Achieving the MDGs with equity in Asia and the Pacific : discussion paper : High-Level Meeting on Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific

This paper focuses on left behind groups, provides a systematic analysis of disparities affecting them, and provides examples of solutions used by governments in Asia and the Pacific. The association between poverty and low MDG achievement is very strong. This paper is necessarily selective in presenting national examples of successful policies. Some of the examples presented may be useful to policy makers in the region. The Asia-Pacific region as a whole is on-track for meeting targets for drinking water, but intraregional differences remain. In East Asia and the Pacific, for example, almost all urban households have access to improved water, compared with about a third of rural households. In South Asia, access to improved water has declined in urban areas and improved only slightly in rural areas. Progress towards achieving sanitation targets has been less. The Asia-Pacific region as a whole is off-track, with only 36 per cent of households in South Asia and just over half of those in East Asia and the Pacific using improved sanitation sources.