Most countries will fall short of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of eight globally agreed objectives with a target 2015 date to aid development, a new World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) report has warned.

While much of the world is set to cut extreme poverty in half by that time, prospects are most dim for the goals to reduce child and maternal mortality, with serious shortfalls also likely in primary school completion, nutrition, and sanitation goals, the report said.

"In this Year of Action on the MDGs, I am particularly concerned about the risks of failing to meet the goal of reducing hunger and malnutrition, the 'forgotten MDG'," said, World Bank president Robert Zoellick.

"As the report shows, reducing malnutrition has a 'multiplier' effect, contributing to success in other MDGs including maternal health, infant mortality, and education," he said.

The report, named MDGs and the Environment - Agenda for Inclusive and Sustainable Development, stressed the link between environment and development and called for urgent action on climate change. It warned that developing countries stand to suffer the most from climate change and the degradation of natural resources.

To build on hard-won gains, developing countries need more support to address the links between growth, development and environmental sustainability, the report said.

"Developing countries need more foreign aid and domestic resources to reach the MDGs. High economic growth and a stable macroeconomic environment remain essential for reducing poverty and increasing investment in health and education," said IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Progress toward the MDGs differed dramatically across countries, regions, and income groups, the report added. Sub-Saharan Africa lagged on all counts, including the goal for poverty reduction, though many countries in the region are now experiencing improved growth performance. At the country level, most countries are off track to meet most MDGs, with those in fragile situations falling behind most seriously.

With stronger efforts by the countries themselves and their development partners, most MDGs nonetheless remain achievable for most countries, the report said.

It laid out an integrated six-point agenda, with strong, inclusive growth at the top, to achieve the goals. The agenda also called for more effective aid; a successful outcome to the Doha round of trade talks; more emphasis on strengthening programs in health, education and nutrition; and financial and technology transfers to support climate change mitigation.

(China Daily April 9, 2008)