MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Poverty and illiteracy rates have been slashed but governments in East and Southeast Asia need to speed up health and environment improvements to meet the looming 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Asia Development Bank (ADB), UNDP and UNESCAP said at a forum in Shanghai today.

ADB, ADB Institute (ADBI), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and Shanghai Jiaotong University are holding the joint forum to examine the sub-region’s progress on MDGs, and to look at actions needed to address problem areas.

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