At the recent UN summit to evaluate progress made towards the millennium development goals (MDGs) in September, donor countries have been told that the goals are achievable by their 2015 target date if they scale up their efforts and financial commitments and improve the way they deliver aid. The outcome document, Keeping the Promise: United to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals, provides a long list of steps that need to be taken in order to get there, including important commitments for women’s and children’s health and several other initiatives to continue the fight against poverty, hunger and disease. As Canadians, it is nice to know that the UN has embraced the Muskoka initiative for maternal and child health that was established at the G8 Summit in June, and after Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s speech at the UN also hailed its adoption by the G8.

Broken Promises: The Fragility Gap and the MDGs