ADB: Many Asian Governments Lack Programs On Education, Health
Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Foreign Correspondent Pasig City, Philippines (AHN) - The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday said many Asian governments lack a competent education and health care program. There is also concern that hundreds of millions of children in the region are at the losing end. ADB Chief Economist Ifzal Ali said, "Without a concerted effort to reach the poor, Asia cannot, and will not, attain the health and education-related MDG." He said many Asia-Pacific countries will not meet the targets set by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The MDG sets that by 2015, all children around the world would be able to complete primary education and the death rate for children under 5 will be reduced by at least 66 percent. Ali said in a statement, "To sustain Asia's success in reducing poverty, governments must improve education opportunities for the poor, as this is a key driver of movements out of chronic poverty. Health-related shocks can also be catastrophic from a household's perspective, pushing entire families into poverty." The official ADB publication Key Indicators wrote there is a huge primary school enrollment deficiencies in countries such as Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Nepal and Papua New Guinea. The paper said Bangladesh and India have made sufficient improvement in its primary education program but there is still much room for improvement in the quality of education |
