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Most South Asian countries to
fall short on MDGs: WB
Islamabad—A new World Bank-IMF report warns that most countries in
South Asia will fall short on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
a set of eight globally agreed development goals with a due date of
2015. Though much of the world, including South Asia, is set to cut
extreme poverty in half by then, prospects are gravest for the goals
of reducing child and maternal mortality, with serious shortfalls
also likely in primary school completion, nutrition, and sanitation
goals, said the report.
“In this Year of Action on the MDGs, I am particularly concerned
about the risks of failing to meet the goal of reducing hunger and
malnutrition, the `forgotten MDG’,” said Robert B. Zoellick,
President of the World Bank. “As the report shows, reducing
malnutrition has a `multiplier’ effect, contributing to success in
other MDGs including maternal health, infant mortality, and
education,” Robert added. The Global Monitoring Report: MDGs and the
Environment-Agenda for Inclusive and Sustainable Development
stresses the link between environment and development and calls for
urgent action on climate change.
The report warns that developing countries stand to suffer the most
from climate change and the degradation of natural resources, it
added. Arguably, few regions in the world are more at risk from
climate change in terms of adverse impact on the poor than South
Asia and the region faces a large potential health risk from climate
change through increased malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria.
To build on hard-won gains, developing countries need support to
address the links between growth, development and environmental
sustainability. “Developing countries need more foreign aid and
domestic resources to reach the MDGs. High economic growth and a
stable macroeconomic environment remain essential for reducing
poverty and increasing investment in health and education.” said
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF Managing Director.
Progress toward the MDGs differs dramatically across countries,
regions, and income groups, the report says. While most of the
poverty reduction between 1990 and 2004 took place in East Asia and
Pacific, South Asia would contribute the most to global poverty
reduction in the next decade. —APP
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