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Beginning March 1st, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will meet at United Nations headquarters in New York to undertake a fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Much of the focus will be placed on overcoming remaining obstacles as underscored in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Member States, representatives of non-governmental organizations and UN agencies will participate to discuss best practices and to highlight country case studies.

The United Nations Foundation has been leading the global campaign to boost girl's overall rights. The Foundation has raised some 100 million in grants from partners across the globe. The UN's Girl Fund, provides funding to improve girls education--over 70 percent of the world's 130 million of out of school youth are girls. Recent studies show that every year of schooling increases a girl's individual earning power by 10 to 20 percent.

The Fund also supports adolescent girls' access to sexuality education, HIV prevention and reproductive health. Eighty-two million girls in developing countries between the ages of 10 and 17 will be married before their 18th birthday.

"Being a woman from Africa, achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's) are a part of our day to day concerns." said Dr. Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr. Migiro, a native of Tanzania, emphasized the need for a stronger commitment from countries to invest in girls. She stressed that maternal and newborn health were ailing gaps in achievement worldwide and more must be done.

The eight Millennium Development Goals underscore a girls rights to education, health, economic access and opportunity. Dr. Migiro is working with the UN Foundation to promote The Girls Fund in the lead-up to the CSW in early March. The goal is to get Member-States and donors to recommit to the investments promised for girls at the Beijing Platform for Action 15 years ago, and to work harder to promote the MDG's in advance of the MDG summit in September.