Gordon Brown has called for private sector and third sector organisations to join with governments in order to make progress on poverty, education and health issues in the developing world.
Speaking during a televised session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland the PM said that the current lack of progress on key Millennium Development Goals constituted an "emergency". He praised the work of Non-Governmental Organsiations in places such as Africa but said that there was need for a "new urgency" to stand a chance of meeting the goals by the target date of 2015.
The PM said:
"We've thought too much of the Millennium Development Goals as something that Governments have got to do between Governments...I think we should see this is a collective endeavour, I think we should summon up all the energies of the private sector, of the NGOs, of faith groups as well as of Governments."
The Millennium Development Goals, set out in 2000, include pledges to have every child in education and to cut infant mortality by three-quarters by the year 2015. Speaking at Davos today the PM said there was "no chance" of meeting those targets on present trends.
Mr Brown also repeated his call for reform of international institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to enable them to meet the new challenges of the 21st century.
Source: By 10 Downing Street
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