At the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, 189 member states unanimously adopted the Millennium Declaration, collectively agreeing "to free all men, women, and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty".

To support this bold ambition a set of clear and comprehensive goals were adopted, committing the world to specific targets for progress in eight key areas by 2015.

These Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have become the main yardstick for global progress in the battle against deprivation and are followed closely around the world.

Eight years on, we are more than halfway to the MDG endpoint and must collectively take stock of our progress. More importantly, we must identify the gaps, learn from the successes and find ways to increase our efforts if we are to meet the goals on time. That is the purpose of the high-level event on the MDGs at the UN General Assembly in New York.

The most recent global report on the MDGs shows that much progress has been made. Access to primary education is over 90 percent in all but two regions of the world, putting 40 million more children in school, and 1.6 billion people have gained access to safe water sources since 1990.

Three million fewer children die from disease every year. Gender disparities in primary and secondary school enrolment have fallen by 60 percent, and rates of new infections and deaths from HIV/AIDS have been reversed. The goal of halving poverty is within reach.

Progress has however been uneven across the globe. China is a star performer, having already achieved the goals on halving poverty and hunger, and providing universal access to primary education while it is firmly on track to meeting most of the rest by 2015.

Thanks to its size and rapid progress, however, China is also impacting global estimates. While the share of the world living in poverty has fallen by 16 percent since 1990, nearly 10 percentage points are thanks only to China. The goal of halving poverty in the rest of the world remains a tremendous challenge.

The MDG update illustrates that in fact many of the goals are still far from being met at the global level. A quarter of all children in developing countries remain undernourished and risk lifelong impairment as a result. Nearly 100 countries are expected to fail at creating gender balance in education. Half a million women still die every year in connection with childbirth. Donor countries have reduced aid flows instead of increasing them as promised.