India, China growth reduces poverty, hunger in Asia: UN Report

New Delhi, July 2 (UNI) Buoyed by rapid economic growth in India and China, Asia has made dramatic progress in the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, halving the proportion of people living on the equivalent of a dollar a day, a United Nations Report said here today.

The Report, entitled 'The Millenium Development Goals 2007', however, brings out that the benefits of growth were not being shared across different parts of the continent. It also highlights the brute fact that 30 per cent of the population in South Asia still lives on a dollar a day.

The Report was released in India by Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed, who dealt at length on how India is doing as regards these goals and the proposals by the Commission to tackle the issue in the Eleventh Plan.

The launch of the Report was part of a global release, with the main event taking place at Geneva by the UN Secretary's office.

"In India, enrolment rates have gone up substantially because of the efforts of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. I have visited remote villages in Baran district of Rajasthan and seen hot 'aloo ki sabzi' and 'pooris' being served as mid day meals in schools. But what is even more encouraging is that everywhere I have gone in the country--be it in some remote village in Kargil, in a mohalla in Bhopal, in a basti in Bihar or in a closed tea estate in Jalpaiguri, I have always been surrounded by boys and girls who are eager to study further", Ms Hameed said.

Ms Hameed, who was earlier with the National Commission for Women, said the problem with India not being able to do better on MDGs was the poor delivery system which was a result of lack of good governance.

The Report says halfway to a 2015 deadline, there has been clear progress towards implementing the MDGs, but there overall success is still far from assured.

The MDG Report is an annual statistical survey of global and regional progress towards the goals that is produced at the request of UN General Assembly. This year, the Report comes at the midpoint of a 15 year effort to implement the MDGs. They were adopted by the General Assembly in the year 2000.

The MDGs are-- (1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; (2) achieve universal primary education; (3) promote gender equality and empower women; (4) reduce child mortality; (5) improve maternal health; (6) combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; (7) ensure environmental sustainability and (8) develop a global partnership for development.

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