Poverty in the Dominican Republic increased significantly from 2002-2004. Niki Fabiancic, the resident coordinator for the United Nations Development Program in the Dominican Republic, said that those going hungry in the Dominican Republic account for 25% of the population, as reported in the Listin Diario. This information is part of a study carried out by the United Nations Fund for Agriculture (FAO) that will be presented at the UN’s General Assembly next year. Fabiancic said that the evaluation shows the DR is behind schedule in achieving the National Millennium Objectives by 2015. As an example of the DR’s shortcomings, he pointed to the fact that maternal mortality in the DR is above the Latin American average and the high rate of teenage pregnancies recorded. Other major social challenges ahead include improving the quality of the educational system and reducing the school drop-out rate. Fabiancic said the study also demonstrated that during the 90s the DR sustained satisfactory economic growth. While this growth declined from 2000-2004, Fabiancic expressed his expectation that growth would resume, this time with a more equitable distribution of wealth.
For more information on the Objectives of the Millennium, see http://www.onu.org.do