*EPF517 04/23/2004
Many Countries Might Not Achieve Development Goals, Report Says
(World Bank, IMF identify Africa as especially lagging) (450)

By Kathryn McConnell
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Although progress is being made to reduce poverty in the developing world, under current trends the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will not be met in many poor countries, according to a joint World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) report.

The "Global Monitoring Report 2004" -- the first of what are expected to be annual reviews of rich and poor countries' progress toward meeting the MDGs -- says sub-Saharan Africa especially is "seriously off track" for meeting poverty-reduction goals: the region is projected to have nearly the same poverty rate by 2015 as it had in 1990.

Sub-Saharan Africa will have the widest gap between actual poverty rates and the lower rates adopted as 2015 goals by 189 countries in 2000, the report says.

A key message of the report, issued April 22, just prior to the annual World Bank/IMF April 24-25 meetings in Washington, is that poverty reduction efforts must be accelerated.

The report says that, in general, developing countries' policies have improved in education and health care but have lagged in public-sector management and institutions. It says countries need to adopt policies that encourage private-sector growth and improve transparency, accountability and control of corruption.

It also says governments in low-income countries should invest more in infrastructure, especially because comparable private-sector investment didn't increase as much as expected when the MDGs were adopted. In particular, the report says, investment in water and sanitation will need to double.

The interim report, which is to be made final by the World Bank/IMF annual meetings in September, will be discussed at the April meeting of the joint Development Committee. The United States is a member of the committee.

The authors of the report told reporters April 22 that global trade liberalization would have a major effect on reducing poverty. The report describes the United States and Canada as having the least restrictive trade policies and New Zealand, the European Union, Japan and Norway as having more restrictions.

The report notes the rising level of donor aid but says still more is needed to achieve the MDGs. Aid in 2002 was concentrated in "special-purpose grants" with debt relief as the primary target followed by technical aid, emergency and disaster relief and other aid, the report says.

But with developing countries improving their policies and institutions, the amount of aid they could use will increase, it adds. The authors urge donors to provide more aid in a form that can be flexibly used by poor countries. They also urge donors to harmonize and coordinate their aid policies.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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