Three years ago, we-the people of the world, represented by leaders and officials from 189 countries at the Millennium Summit-pledged to pursue an ambitious global poverty-fighting agenda, embodied in a set of eight feasible Millennium Development Goals: to halve extreme poverty and hunger by the year 2015; to make primary education available to all girls and boys; to ensure gender equality; to reduce child and maternal mortality around the world; to stop and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; to strive for environmental sustainability; and to work for global cooperation in terms of aid, trade and debt relief. The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is an annual occasion to reflect on our collective commitments and to recognize people's power to realize those commitments.

These Millennium Development Goals have been broken down into a list of quantifiable, time-bound targets that are specific, practical and realistic, not idealistic. They are technically feasible. They are financially affordable. But without social mobilization across national and international boundaries, we will not progress from concept to achievement. A movement is needed to create awareness, trigger policy reforms, mobilize resources, motivate actors, and forge a grand coalition to meet the goals-both globally and locally.

All around the world, people are becoming part of that movement. They increasingly realize that the goals affect everybody and that everyone can contribute. Today, people are taking action, across countries and communities-from cartoons to graffiti, from T-shirts to puppets, from TV programmes to bus tours, from postage stamps to reports - for advocacy and awareness building. They have voiced their views on tailoring, prioritizing and localizing the goals. They have influenced macro-economic and social policies. They are increasingly taking part in monitoring progress and campaigning for progress.

People power has made a difference. Yet, the human deprivations that persist are unacceptable. Millions of people go to bed hungry every night, tens of thousands of children die every day from preventable causes, every minute a woman dies in childbirth, and the HIV pandemic continues to spread and destroy countless lives, families and communities. Achieving the Millennium Development Goals will neither be easy nor automatic, but it can be done.

The world cannot remain neutral when fellow human beings are denied their fundamental human rights. Doing nothing is not an option.
Each of us can make a difference.