MF report says Sub-Sahara Africa behind on all MDGs

from Afriquenligne

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Though much of the world is set to cut extreme poverty by half by 2015, Sub-Saharan Africa was not likely to attain that target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a new report of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), released here.

The Global Monitoring Report: MDGs and the Environment - Agenda for Inclusive and Sustainable Development - says progress toward the MDGs differs dramatically across countries, regions, and income groups.

According to the report, released Tuesday, sub-Saharan Africa lags behind on all counts, including the goal for poverty reduction, though many countries in the region are now experiencing improved growth performance.

Though much of the world is set to cut extreme poverty by half by 2015, prospects are gravest for the goals of reducing child and maternal mortality, with serious shortfalls also likely in primary school completion, nutrition, and sanitation goals.

"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 Robert B. Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group.

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

The report stressed the link between environment and development and called for urgent action on climate change.

Also, 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 support to address the links between growth, development and environmental sustainability.

"Developing countries need more foreign aid and domestic resources to reach the MDGs," said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF Managing Director.

"High economic growth and a stable macroeconomic environment remain essential for reducing poverty and increasing investment in health and education."

At the country level, the report noted that most sub-Saharan 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, however, most MDGs remain achievable for most countries, the report said.

The report laid out an integrated six-point agenda, with strong, inclusive growth at the top.

Also, the agenda 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 financing and technology transfers to support climate change mitigation and adaptation.

"This year's high level meetings in connection with the MDG half-way point provide an opportunity to agree on priorities for action and milestones for monitoring progress," said Zia Qureshi, lead author of the report.

Though the overall aid landscape is expanding, official development assistance (ODA) - estimated at US$ 103.7 billion in 2007 - has stalled.

To meet the G8 promises to increase aid by US$ 50 billion by 2010, ODA must expand.

Meanwhile, new donors like China and India are growing in size and importance.

Further, the report suggested that growth momentum would have to be sustained and broadened in developing countries in the face of financial turmoil.

The IMF projects global GDP growth will slow from 4.9 per cent in 2007 to 3.7 per cent in 2008.

Developing countries' growth will ease to 6.7 per cent, but persistent financial market turmoil and knock-on effects on growth pose significant downside risks.

The economic burden of environmental health hazards was estimated at 1.5 to 4 per cent of GDP.

Worldwide, the report pointed out, environmental risk factors play a role in 80 per cent of diseases, including malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory infections.

Meeting the water and sanitation targets will require doubling the current annual investment to about US$ 30 billion.

The UN estimateed that by 2030, developing countries will need US $100 billion annually to finance mitigation and US$ 28 - US$ 67 billion for adaptation.

A third of the developing world's population - 1.6 billion people - lack access to modern energy, and are forced to rely on carbon-emitting biomass and fossil-fuel energy.

In 2007, gross concessional flows from multilateral development banks crossed US$ 12 billion, a 10.3 per cent increase, driven by the International Development Association (IDA).

While Asia continued to receive almost half of these flows, Africa received 45 per cent in 2007, up from 37 per cent in 2000.