Since 2000, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have contributed to the global poverty decline and 40 million more children are attending school.

Additionally, close to 4 million children are living who would otherwise have died; and an estimated 5.2 million people in low and middle-income countries are now receiving life-saving HIV treatment.

With three years left till the 2015 MDGs target date, opportunities remain for accelerating progress on the MDGs and to develop the next steps for the development agenda after 2015.

Continuing gaps – on poverty, hunger, health, gender equality, water, sanitation and many other issues – will still need attention after 2015. The UN post-2015 development framework will seek to build on the framework shaped by the principles of the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs to meet the challenges facing our world.

The post-2015 development process is marked by openness and inclusivity on an unprecedented scale for the UN. A series of at least 50 national consultations as well as thematic consultations and extensive online outreach to civil society are taking place. Key inputs from these will be offered for consideration by the High-level Panel, which will submit its report to the Secretary-General in May 2013.

The results of the consultations will be made available online. At the same time, a 30-member intergovernmental working group under the General Assembly will develop a proposal for Sustainable Development Goals, through a process they will define, as a contribution to the post-2015 framework.

At a General Assembly special event on the MDGs in September 2013, it is expected that a report of the Secretary-General to UN Member States will inform some preliminary decisions towards shaping the post-2015 framework.

Currently, the UN and other partners are supporting national governments to stage events and other outreach activities to let the people of Ghana and across the region have their voices heard in the post 2015 development process. One of such consultation events for the post-2015 development agenda is taking place in Tamale from 27-28 November 2012.

Citizens in Ghana are invited to help shape the world’s future development agenda through some of the following ways:

Participate in and stay up to date on the post-2015 consultations and events taking place near you. Follow debates and developments on the post-2015 process via www.worldwewant2015.org.

Beginning in December, participate in an interactive global survey known as MY World, where you can vote on the development priorities that should guide the post-2015 development agenda. Details on how to participate in the MY WORLD survey will be made available soon.

Share developments about post-2015 consultations and the MY World survey with your friends and followers on your Facebook and Twitter pages. Post-2015 hashtags for Twitter can include #beyond2015.