Ten years on from the Millennium Summit, world leaders will again meet in New York later this year to review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. Hailed as the first truly global effort to fight poverty, the goals promised global action on issues such as education, gender, health and hunger. Progress, you may be thinking and yes, the goals have provided a development framework that has lasted for 10 years. This, in a world where commitments are made and unmade on a daily basis.
True, there have been some successes. The UN Millennium Campaign estimates that 40 developing countries may be on track to achieve most of the goals by 2015. Forty countries have had their debts cancelled, allowing for an increase in poverty-focused expenditure in developing countries; 300 million people – mainly in China and India – have moved above the poverty line and 30 million more children are now enrolled in school. Progress indeed, but far short of what was foreseen 10 years ago. 
Yet the inconvenient truth is that European countries are neglecting their responsibilities to the world’s poor, damaging development in the process.
In the past 10 years, the total number of people living in poverty around the world has not reduced. Over one billion people – one sixth of the world’s population – are still going hungry and the financial crisis has swept more than 100 million people back into poverty.
In a study published by ActionAid International in 2006 – using data from 5000 villages in 18 countries across Asia, Latin America and Africa – 25% of villages reported deaths due to hunger and nearly two-thirds reported people skipping meals. Four years on, we are not seeing real progress.
In fact, marginal gains made over the past few years have been wiped out overnight, as the world’s poor face up to the triple crises of finance, food and climate change. While European economies bicker about bail outs, 83% of villages in the poorest parts of the world are reporting that work is not readily available. Jobs that are available are often seasonal, employing people for 2-3 months at best. As the crisis continues to bite, those struggling to climb out of poverty are being sent crashing back down to earth with a resounding thud. Forget about bonuses, this is about survival.
International aid has increased in relative terms but many EU member states remain woefully off-target. In figures announced by the OECD last month, Germany and Italy – two major European economies – were seen to have cut aid in 2009. Further cuts by Austria, Greece, Ireland and Portugal mean that the EU is currently giving 0.42% of GNI in aid – when under its own targets, it should be at 0.56% – making it unlikely to meet the 0.7% target by 2015. Add to this black list all new member states, who have slashed their aid budgets, and it is no surprise that most of the 8 goals are unlikely to be met.
But it’s not only money that will make the difference. We need to be putting developing countries and their people in control of their own development and progress, not reducing a human rights based Millennium Declaration into a charitable project run by a few countries for the world’s poor. 
Five years is not long and we need to move fast. Think of how the crisis has affected you and your family. Sure, you’ve felt a pinch in your pocket but what if you lived on less than a dollar a day? For many people across Africa and Asia this is a reality and it cannot continue. 2015 should be the moment when the UN’s 192 members come together to celebrate making poverty history but on current form, this will not happen. Ten years on, we should be two-thirds of the way there. Instead, we’re two-thirds short of what is needed to meet the MDGs. We’ve proved with the banks that the money is there but the MDGs remain a tale of broken promises. Europe must play a leading role in averting disaster, because this is where we are heading. 

Sandeep Chachra is the Executive Director of ActionAid India