This article presents a brief history and description of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a framework for addressing the world's health needs. They focus on decreasing poverty, decreasing child and maternal mortality, and ensuring gender equality in terms of education, work opportunities, and health and health care. Progress on attainment of MDGs is reported, and links between social determinants of health and the well-being of women and newborns are presented. Implications for maternal newborn nurses are discussed.