UNITED NATIONS.— On September 25, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, called on the international community to intensify efforts to meet the millennium development goals over the 462 days left until the 2015 deadline.

Huge advances have been made across the planet, but a lot remains to be done and the deadline set 14 years ago is fast approaching, Ban warned at an event of the Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group, which brings together personalities from across the world. The Secretary-General highlighted that rate of children who die before the age of five has been halved; the 45% fall in maternal mortality rates; access to antiretroviral drugs for millions of HIV/Aids sufferers; and the 22 million lives that have been saved in the fight against tuberculosis.

Less people are living in poverty, more children are going to school and access to portable water has improved, Ban added at the meeting held in the context of the high-level session which began September 24, at the UN General Assembly, at which the post-2015 development agenda is the focus for heads of State and Government.

However, the Secretary-General drew attention to the huge amount that remains to be done in order to meet the goals, especially in regards to tackling hunger, undernourishment, maternal and child mortality and health issues.

Data from the United Nations shows that 1.2 billion people are living in extreme poverty, 800 million are suffering hunger and 2.5 billion have inadequate sanitary conditions, with a large number continuing to defecate outside.

According to Ban, action should be taken on two fronts; fulfillment of the eight goals agreed in New York in 2000 and the formulation of new goals for the post-2015 agenda.