The Achievement of MDG in African and Middle East countries

The World Bank has currently published The Millennium Development Goals and the Road to 2015: Building on Progress and Responding to Crisis, where it evaluates the achievement of MDGs in Middle Eastern and African countries and concludes that most of them could achieve them within 2015.

Despite of this mostly optimistic view there are some data regarding women which are less positive as, for example, that gender differences still persist in this region. Girls still present lower schooling and literacy ratios than boys and women are less represented in qualified job positions.

Finally, The World Bank publication highlights that the Algerian government has adopted a strategy (2007-2010) to eradicate illiteracy, particularly among women, and that the Gulf countries need to work harder in terms of gender equality and political participation of women.