Asian and Asian Pacific countries continue to make progress in reducing poverty but hunger still remains widespread and many economies are struggling to fulfil their other Millennium Development Goals (MDG), including reductions in maternal mortality rates and access to sanitation.

In its annual statistical report - Key Indicators 2009 - the Asian Development Bank (ADB) stated that over the past 15 years, Asia has reduced the number of poor people from around 50 percent to 25 percent.

However, large pockets of extreme poverty continue to persist even as many economies have posted record growth rates over that time, the bank reported.

ADB’s chief economist Jong-Wha Lee said the recent global downturn, which has led to steep declines in exports and production, will slow growth in the Asia-Pacific region and on the continent as a whole.

The bank noted that the region is facing serious challenges in fulfilling goals linked to sanitation and maternal mortality, citing unacceptably high rates 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 latest available data show that the ‘aging’ of Asian societies—where a growing percentage of the population is aged 65 or over--is expected to put an increasing strain on health and social welfare, while the gap between rich and poor countries remains wide./.