Launch of World Development Indicators 2005 Report

World Bank News Release:

"Five years after the Millennium Declaration, many countries have made progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but many more lag behind. Faster progress is needed in reducing maternal and child deaths, boosting primary school enrolments, and removing obstacles to greater numbers of girls going to school, according to the World Bank's latest World Development Indicators (WDI) 2005.

"The Bank's annual compendium of economic, social, environmental, business, and technology indicators, the WDI, reports that only 33 countries are on track to reach the 2015 goal of reducing child mortality by two-thirds from its 1990 level. Almost 11 million children in developing countries die before the age of five, most from causes that are readily preventable in rich countries. These include acute respiratory infection, diarrhea, measles and malaria, which together account for 48 percent of child deaths in the developing world."