Cates Willard author Abdool Karim Quarraisha author Columbia University. Epidemiology El-Sadr Wafaa Mahmoud author Columbia University. Epidemiology Columbia University. Medicine Columbia University. International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs Haffner Debra W. author Kalema-Zikusoka Gladys author Rogo Khama author Petruney Tricia author Averill E. Megan Davidson author Columbia University. Epidemiology originator text Articles 2010 English The United Nations' (UN's) eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (1) are widely accepted as the primary path to alleviating poverty worldwide. This month, world leaders convene to assess progress toward these goals (2). In the countdown to the MDG 2015 deadline and amid protracted economic recession, we need the most efficient, effective, and evidence-based means to accelerate progress toward all MDGs. Challenges must be considered in concert, and solutions must provide multidimensional dividends for the world's poor, or we risk unwisely dividing limited resources and diluting their impact. As authors from diverse communities, we emphasize here the influence that investments in rights-based family planning can have on achieving the MDGs. Virology Epidemiology 329 5999 1603 1603 2010 10.1126/science.1197080 http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:12866 NNC NNC 2012-03-21 16:04:10 -0400 2012-03-21 16:19:34 -0400 6869 eng