
• Goal 7: By 2030 we will have robust global partnerships for more and effective use of financial resources
• Goal 8: By 2030 we will build disaster-resilient societies
• Goal 9: By 2030 we will have a sustainable, healthy and resilient environment for all
• Goal 10: By 2030 we will deliver sustainable energy to all

Imagine a world with these goals fully implemented and achieved!

This is a critical year for children. Later this week in Ethiopia, African Health Ministers and their teams, along with world experts, are meeting for a pan-Africa Child Survival – A Promise Renewed Summit. A similar meeting is happening in India in February. These gatherings build on the momentum and commitments made at the ‘Child Survival Call to Action’ held in Washington DC last summer. The reality is that huge strides have been made for children in the past decade.

This is a future that is not a pipe dream. The knowledge exists, the resources are reachable, and now we need global will power. This is a future we can each get excited about, and take a part in creating—for the world’s children, and for all of us.

You can read or download the full report from Save the Children here. Learn more at www.savethechildren.org or find them on facebook and twitter.