HC Deb 14 March 2002 vol 381 c1191W
Mr. Simon Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the progress made in achieving the international development targets, with particular reference to ending child poverty by(a) the UK and (b) the international community. [42674]

Clare Short

There are two child specific Millennium Development Goals, reducing the under five mortality rate and ensuring that children of both sexes will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. However all the MDGs clearly have significant impacts on child poverty.

The contribution of the UK to making progress towards these targets is outlined in DFID's public service agreement. The results of our efforts so far will be published next month in our departmental report.

Global progress towards the goals is set out in the joint UN and World Bank report 'A Better World For All.' The report indicates that significant progress has been made towards halving the proportion of people whose income is less than a dollar a day, a target that will greatly impact on child poverty. Progress has also been made on a more limited basis, on reducing child mortality rates and increasing in the numbers of boys and girls enrolled in primary school.

The UN General Assembly has agreed to produce annual reports on progress in reaching the MDGs. This information should serve to motivate the international community and strengthen and better target the efforts made to support progress towards the MDGs. We are currently working with other donor partners, the UN, World Bank and Development Assistance Committee to increase the capacity of developing countries to monitor statistics on a country basis, to support international monitoring of the MDGs, and to enable developing countries to develop national strategies for poverty reduction and sustainable development on the basis of accurate and current information.