South Asia, with GNI per
capita at $460, is home to nearly 40 percent of the world’s poor
living on less than $1 a day. Since 1990 the region has experienced
rapid GDP growth, averaging 5.4 percent a year, which has helped to
reduce the consumption poverty rate substantially: India has reduced
poverty rate by 5-10 percent since 1990; most other countries
registered a significant reduction in poverty over the period except
for Pakistan where poverty has stagnated at around 33 percent –
using national poverty lines. Although most countries in the region
have a well developed tradition of household surveys, challenges
still remain on measurement of consistent poverty trends - India’s
National Sample Survey has undergone some changes in methodology in
the most recent round which has created a debate on measuring
poverty trends in the 1990s.
Looking beyond consumption
poverty at other indicators of social progress, the region has had
encouraging success in some areas: for example, mortality in
children under five has reduced substantially between 1990 and 2002
(from 130 to 95, per 1,000), especially in Bangladesh (144 to 73,
per 1,000) and appreciable gains have also been achieved in total
enrolments and completion rates. At the same time, challenges remain
in key areas such as child malnutrition, maternal mortality, and
gender balance in education and health outcomes: nearly half of all
children under the age of five are malnourished and youth illiteracy
is high – 23 percent for males and 39 percent for females. The
resurgence of tuberculosis and the threat of HIV/AIDS are also a
cause for concern.
While sustained growth would be necessary
for poverty reduction, concomitant improvement in institutional
service delivery mechanisms will be essential for achieving progress
in all other dimensions of the MDGs.
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