India far from poverty goals: Report

NEW DELHI: The United Nations Development Programme’s Millennium Development Goal (MDG) report for 2008 is a cocktail of contradictions.
Poverty levels in India, it says, have gone down from 52% to 41% from 1990 to 2005. But population growth coupled with runaway inflation has led to a huge increase in the number of people living in extreme poverty in the country — 20 million —during the 15-year-period.
Moreover, the report adds, the overall economic slowdown and increased food and oil prices are expected to further push more people into absolute poverty.
It was at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000 when 189 world leaders made a historic promise to end poverty by 2015 and agreed to achieve the eight MDGs - reduce poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child and maternal mortality, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure access to water and sanitation and provide access to affordable and essential drugs.
Seven years to go for the deadline, India’s chances of achieving these goals appear quite bleak with about 46 million malnourished children and huge gaps in literacy and employment among men and women.
While on one side increasing enrolment in primary classes has been substantial due to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the lack of water and sanitation for girls and high drop-out rate at the secondary level remains an area of concern, the report states. Another prime area for worry is the high infant and maternal mortality rates (MMR).
“Going by the current trend it is unlikely India will achieve its target of reducing MMR unless all states make substantial progress like Kerala and Tamil Nadu,” said Maxine Olson, resident co-ordinator of UNDP in India. With regard to combating malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDs, though access to anti-retroviral therapy is increasing for the latter, much remains to be done.
Releasing the report, Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee said India has made sustained progress but much has to be achieved.
The UN will hold a meeting in New York later this year where all country heads are expected to reveal plans to meet the MDGs. Prime minister Manmohan Singh is expected to attend the event.p_vineeta@dnaindia.net

Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) Report 2008

Today, the United Nations issued the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) Report 2008, summarizing progress towards the MDGs. Some of the highlights of the report include:
*Deaths from measles fell from over 750,000 in 2000 to less than250,000 in 2006, and about 80% of children in developing countries nowreceive a measles vaccine;
*Malaria prevention is expanding with increases in the use ofinsecticide-treated bed nets among children under five in sub-SaharanAfrica and 16 out of 20 countries at least tripling use since 2000;
*Some 1.6 billion people have gained access to safe drinkingwater since 1990.
In 2008, at the midpoint to achieving the MDGs by 2015, we'vemade unprecedented accomplishments. Yet, many challenges remain. At this critical time, we must all redouble our efforts to ensure theMDGs are achieved. Together, our generation can end extreme poverty,hunger and preventable disease.

Millennium Promisehttp://www.millenniumpromise.org/site/R?i=0JKppX2pJbcFhik7-pfs-w..