By IANS
New York : Voicing concern over the lack of progress in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has called upon the developed countries to honour their commitments.
Head of the UAE delegation Maitha Salem Alshamsi told a UN panel reviewing the progress of the MDGs that rich countries must fulfil their promises made during the millennium summit in 2000, WAM news agency reported Friday.
During the summit, 189 heads of the states or governments adopted the UN Millennium Declaration, from which the eight-goal action plan, the MDGs, was particularly promoted.
The goals call for eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development.
Speaking about UAE’s efforts to achieve the MDGs, Alshamsi said UAE contributes 3.6 percent of its gross national product (GNP) for development assistance to developing countries.
“This is in addition to a number of special initiatives taken by the country to provide the necessary financing for specific development programmes, the latest of which was ‘Dubai Cares’ campaign launched in 2007 to provide basic education for one million children in developing countries, especially in Africa,” Al Shamisi noted.