The Millennium Project: a plan for meeting the Millennium Development Goals

• Published in: The Lancet (British edition) 2005-01, Vol.365 (9456), p.347-353
• Main Authors: Sachs, JD, McArthur, JW
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Child mortality; Developing Countries; Economic development; Economic growth; Essays; General aspects; GNP; Gross National Product; Health Expenditures; Healthy People Programs - organization & administration; Humans; Hunger; Income; Investments; LDCs; Low income areas; Low income groups; Medical sciences; Organizational Objectives; Organizational Policy; Poverty; Social goals; Social services; Socioeconomic Factors; Sustainable development; Task forces; United Nations
• ISSN: 0140-6736; 1474-547X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)17791-5

As the central strategy document at the country level, the PRSP must be aligned with the MDGs. In countries where the goals are already within reach, additional MDG-plus targets can be set. So far, most national strategies have not been ambitious enough to meet the MDGs, especially in low-income countries, and have instead planned around modest incremental expansions of social services and infrastructure on the basis of existing budgets and amounts of donor aid. Instead, MDG-based poverty reduction strategies should present a bold, 10-year framework aimed at achieving the quantitative target set in the MDGs. They should spell out a financial plan for making the necessary investments, then show what domestic resources can afford and how much will be needed from the donors. Although poverty reduction is mainly the responsibility of developing countries themselves, achievement of the MDGs in the poorest countries-those that genuinely aspire to the MDG targets-will require substantial increases in official development assistance to break the poverty trap. Importantly, we are not advocating new development processes or policy vehicles. We are simply recommending that the current processes be MDG-oriented.