A billion people live on $1 a day: UN

The UN however said there had been significant progress as the number of people living in extreme poverty had dropped, from 1.25 billion in 1990 to 980 million in 2004.

It also cited other signs of progress - the increase in primary-school enrolments in developing countries and women's struggle for equal rights had gained ground because of their growing involvement in politics.

The UN report comes at the halfway of a 15-year effort to implement the MDGs - a set of eight key development objectives including eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; to achieve universal primary education; to promote gender equality and empower women; to reduce child mortality; to improve maternal health; to combat HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases; to ensure environmental sustainability; and to develop a global partnership for development.

World leaders pledged in 2000 to meet the goals by 2015.

Speaking at the launch of the 2007 MDG report at the UN building, Shigeru Mochida, the deputy executive secretary of UN Escap, said that while some progress had been made to achieve the MDGs, over half a million women die each year from pregnancy complications and childbirth; the number of people dying from Aids worldwide increased to 2.9 million last year; and half of the population in the developing world still lacks basic sanitation.

"These situations reflect the fact that the benefits of economic growth in the developing world haven't been shared equally," said Mochida.

The report says East Asia has experienced the most dramatic rise in income inequality: the share of income (or consumption) of the poorest proportion of the population in the sub-region declined from 7.3 per cent in 1990 to 4.5 per cent in 2004.

Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

The Nation