Asia's progress on MDGs mixed - ADB

Asia and Pacific countries continue to make broad progress in reducing extreme poverty but hunger still remains widespread and many economies are struggling to meet other Millennium Development Goals (MDG), including reductions in maternal mortality rates and access to sanitation, latest available data show.

The data were announced in the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) flagship annual statistical publication. It presents the latest available economic, financial, social, environmental, and MDG indicators for regional members of the ADB. Over the past 15 years, Asia has made rapid progress in the fight against poverty, reducing the number of poor from around one in two people to around one in four.

However, large pockets of extreme poverty continue to persist even as many economies have posted record growth rates over that time.

"With the recent global downturn, which has led to large declines in exports, production, and aggregate demand, regional growth will continue to be under severe downward pressure," said ADB Chief Economist Jong-Wha Lee.