Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says a 15-year effort to implement eight goals adopted by world leaders at the start of the new millennium has helped lift more than one billion people out of extreme poverty.
He further said it enabled more girls to go to school than ever before, and brought unprecedented results in fighting diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
In the final report on the Millennium Development Goals released Monday, the U.N. chief said the global mobilization to implement the goals has produced "the most successful anti-poverty movement in history."
But he said inequality persists, with 80 percent of the people living on less than $1.25 a day residing in two regions — southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and 60 percent in just five countries — India, Nigeria, China, Bangladesh and Congo.