In 2000, world leaders agreed on the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)—which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, reducing maternal and child mortality and providing universal primary education. MDG 4 called for reducing the under-five mortality rate by two thirds between 1990 and 2015, and MDG 5 set the ambitious targets of reducing the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters during the same period and achieving universal access to reproductive health.