News outlets discuss the U.N.’s annual report on progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), released on Monday.

Agence France-Presse: More Africans in extreme poverty than in 1990: U.N.
“More sub-Saharan Africans are living in extreme poverty now than in 1990, said a major United Nations report Monday, warning the region will miss most of its development goals…” (7/7).

Christian Science Monitor: U.N. Millennium Development goals: World cuts extreme poverty in half
“For those who see little reason for optimism about global poverty and social trends, here’s something to cheer about: The world has made impressive progress towards meeting a set of development goals set by world leaders in 2000. One stand-out example: The goal of cutting global extreme poverty in half by 2015 has already been met…” (LaFranchi, 7/7).

The Guardian: Reducing child deaths: the Millennium Development Goal that is slipping away
“Achieving global targets to reduce maternal and child deaths and increase access to improved sanitation facilities by 2015 is ‘slipping away,’ despite significant progress in the past 14 years, the U.N. has said…” (Ford, 7/7).

Inter Press Service: Amid Skepticism, U.N. Trumpets Successes in Cutting Poverty
“With 17 months before the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reach their targets by the December 2015 deadline, the United Nations is trumpeting its limited successes — but with guarded optimism…” (Deen, 7/7).

New York Times: Report on Development Goals
“Nearly one billion people worldwide defecate in the open, and such bad sanitation practices can endanger the health of children who live and play nearby, the United Nations said in a report released Monday…” (Sengupta, 7/8).

SciDev.Net: U.N. urges bold action to turn around off-track MDGs
“Significant global action is still required to reach several key targets set for the 2015 deadline of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), says a U.N. report published [Monday]…” (Kemeny, 7/7).