Madonna today visited Gumulira, a Millennium Village of approximately 5000 people in rural central Malawi. Raising Malawi, an organization co-founded by Madonna, has been a partner in the Millennium Villages project in Gumulira since its inception in 2006. Madonna was joined in her visit by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, the Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and co-founder of Millennium Promise.

When the Millennium Villages project in Gumulira was launched, the area was beset by a number of complex challenges. Food insecurity was high due to limited access to modern seeds and fertilizers. Access to medical services, classrooms, school supplies, and clean water was extremely limited.

“In the space of just a few years, Gumulira has made major gains in food production, educational infrastructure, drinking water, and basic health services,” said Millennium Promise CEO John W. McArthur.

Today, the Millennium Villages reach nearly 500,000 people across 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and the partner communities in each country are registering a cross-section of major improvements.

“We are incredibly grateful to Madonna and Raising Malawi for their partnership in making this progress possible, and their broader leadership in helping to highlight the dramatic and rapid inroads that can be made against extreme poverty.”

The mission of Millennium Promise is to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals  in Africa by 2015. The eight globally endorsed objectives address the multiple causes of extreme poverty, and are premised on the belief that, for the first time in history, our generation has the opportunity to end extreme poverty, hunger and disease disparities.

To learn more about the progress being made and the evolving priorities in Gumulira and throughout the Millennium Villages, visit www.millenniumpromise.org.