World on track to meet ‘just five’ UN development targets

Governments are on track to meet just five of the 21 targets set out in the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 deadline.

Last year governments had completed four of the 21 targets listed in the UN’s eight development goals:

* Halving the number of people earning less than $1.25 per day;
* Halving the number without access to safe drinking water;
* Significantly improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020;
* Eliminating gender disparity in primary education.

The World Bank report, which monitors the progress of the MDGs and will be presented in a number of capitals over the coming weeks, says it expects governments to meet a fifth target - eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education - by 2015.