The Arab region has made impressive progress towards many Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly in education. Achievements, however, were uneven among and within Arab countries. Major deficits are still recorded in targets related to hunger, infant and maternal mortality, and access to water.

This report stresses that MDG lessons from the Arab region could serve as a reference for the global debate on the post-2015 development agenda. The fact that some of the countries that witnessed popular uprisings were among the leading MDG achievers in the region raises important questions about critical issues that have been overlooked by the MDG framework. To better capture the aspirations of the people of the region, the report argues that the post-2015 development agenda should have good governance as one of its core pillars. It should also emphasize the quality, not just the quantity of development, empower women and reduce inequalities to foster development for all.