The report titled 'Millenium Development Goals: A reality check' published yesterday also said Bangladesh has to accelerate poverty eradication if it wants to achieve the MDGs within stipulated time.

Citing the government statistics on poverty eradication, Unnayan Onneshan researcher Jakir Hossain said the current poverty reduction rate is about 0.52 percent, while the rate is only 0.32 percent per year in rural areas.

"If the poverty reduction continues at the current pace, it will require 81 years to eradicate poverty from Bangladesh and 24 years to achieve the target of MGDs," he mentioned.

The report also said top five percent people of the country enjoyed 30.66 percent of national income.

Poor attendance rate and unfavorable student-teacher ratio are major concerns relating to quality of primary education, according to the report.

Malnutrition contributes to over one half of child deaths, with low birth weight estimated to affect 30 percent to 50 percent of infants," said the report.

The report also said foreign aid does not contribute significantly to total national savings.

Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, editor of the Policy Watch 2005, was also present at the report publishing ceremony.