Important lessons can also be drawn from setbacks which can help us to avoid pitfalls and perils of indifference or misjudgement. An honest appraisal of your countries' efforts and plans will accelerate the implementation of the regional Social Development Agenda. Senior officials examined in the past three days the goals they set three years ago, at a regional meeting held in 1994 before the landmark 1995 World Social Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, Denmark. Many countries reported progress in their plans. The total number of poor families experienced a decline of about 250,000 in the same period.
Basic literacy is on the rise as are functional literacy and life expectancy.
Secretary of Agrarian Reform and Lead Convener of the Republic's Social Reform Council. Despite the advances in Asian and Pacific economies in the past five decades, the region is still home to three-quarters of the world's poor. The number of people living in absolute poverty in the region grew from some 960 million in 1987 to 1.3 billion in 1993. Asia has 374 million poor rural women, which is more than the population of Western Europe. Enshrined in the Agenda for Action are a series of specific goals, in the areas of population, health, education, employment, shelter, environment, disasters, crime, social protection and the family that the government have pledged to attain in order to advance the cause of social development.