The Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Decent Work Agenda are inextricably linked in their pursuit of development and poverty eradication through peace and security, values and human rights, democracy and good governance.

The ILO Decent Work Agenda is highly relevant to all eight MDGs in the fight against global poverty, within the context of fair globalization. Decent work is essential to achieve them. Below are the MDGs, with one example showing the relevance of the ILO and the Decent Work Agenda:

MDG 1 – Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

The ILO Declaration of Philadelphia states that “Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere.” An important way the ILO tackles this complex problem is by promoting pro-poor growth and poverty reduction through decent work at country level.

MDG 2 – Achieve universal primary education

A child who is educated is more empowered to escape from poverty. With this in mind, the ILO promotes universally accessible, free and compulsory education and works to eliminate child labour.

MDG 3 – Promote gender equality and empower women

Gender equality and the empowerment of women are essential to overcome poverty. Gender equality cross-cuts the Decent Work Agenda, and the ILO mainstreams gender concerns through all its policies and programmes.

MDG 4 – Reduce child mortality

Improving child protection and the status of women is key.  The ILO focuses on working mothers, health care workers, combating child labour and extending social protection.

MDG 5 – Improve maternal health

While maternal mortality is improving globally, the risk of dying in pregnancy is dramatically higher in the poorest countries than in the richest ones. Access to health care and social security schemes, as well as improved education and employment for women and girls, are essential elements of ILO programmes in this area.

MDG 6 – Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

The HIV pandemic and associated disease have an impact on the labour force, on enterprise efficiency and on the transfer of skills and experience. The ILO is a co-sponser of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and tries to promote understanding of the disease as a workplace issue while working to extend social protection.

MDG 7 – Ensure environmental sustainability

Environmental challenges facing the earth affect social and economic development and the world of work. Environmental degradation is linked to unsustainable production and consumption patterns that undermine the livelihoods of the working poor.  The ILO recognizes that environmental protection and regeneration are a potential source of employment, and promotes sustainable development through decent work.

MDG 8 – Develop a global partnership for development

Globalization has the potential to promote open societies, more productive economies and the freer exchange of goods, knowledge and ideas…globalization is fair only when it creates opportunities for more and better jobs. The ILO promotes decent work as a global goal in fair globalization, and calls for greater policy coherence for poverty reduction across the multilateral system. For instance, the ILO leads the Youth Employment Network (YEN) to address the challenge of youth unemployment in poor countries.