Fight against poverty slow in South Asia: UN report

Alleviation of poverty in South Asia was much slower compared to other regions of the world between 1999 and 2005.

Alleviation of poverty in South Asia was much slower compared to other regions of the world between 1999 and 2005. The progress made is also under threat of global economic contraction and lost jobs,says the annual UN report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Bright spots do emerge from the UN 2009 Millennium Development Goals Report,which was released by the UN Information Centre in New Delhi: an 11 per cent gain in primary school enrollment between 2000 and 2007 and a big victory for girls,moving from 84 girls per 100 boys in 1999 enrollment to 95 girls per 100 boys in 2007; and a drop in tuberculosis prevalence from 543 cases per 100,000 people in 1990 to 268 cases in 2007.

Countries in South Asia have largely escaped the increase in hunger rate seen in other parts of the world since 2007,according to the report,and India has even made progress against hunger in the face of rising prices. However,access to food or expected lowering of food prices has not happened in the country. India has been named along with Brazil and Nigeria as countries where decrease in food prices after mid-2008 was not as expected.

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The region has got red marks in undernourishment for children under five years of age. Providing sanitation to people,maternal health and even gender statistics are not that encouraging for the region.

According to a UN press release,holding steady against hunger is not a satisfactory option in a region which is second only to sub-Saharan Africa in the proportion of people who are undernourished (21 per cent in 2008),and ranks the worst in proportion of under-five-year-olds who are underweight (48 per cent in 2007).

Maternal health conditions remain dismal. South Asia accounts for one third of the worlds maternal deaths,and it suffers the lowest level of antenatal care coverage among all developing regions,with only 36 per cent of women receiving the recommended four visits during their pregnancy.

Likewise,South Asia has achieved its MDG target of cutting by half the proportion of people in 1990 without access to water. But it is lagging behind in providing access to safe sanitation to its population,with 580 million people still without access.

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From 2006 to 2015,the region will have to more than double the number of people currently using toilets or other forms of improved sanitation,adds the report.

The report has shown that contraction in economic growth in most South Asian countries outside of India is expected to devastate jobs and incomes. The percentage of productively engaged people classified as being employed in vulnerable sectors may be as high as 84 per cent for women and 74 per cent for men,according to International Labour Organisation projections for 2008.

Despite gains for girls in grade school enrollment,South Asian women remain at a huge disadvantage in job opportunities. Only 19 per cent of paid jobs in the region,outside of agricultural employment,are held by women.

The report is based on a set of data prepared by over 20 organisations both within and outside the UN. The project is overseen by the UN Secretariats Department of Economic and Social Affairs. It was launched in the presence of Dr S J Habayeb,WHO representative to India,Deirdre Boyd,UNDP country director and Dr Biswajit Dhar,director general,Research and Information System for Developing Countries.