Don’t ignore Asia, warns report

OVER the next decade, two million children will die, 40 million people will be without safe drinking water, and five million children will be forced out of school if current trends continue in 14 countries across Asia and the Pacific that are among the world’s least developed, a UN report said yesterday.

Better access to international markets could prevent this, said the report from United Nations Development Programme.

The grim forecasts in the UNDP report sought to focus attention on countries ranging from Afghanistan and Nepal to Bangladesh and Samoa. Experts say these countries are often ignored amid spotlights on African poverty and the image of a new prosperity sweeping Asian nations like China and India.