RAWALPINDI, April 28: The Asia and Pacific region is facing daunting challenges in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the rapidly rising food prices in several countries of the region may further complicate the fight against hunger and malnutrition with a possible adverse impact on the incidence of poverty.

An analysis of the progress made by the countries of the regions in achieving the MDGs, prepared by the United Nations Regional Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap), points out that the rising food prices have raised new concerns about widespread hunger and a possible increase in absolute poverty in some instances.

Unless immediate action is taken by countries and the international community, some 641 million people in the Asia-Pacific region will continue to live on income of below one dollar a day, the analysis warns. The analysis is one of the latest documents currently being discussed at the annual meeting of Escap in Bangkok which will conclude on April 30. Sixty-one per cent of the world’s population lives in the Asia-Pacific region, but in some cases its share of deprived people is still higher.

One clear widespread problem is sanitation: the Asian and Pacific region is home to 75 per cent of the world’s rural population and 63 per cent of the world’s urban population without access to safe sanitation.

The region also has a relatively high number of people suffering from tuberculosis and underweight children.

Ninety-seven million children will remain underweight. About 400 million of them will die before reaching the age of five. The same number of people in urban areas will have no access to basic sanitation and another 566 million residing in rural areas will live without access to clean water, it reveals.

There is currently no reliable data for assessing trends on the country level, new regional estimates suggest that with over 240,000 maternal deaths in 2005, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for over 44 per cent of the total number of such deaths worldwide.

The analysis shows 16 out of 47 countries (34 per cent) with sufficient data to allow for an assessment of progress are not on track to achieve the target of reducing by two thirds the under-five mortality rate by 2015 and 30 out of 48 countries (63 per cent) with such data are not making the progress necessary to reduce CO2 emissions.

The report finds that the economic growth rates required to achieve the MDGs are much higher than the current rates, indicating a growth gap. Filling this gap requires the development of assistance programmes for off-track countries to maintain macro-economic stability and generate pro-poor economic growth.

A comparison of policies between off-track countries and early achieving countries indicates there are clear differences between the policies adopted by the early achievers and those lagging behind. These policy gaps show a need to strengthen policies in four key areas: inclusive finance; macroeconomic stability; education; and health.

The analysis also reveals problems related to governance and translating policies and strategies into effective actions on the ground. These implementation gaps indicate slow progress by all stakeholders, including governments.