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Do UN Global Development Goals Matter to the US?

Do UN Global Development Goals Matter to the US?, a May 2013 Report by Nellie Bristol of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, appraises the suprisingly strong influence the MDGs (2000-2015) had over the course of the past decade 'as a visible and effective tool for rallying resources for and attention to important development issues. They also spurred measurement of disease burden, social progress, and aid effectiveness.'  Bristol describes the inclusive process underway for the post-2015 agenda and asserts that the US is participating in the process for defining the next critical goals for development funds. Past areas of congruent global health development priorities included the maternal and child mortality reduction outcomes (MDGs 4 and 5), both domains where substantial progress has been made but still requiring additional programmatic scaling.

Additional international agreement is solidifying around the attention needed for new global health strategies to mitigate quality of life and related cost consequences of non-communicable diseases, continued health systems strengthening, and universal health coverage--all affecting economic growth of both developing and developed nations. In 2010, the Obama Administration announced the four imperatives of its latest Development Policy-- innovation, sustainability, tracking outcomes, and mutual accountablility--stressing that the MDGs must be integrated as goals in each are interrelated. President Obama is cited in 2013 as supporting the goals, while crafting US-specific development programs, such as, the AIDs Free Generation program. Reported surveys of Americans find that US citizens support poverty reduction and global health initiatives, though unfamiliar with the MDGs terminology and programs.