New Delhi: The
Asia-Pacific region has made big gains in reducing poverty, but is
unlikely to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
on eradicating hunger, reducing child mortality and improving
maternal health, a UN report released here Friday said.
"At the present rate of progress, the region as a whole is
unlikely to meet MDGs related to eradicating hunger, reducing
child mortality and improving maternal health, among others," said
the latest assessment of regional progress towards the MDGs
published by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Pointing to south and south-west Asia, the report said many
countries in the sub-region started at a farily low base on many
"For instance, underweight children under five years in India are
expected to number over 47 million unless the pace of progress
increases," it said.
Even if India speeds up progress and in 2015, meets the target of
halving the 1990 figures, the number of underweight children is
expected to be over 32 million.
The report said Asia-Pacific region has already reached the MDG of
halving the incidence of poverty, reducing the proportion of
people living on less than $1.25 per day from 50 to 22 percent
between 1990 and 2009.
It said the region had also achieved MDG indicators ahead of the
target year of 2015 in promoting gender equality in education,
reducing HIV prevalence, stopping the spread of tuberculosis,
increasing forest cover, reducing consumption of ozone-depleting
substances and halving the proportion of people without access to
safe drinking water.
"However, while strong economic dynamism has driven regional
success in poverty reduction, even fast growing countries continue
to lose shocking numbers of children before their fifth birthday
and thousands of mothers die unnecessarily while giving birth,
reveals the report. Over 3 million children died before their
fifth birthday in 2010 alone," the assessment said.
The report reveals striking disparities between and within
subregions, countries and even social groups in their progress
towards MDGs. While South Asia as a whole is on track for just
nine MDG indicators, Sri Lanka is on track for 15 indicators and
outperforms the sub-region.
Within countries, disparities between men and women, between
social and ethnic groups and between regions hold large sections
of the population back from achieving the MDGs, it said.
While the number of people without access to safe drinking water
in the region fell from 856 million to 466 million between 1990
and 2008, it still accounts for more than half the total
developing world population lacking safe drinking water.
According to the report, countries that have been effective in
controlling corruption have better health results.
Outlining an eight-point agenda to fast-track progress towards the
health MDGs, the report said it requires addressing the social
determinants of health inequities, establishing equitable and
responsive primary health care systems and ensuring preventive,
promotive and curative mother and child health services.