Through WOCCU's international development programs, credit unions worldwide are contributing to the achievement of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are comprised of eight primary targets to eliminate extreme poverty throughout the world. The goals include:

Goal 1 - Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty
Goal 2 - Achieve Universal Primary Education
Goal 3 - Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Goal 4 - Reduce Child Mortality
Goal 5 - Improve Maternal Health
Goal 6 - Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases
Goal 7 - Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Goal 8 - Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Of these eight goals, WOCCU's work supports the following targets under Goals 1, 3, and 6.

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

• Target 1.A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than US$1 a day.

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

• Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

• Target 6.A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.
• Target 6.B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it.

The official list of MDG indicators and the "Handbook—Indicators for Monitoring the MDGs" were reviewed to determine the ways in which WOCCU's program activities overlap with the MDGs.

* For more information on the MDGs and their targets, please visit www.un.org/millenniumgoals. For more information on the MDG indicators, please visit http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg.