Annan's legacy of fighting for equality and rights lives on

UNITED NATIONS (AP) " Kofi Annan left the United Nations far more committed to combating poverty and fighting for human rights. And until his death Saturday, he was speaking out about the turbulent world he saw moving from nations working together to solve problems, to growing nationalism.

Annan was U.N. secretary-general from 1997 to 2006. He saw as his greatest achievements the policies he put in place to reduce inequality within and between countries, to promote human rights and to combat infectious diseases.

He launched the U.N. Millennium Development Goals in 2000 to cut extreme poverty, promote equality for women, ensure every child has a primary school education, reduce maternal and child mortality, and halt the spread of AIDS " all by 2015.

Only a few of these goals were fully achieved. They were succeeded by an expanded list that now is a major focus of the U.N.'s agenda.