The decisions which the G8 leaders take this week have the potential to reduce extreme poverty around the world and to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of children, UNICEF said. "By putting poverty and development at the center of their agenda, the G8 leaders have an unprecedented opportunity to help to realize the Millennium Development Goals.  These vital goals focus on the needs of children to survive, to be educated and to be protected from the impact of HIV/AIDS. There can be no more important task," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman.