Achievement of the Health-Related Millennium Development Goals in the Western Pacific Region 2016: Transitioning to the Sustainable Development Goals

In 2000, eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established and adopted by 189 heads of state in the United Nations Millennium Declaration. The target year for achievement of the MDGs was 2015. The MDGs led to important progress, but the initiative has been criticized for ignoring many aspects of development and focusing on aggregated rather than equitable achievement.

The WHO Western Pacific Region achieved all but two of the health related MDG targets, and made significant progress on the two that were not achieved. Clear disparities still remain among and between countries in the Region on health-related MDG indicators. Efforts will continue to achieve the unfinished MDG agenda and to address new or previously neglected health priorities included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.