Publication

This essay examines the history and achievements of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as the proposals for the post-2015 global development agenda that will replace the MDGs. The author argues that the MDGs are widely seen as being successful and that they may well have helped speed up progress in health and education around the world. However, he also suggests that the power of the MDGs was in their simplicity and clarity, something that has not been replicated in the proposed post-2105 goals meaning they will likely have a comparatively limited value and impact.