By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington: Despite the economic and financial crisis that has swept across the globe, the target to reduce by half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty is still within reach in several developing regions, says the World Bank.
Home to the most people living on less than $1.25 a day, Asia has accounted for much of this remarkable achievement, according to the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2010, released Tuesday, giving a statistical progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Sub-Saharan Africa meanwhile remains off track to meet the income poverty goal. But progress has been uneven at the country level. Only 49 of 87 countries with data are on track to achieve the poverty target.
Some 41 percent of the people in low-and middle-income countries live in countries that are unlikely to achieve the target. And 12 percent live in the 60 countries for which there are insufficient data to assess progress.
Highlights:
* The world economy grew by 2.8 percent in 2008 measured in purchasing power parity terms, down from 5.0 percent in 2007. Low- and middle-income economies grew faster than high-income economies, increasing their share of world output by more than a percentage point to 43.3 percent.
* Trade fell in almost every region under the impact of the global recession. South Asia was the only exception. Developing economies now account for 33 of merchandise exports and 21 percent of service exports. But low-income economies are largely left out, providing only 1 percent of world exports.
* While economies have become more efficient in their use of energy, reducing carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP produced, carbon dioxide emissions per capita continue to rise.
* More people have access to improved (protected and accessible) water sources, and at least 65 developing countries are on track to reduce by half the proportion of people lacking access to water source. But more than 1.5 billion people lack access to toilets, latrines and other forms of improved sanitation and there has been little improvement since 1990.
* The MDGs call for all children to be able to complete primary school by 2015. This goal is close to being achieved. At the end of the 2007 school year, 7 out of 10 people in the developing world lived in countries that have achieved full primary school enrollment or are on track to do so. Still this leaves 72 million primary school-age children not enrolled, most of them in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
* Education opportunities for girls have expanded everywhere, but gender gaps remain large in low-income economies, especially at the primary and secondary levels.
* More women are in the workforce, although they are more likely than men to be in vulnerable jobs, without regular salaries or benefits.
* More women are entering national parliaments. The largest gains have been made in South Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, where women now occupy more than 20 percent of the seats.
* Increasing immunisation rates, better management of diarrheal diseases, and malaria prevention programs have all contributed to falling mortality rates for children under age five. In developing countries, the child mortality rate declined from 101 per 1,000 in 1990 to 73 in 2008.
* Thirty-nine countries, representing 45 percent of the population of developing countries have achieved or are on track to achieve a two-thirds reduction in child mortality before 2015.