MDG Advocacy Group urges international community to push to reach 2015 goals

At a meeting on the sidelines of the 67th U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday in New York, the MDG Advocacy Group -- which comprises representatives from the private sector, academia, governments and civil society -- "urge[d] the international community to step up efforts for the final three years of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)," the U.N. News Centre reports. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established the group in 2010 "to help him build political will and mobilize global action for the benefit of the poor and the most vulnerable," according to the news service. At the meeting, Ban said, "This is no time to relax. 2015 is fast approaching. ... We can and must continue to push as hard as we can to build on the momentum the goals have generated," the news service notes (9/26).

On Tuesday at a meeting of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which is charged with developing the next goals, Ban said, "We need a clear post-2015 development agenda -- an agenda with shared responsibilities for all countries, with the fight against poverty at the fore and sustainable development at the core," AlertNet reports. "The session heard comments from development practitioners and researchers, as well as some of the high-level panel's 26 members, including former Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan," the news service notes (Anderson, 9/26).