An additional €1bn will be allocated by the European Commission in order to improve supply of water and sanitation, support maternal health and contribute to fight against child mortality and hunger. These are part of the Millennium Development Goals to which the EU is fully commit to achieve. The European Commission is finalising the identification of the projects presented by African, Caribbean and Pacific countries themselves.

The Millennium Development Goals initiative to support maternal health, contribute to fight against child mortality and hunger and improve supply of water and sanitation will be supported by an additional 1€ billion from the European Union. This commitment has been announced by the EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, during a round table on Nutrition at the UN General Assembly. He also added that this additional EU support will help to make a decisive move in the fight against poverty. However, EU should spare no efforts to boost the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The MDG initiative mobilises money from one of the EU's main instruments of development aid, the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). It was designed to make additional funding available for the 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries who would present their proposals. The total amount available within the EDF for the financing period of 2007-2013 is €22,4bn.

With the MDG Initiative which was announced in New York in September 2010, the EU will support African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries in reaching the Millennium Development Goals. It focuses on countries that have shown good performance in implementing aid on the one hand but also targets the most off tracks MDG on the other. So far the Commission has agreed with all national authorities in partner countries on how to best program this extra funding, with clear and measurable indicators to demonstrate the additional benefits of additional money.