Asia and Pacific economies are struggling to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDG), such as hunger, reduction in maternal mortality rates and access to sanitation as the region is feeling the pinch of global economic downturn, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Wednesday.

"With the recent global downturn, which has led to large declines in exports, production, and aggregate demand, regional growth will continue to be under severe downward pressure," said Jong-Wha Lee, ADB Chief Economist. "Slower growth in the short-term will make progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals difficult for many countries in Asia and the Pacific."

Citing the data of Key Indicators 2009, a flagship annual statistical publication of the bank, the ADB said the region is facing serious challenges on goals linked to sanitation and maternal mortality. The indicators show that maternal mortality rates remain unacceptably high in many countries such as Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Nepal, while more than a quarter of urban households in 13 countries still lack access to improved sanitation.

The region's fast growth in recent years has also put severe strains on the environment, with developing Asian countries becoming heavy contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, it said.

But the development bank said Asia has made significant progress in reducing extreme poverty. The number of poor was reduced from around one in two people to around one in four over the past 15 years, it said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2009)