Asia's growth provide economic, social benefits to all
08 Oct '07
3 min read
“The 2007 MDG Update gives us an indication of what the region stands to gain if we intensify our efforts to meet the MDGs. We need to focus on those economies that are moving slowly or not making progress, and within those areas concentrate on improving the lives of the most vulnerable,” says Haishan Fu, Chief Statistics Development Section of UN-ESCAP.
There are major concerns of disparities in meeting the poverty and non-income poverty targets of the MDGs. The region's greatest failures lie in addressing the issues of child mortality, nutrition, improving maternal health, and providing safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.
The Asia and Pacific region accounts for about 65% of the world's underweight children, as 28% of the region's under-five children are underweight and many Asian countries exceeding prevalence rates of Sub-Saharan Africa. The region is moving too slowly to reduce child mortality. It still has 60 deaths per thousand live births – nearly double that of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The most serious problems are in South Asia where most countries are off track, particularly child and maternal health indicators.
The region's overall maternal mortality ratio, at over 300 per 100,000 live births, is more than 30% higher than in Latin America and the Caribbean, and maternal deaths in Asia and the Pacific account for almost half of the global total.
The report warns that environmental pressures arising out of land degradation, poor water management (including flooding), rising pollution in urban areas, carbon dioxide emission contributing to climate change, and other factors could push more people into poverty.
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