WSBI starts campaign to use access to finance as an accelerator to reach the Millennium Development Goals.

WSBI’s proposals to include access to financial services as part of the Millennium Development Goals review

In 2010, world leaders will review the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These eight far-reaching goals were set by the United Nations in 2000 and encompass a broad range of important components for human development – from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education. The target date for achieving the MDGs is 2015. While progress has been made towards attaining these goals, there is still a lot of work ahead. Innovative and effective methods will be necessary to accelerate the process.

The Review process of the MDGs is ongoing, which will culminate with a Summit of Heads of State and Government on 20/22 September 2010, with the objective to boost efforts to achieve the Goals.

Access to financial services is not an explicit part of the MDGs as they stand today. WSBI has therefore taken the opportunity of the upcoming review to draw the attention of international policy makers to access to finance, as a means to accelerate progress towards the MDGs by 2015. It has developed an open message jointly signed by ‘like minded’ global organizations representing socially committed financial institutions and development finance organizations – the World Organisation of Credit Unions (WOCCU), the International Association of Social Finance Organisations (INAISE), Women's World Banking (WWB), the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) and the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF).
 
Access the open message here