One-sixth of the world's population lives in extreme poverty. Lack of income is part of the problem, but the dimensions of human poverty are much greater. Pandemic disease, widespread conflict, environmental degradation, chronic hunger, and a lack of access to education are all both causes and effects of human poverty. In order to meet the challenge of addressing global poverty in all its dimensions, world leaders in 2000, envisioning rich and poor nations working together in partnership to combat poverty, created the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of eight quantifiable targets designed to cut poverty in half by the year 2015:
In 2005, two prominent world events - the June G8 Summit and the September World Summit of the UN - devoted large segments of their agendas to the MDGs and took several steps forward: (1) A strong reaffirmation of the MDGs by the international community; (2) A commitment by G8 leaders to significantly increase foreign assistance by 2010; and (3) A new plan for 100% debt cancellation for a group of the world's most impoverished countries. The United States has not been as supportive as it could be.
The 74th General Convention (2003) adopted Resolution D 006 supporting the Millennium Development Goals. That resolution also calls upon the United States to contribute 0.7% of its budget to international aid, and calls upon all diocese and parishes to contribute at least 0.7% of their budgets to support programs that foster economic development in the world's poorest countries. The 2005 Convention of the Diocese of Maryland accepted and affirmed this resolution.
The Anglican Communion as a whole also supports the MDGs. The June 2005 meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-13) passed a resolution endorsing the MDGs, building on the initiatives of the 1998 Lambeth Conference of bishops endorsing 0.7% giving and broad international debt relief.
Sources: Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN) at www.episcopalchurch.org/eppn; Diocese of Maryland.