Although the broad global consensus around a set of clear, measurable and time-bound development objectives, widely described as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), has generated unprecedented coordinated action across the world, progress has been hardest to come by in the poorest countries, the United Nations (UN) has warned. The MDGs set targets for progress in eight areas: Poverty and hunger; primary education; women's equality; child mortality; maternal health; disease; environment; and a global partnership for development.