This groundbreaking report, issued in 2005, lays out a practical plan to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. It presents an overview of the findings and recommendations of the UN Millennium Project, an independent advisory body to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which was directed by Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs.

The report begins: “We have the opportunity in the coming decade to cut world poverty by half. Billions more people could enjoy the fruits of the global economy. Tens of millions of lives can be saved. The practical solutions exist. The political framework is established. And for the first time, the cost is utterly affordable. Whatever one’s motivation for attacking the crisis of extreme poverty—human rights, religious values, security, fiscal prudence, ideology—the solutions are the same. All that is needed is action.”

The report, albeit a little dated now, continues to be a crucial document to development experts, recommending the way forward.