A recent article in the African publication Mail & Guardian called the tone of Eveline Herfkens, Executive Coordinator for the United Nations Millennium Campaign, 'refreshingly direct.’ The paper interviewed Herfkens for an assessment on the Millennium Development Goals at its midway point. Some real progress has been made, but many countries are lagging behind to meet the 2015 deadline.

While governments are not living up to their promises, the UN keeps getting the blame for poor progress on achieving the Goals.

“The degree to which commitments are kept depends largely on people outside of the UN system. We don’t have a police force which we can send over to make sure member states keep their promises,” Herfkens said.

 “The UN can create the platform, but only the citizens of those states can hold their governments accountable,” she added.

Herfkens acknowledged that the aid system of developed countries has serious flaws, but also emphasized the need for citizens of the developing world to mobilize and hold their governments responsible for meeting the goals.