It is also, however, a time of immense opportunity. Significant progress has been made in meeting many development challenges.

Within the past generation, hundreds of millions of people have emerged from extreme poverty.

Access to education has greatly increased for both boys and girls.

The spread of information and communications technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies, as does scientific and technological innovation across areas as diverse as medicine and energy.