http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=3D31475
Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Published On: 2008-04-09
Rising food prices dent Bangladesh=92s prospect - Finds World Bank-IMF
report
Staff Correspondent
Rising food prices undermine the country's prospect of meeting the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of development targets to
be achieved by 2015, says World Bank-IMF Global Monitoring Report,
2008.
The other South Asian countries too will have trouble reaching the
MDGs with serious shortfall in areas like child and maternal
mortality, primary education, nutrition, and sanitation, it observes.
Speaking to reporters here through a video-conference from Washington,
lead author of the report Zia Qureshi said, =93With a 10 percent rise in
food prices, poverty rates increase by 1 percent. So rising food
prices will have adverse effect on Bangladesh's effort to halve
poverty rates.=94
World Bank President Robert B Zoellick in his statement said, =93In this
Year of Action on the MDGs, I am particularly concerned about the
risks of failing to meet the goal of reducing hunger and malnutrition,
the 'forgotten MDG'.=94
Titled =93MDGs and the EnvironmentAgenda for Inclusive and Sustainable
Development=94, the report focuses on the negative link between climate
change and development.
=93Bangladesh has the highest vulnerability to extreme weather events in
the world,=94 said Qureshi in his presentation.
=93The best way to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change
is to develop--by diversifying their economies, strengthening
infrastructure, and developing health systems,=94 he said.
Qureshi said transition to climate-resilient and low-carbon growth
will require financing and technology transfer from the developed
countries to the developing ones.
The report states, =93Programmes combining micro-insurance and adaptive
infrastructure will be important as Bangladesh gears up to face the
increase risk of flooding as a result of climate change.=94
The lead author also said more and better aid is required for
countries to meet the MDGs that were agreed at the United Nations
Millennium Summit in response to the world's main development
challenges.
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