The global economic crisis could have trapped an additional 21 million Asians below the poverty line, according to a new report by the Asian Development Bank and UN. "Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in an Era of Global Uncertainty" noted that the global economic situation threatened the region's capability to beat the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) deadline of halving poverty by 2015. The problem is very much based on job losses and the transmission mechanisms that were affected by the crisis, such as exports, tourism and external trade. Nevertheless, the report noted that Asia had been able to make impressive gains on a number of goals: reducing gender disparities in primary and tertiary education, stopping the spread of HIV and tuberculosis, and reducing the number of people without access to safe drinking water. Overall, the region made progress, largely attributed to MDG gains made in China. The report also argues that a bigger investment in human capital is needed to accelerate the achievement of the MDGs, clearly somehing that the private sector could help with. More here.