To galvanize support for the Millennium Development Goals, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has established an MDG Advocacy Group of eminent personalities who have shown outstanding leadership in promoting the implementation of the Goals. The wide range of these Advocates’ backgrounds and expertise is indicative that the preparatory process for the MDG Summit in September needs to engage all stakeholders.

The MDG Advocacy Group will support the Secretary-General in building political will and mobilizing global action to make the MDG Summit a turning point in our collective effort to achieve the Goals by the 2015 target date.

Co-Chairs

Paul Kagame
President of Rwanda

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Prime Minister of Spain

Members

Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh)
Nobel Peace Prize Winner, founder of the Grameen Bank
Focus on MDG 8 (global partnership for development)

Michelle Bachelet (Chile)
Former President
Focus on MDG 3 (gender equality and the empowerment of women)

Stine Bosse (Denmark)
CEO of TrygVesta Group, Chairman of Børnefonden (The Childrens’ Fund)
Focus on MDG 3 (gender equality and the empowerment of women)

Philippe Douste-Blazy (France)
UN Special Advisor on innovative financing for development
Focus on MDGs 4, 5, 6 (child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS and other diseases)

Hiromasa Yonekura (Japan)
Chairman of Sumitomo Chemical and of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren)
Focus on MDG 6 (HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases)

Wangari Maathai (Kenya)
Nobel Peace Prize Winner, environmental and political activist
Focus on MDG 7 (environmental sustainability)

Dho Young-Shim (Republic of Korea)
Chairman of the UN World Tourism Organization’s Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP) Foundation
Focus on MDG 2 (universal primary education)

Julio Frenk (Mexico)
Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, former Minister of Health
Focus on MDGs 4, 5 and 6 (child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases)

Akin Adesina (Nigeria)
Vice President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
Focus on MDG 1 (extreme poverty and hunger)

HHS Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser (Qatar)
First Lady, Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development
Focus on MDG 2 (universal primary education)

Graça Machel (South Africa / Mozambique)
Former First Lady, advocate for women’s and children’s rights
Focus on MDG 3 (gender equality and the empowerment of women)

Jan Eliasson (Sweden)
Chair of WaterAid Sweden, Former President of the UN General Assembly
Focus on MDGs 7 and 8 (environmental sustainability and global partnership for development)

Ray Chambers (United States)
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria
Focus on MDG 6 (HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases)

Bill Gates (United States)
Philanthropist, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chairman of Microsoft Corp.
Focus on MDGs 4, 5, 6 (child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases)

Jeffrey Sachs (United States)
UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the MDGs
Focus on all MDGs

Ted Turner (United States)
Philanthropist, Chairman of Turner Enterprises Inc.
Focus on all MDGs