"In September 2000, 189 countries signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration [A/RES/55/2], committing themselves to eradicating extreme poverty in all its forms by 2015. To help track progress toward these commitments, a set of time-bound and quantified goals and targets, called the Millennium Development Goals, were developed for combating poverty in its many dimensions - including reducing income poverty, hunger, disease, environmental degradation and gender discrimination."