What We’re Reading: 2015 Poverty Target in Reach?

Apr 26th, 2010 10:59 AM UTC
By Robyn Mitchell

UN’s 2015 poverty target in reach despite crisis, says World Bank – The global economic crisis has slammed efforts to cut poverty worldwide, but plans are still on track to meet a key goal by 2015, so says the World Bank. In its newly released Global Monitoring Report 2010, the Bank argues that efforts prior to the crisis paid off, with projected numbers of those living in poverty in 2015 representing a 50 percent cut since 1990. However, the report realistically estimates that the crisis will leave 52 million more people in extreme poverty five years from now than would have been the case otherwise.

World Leaders must be held accountable to developing world – Echoing sentiments by Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, the New York Times pinpoints accountability as the word of choice this week, reference the need for world leaders to fill the $20 billion gap between foreign aid they promised and what they are actually giving. Highlighting the areas where aid has yet to be delivered, the editorial concludes with the critical point that “aid is an essential component of any strategy to defeat terrorism, promote global security and combat global warming.”

South Africa Redoubles Efforts Against AIDS – Trying to overcome years of denial and delay in confronting its monumental AIDS crisis, South Africa is now in the midst of a feverish buildup of testing, treatment and prevention that United Nations officials say is the largest and fastest expansion of AIDS services ever attempted by any nation. In the past month alone, the government has enabled 519 health facilities to dispense AIDS medicines and has plans to train thousands of health workers to prescribe drugs to patients in need. (Celia Dugger)

WHO approves more diagnostic tests to aid malaria fight – The World Health Organization has added 16 more malaria diagnostic tests to its approved list to help health workers quickly identify which patients have the disease and need immediate treatment. According to the WHO, wider diagnosis would allow health workers to identify which patients with fever have malaria and need drugs, and which have other causes of illness and need other treatment. It would also improve overall childhood survival, a key U.N. development goal. (Kate Kelland)

Water pollution expert derides UN sanitation claims – Hundreds of millions of people that the UN declares have gained access to safe water and sanitation are still struggling with polluted supplies and raw sewage, argues Professor Asit Biswas, a leading water expert. According to the professor, fixing the physical structure of a water source – and nothing else – is often counted as an “improved source of water,” to which he says, “They are not only underestimating the problem, they are giving the impression the problem is being solved.” (Juliette Jowit)

TAGS: What We're Reading