Editor’s Note: This paper was originally published as a chapter in the book Debt Relief and Beyond, by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The World Bank. They are also the copyright holder of the data used.
Introduction
In its mid-term assessment of progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the World Bank concluded that “at the country level, on current trends, most countries are off track to meet most MDGs”. This assessment—mirroring the “development emergency” declared by world leaders at Davos, Switzerland, in January 2008 in issuing the MDG Call to Action—highlights the need to accelerate progress across the developing world.
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