• MDG 1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger To reduce by half both the number of people living on less than a dollar a day and those suffering from hunger. It is estimated that 238 million young people subsist on less than a $1 a day, and 462 million young people on less than $2 a day.  [see the story of Silvia] • MDG 2 Achieve universal primary education To ensure that all boys and girls complete primary schooling. There are 133 million youth who do not know how to read or write, and another 115 million children who do not go to school. And there are also another 100 million children who, due to a variety of reasons, will be forced to leave school before having learned to read and write.  [see the story of Kaima] • MDG 3 Promote gender equality and empower women Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015. Two-thirds of the world’s illiterate people are women, and the employment rate for women is only two-thirds that of men.  [see the story of Anna] • MDG 4 Reduce child mortality To reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate among children under five. There are 30,000 children worldwide who die daily from preventable illnesses, or ten million children every year.  [see the story of Sinat] • MDG 5 Improve maternal health To reduce by three-quarters the maternal mortality rate. Every year, more than 500,000 women die in pregnancy and childbirth, while thirty times that number suffer from pregnancy-related complications. While one in ten births worldwide is to a teenage mother (one in six in the poorest countries), childbirth is the leading cause of death for young women aged 15-19. The majority of adolescent women neither have access to information about reproductive health nor to trained practitioners.  [see the story of Margaret] • MDG 6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases To halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases. Seven thousand young people are infected with HIV/AIDS daily, and the majority of new cases are occurring among youth aged 15-24, mostly young girls.  [see the story of Jason] • MDG 7 Ensure environmental sustainability To integrate principles of sustainable development into the policies of each country, and to reverse the loss of environmental resources. Also, to reduce by half those who do not have regular access to safe drinking water, and by 2020 to significantly improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers. There are 1.2 billion people worldwide who lack access to safe drinking water, and 2.4 billion who lack access to toilets. These environmental problems not only affect young people today but will have severe implications for their futures.  [see the story of Mohammed] • MDG 8 Achieve a global partnership for development In cooperation with developing countries, to create decent and productive work for youth. Youth in the poorest areas cannot achieve the first seven goals without more strategic aid to their countries, better trade opportunities, and debt relief from wealthy countries. Currently, half of the world’s unemployed are under the age of 24.  [see the story of Urideia]