Asia has made dramatic strides in overcoming poverty and hunger, with some 230 million people taken out of extreme poverty from 1990 to 2001 - a period of rapid economic development, the United Nations said Thursday in a statement carried by dpa. Poverty and hunger reduction is one of eight so-called Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but it is on top of the world's agenda to improve the lives of the poor. The U.N. wants to halve the number of poor by 2015, a target now bolstered by the Asian success. The millennium goals were adopted in 2000 by the U.N. General Assembly, which is assessing their progress this year. "It is a mixed scorecard," said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in presenting a progress report on the goals. "There has been a massive, unprecedented reduction in poverty worldwide since 1990, led by Asia." "But at the same time, the very poorest are getting poorer in sub-Saharan Africa," he said, adding that governments would have the authority to take make-or-break decisions in 2005 to implement the millennium goals. Heads of state and government are to meet in September for the annual session of the 191-nation assembly. The millennium goals include universal primary education, gender equality and female empowerment, reduction in child mortality, improvement of maternal health, combatting HIV/AIDS, ensuring environment sustainability and global partnership for development. --More 2352 Local Time 2052 GMT
