India lags in efforts to meet Millennium Development Goals

"India is lagging in its effort to reach United Nations goals to reduce poverty and improve health and sanitation, but has shown significant progress boosting education, treating AIDS and addressing environmental concerns," Noeleen Heyzer, executive secretary of the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, said last week, the New York Times' "India Ink" blog reports. According to an Asia Pacific Millennium Development Goal (MDG) report (.pdf) released last week, which "graded the progress of the eight millennium goals using 22 socio-economic indicators ..., India has reached goals set in seven indicators out of 22 and is on track to achieve three others, but is lagging behind in 12," the blog notes.

"The good news, though, is that our analysis shows many of these goals can still be reached with a redoubling of efforts," Heyzer said, according to the blog. "India has already achieved the targets in boosting primary education, reducing the prevalence of HIV, improving forest cover and providing safe drinking water, the report said," but "[t]he country's record continues to be poor in reducing poverty" and "at improving the nutritional status of children," the blog notes (Kumar, 2/22).