Geneva, Switzerland (Sept. 23, 2010) – As the Millennium Development Goals Summit comes to a close in New York, CARE International is urging the international community to continue the momentum and act on its promises.

After months of negotiations, governments agreed on an Outcome Document outlining specific recommendations on how to move forward on the MDGs. Although it doesn’t list specific funding commitments, it calls for annual progress reports, plus another special MDG summit in 2013.

“For the people living in poverty every day, fighting to find their next meal, 2015 is just around the corner. And they have the right to ask: five years from now, will my life be different?” said Geoffrey Dennis, Secretary General of CARE International. “We have reason to be hopeful that it will. But it is our responsibility to help hold governments accountable, and make sure that these promises are more than just words on paper. Annual reporting is a good step to hold donors accountable, but we need to remember that the fight to reach the MDGs doesn’t happen once a year, or at a special summit: it’s going on every day in poor communities around the world.”

So far, the outlook from the summit is cautiously optimistic. CARE has been deeply engaged in the process leading up to the Summit, including being a leading contributor to the development of the U.N. Secretary General's Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health. Yesterday, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon  announced an historic pledge of US$40 billion from governments, aid agencies, private industry and other stakeholders over the next five years to accelerate progress towards meeting MDGs four (child health) and five (maternal health), the two goals that are lagging furthest behind. Commitments from non-governmental organizations totalled more than US$5 billion, of which CARE contributed US$1.8 billion.

“This was an example of partnership at its best: governments, aid agencies, foundations, and corporations coming together to collectively improve the lives of millions of women and children around the world,” said Geoffrey Dennis. “We are asking world leaders who attended the summit not to wait: the minute you get back to your countries, meet with members of civil societies and create a core group to take this commitment forward.”

As the summit comes to a close, urgent work remains. In order to fill the gap between the world in which we live and the world we want, CARE will continue to push the international community to:

• Focus greater attention on people in extreme poverty and the most vulnerable people and populations
• Be more gender responsive and promote gender equality and women's empowerment
• Reflect broad-based country ownership, including communities and those being targeted by interventions

At the same time, meeting the MDGs requires action beyond the UN. The ongoing, unprecedented partnership among UN member states, aid agencies like CARE, and the private sector is critical to achieving the MDGs. These partnerships also enable us to ensure that commitments are linked, efforts aren't duplicative but complementary, and progress is robustly measured.

“This week was a positive reminder that the MDGs can be achieved if we commit ourselves and our resources to a common goal,” said Geoffrey Dennis. “But it is also a reminder that the clock is ticking. We have five years to make this work.”