In January 2000, the leaders of 189 countries agreed on a new vision for the future – one with less poverty, hunger and disease, greater survival and improved health for mothers and infants, children with primary education, equality for women, and a better environment.

It is a vision of a world in which developed and developing countries work in partnership for global development. The Millennium Development Goals provide a framework for this vision, with targets by which to measure progress. They MDGs are:

Eradicate 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

Develop a global partnership for development

IPS considers information and communication to be essential elements of development and development cooperation. Realising “the right to be heard” is a concrete way to empower the poor and to promote accountability. Creating spaces for dialogue, and directly involving policy and decision–makers, are further ways to increase the value of development communication interventions.

IPS has been covering the core issues tackled by the MDGs since long before the goals were formulated at the Millennium Summit in September 2000. The MDGs form the core of the IPS news and content provision activities. In addition, IPS sees the provision of training programmes and tools to journalists as a way to enhance the coverage of the MDGs both within and outside of the IPS news agency –– particularly in the South where the IPS network is strongest and need the greatest.