Recession hampers 2015 Millennium Development Goals

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Vincent Maher

The global financial crisis is imperiling attainment of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and creating an emergency for development, warned an IMF-World Bank report released late last week.

Most of the eight globally agreed goals are unlikely to be met, including those related to hunger, child and maternal mortality, education, and progress in combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases.

"The Global Monitoring Report 2009: A Development Emergency (GMR)" warns that, although the first goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015 from its 1990 level is still reachable based on current projections, risks abound.

New estimates show that more than half of all developing countries could experience a rise in the number of extreme poor in 2009. This proportion is likely to be still higher among low-income countries and countries in sub-Saharan Africa — two-thirds and three-quarters, respectively.

It is estimated that an additional 55 to 90 million people will be trapped in extreme poverty in 2009 due to the worldwide recession. The number of chronically hungry people is expected to climb to over one billion this year, reversing gains in fighting malnutrition and making the need to invest in agriculture especially urgent.