At the Millennium Summit in 2000, 189 Member States agreed to help the world's poorest countries significantly by the year 2015. A framework for progress consisting of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was derived from the Millennium Declaration adopted by these world leaders.

• MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education
• MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
• MDG 4: Reduce child mortality
• MDG 5: Improve maternal health
• MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
• MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development

UNFPA's work in the fields of reproductive health and rights, women's empowerment and population issues is at the core of the achievement of the MDGs especially by promoting gender equality (MDG 3), by improving maternal health (MDG 5) and by preventing from HIV (MDG 6).

Poverty cannot and will not be eradicated without also achieving the ICPD goals. Universal access to education and reproductive health care are crucial steps that can help individuals break out of cycles of poverty. Reproductive rights are central to women's empowerment and empowered women are the key to healthier and more productive families, communities and countries.

Over the last half century, ideas about the relationships between population, sustainability and human rights have evolved significantly. At the centre of this evolution stands the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994). This watershed event forged an international consensus that placed individuals and human rights at the centre of population and development concerns. It shed new light on the linkages between reproductive health and rights and other aspects of development.

At the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, 179 countries agreed that population and development are inextricably linked, and that empowering women and meeting people's needs for education and health, including reproductive health, are necessary for both individual advancement and balanced development. The conference adopted a 20-year Programme of Action, which focused on individuals' needs and rights, rather than on achieving demographic targets.

These countries are committed to follow a road map for the development aiming the achievements of the following goals:

• To ensure the universal access to the Reproductive health services for all by the end of 2015
• To guarantee primary education for all reduce the inequalities in education among two sexes by the end of 2015
• Reduce the maternal death rate by 75% by the end of 2015
• Reduce the infant mortality rate
• Increase the life expectancy
• Reduce the rate of infections to HIV