NEW DELHI, Jul 6 (OneWorld) - Despite rapid economic growth, economic disparity is increasing in South Asia, according to the annual Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report by the UN, which also says that a massive 30 percent of the population still lives on a dollar a day in the Indian subcontinent.

The report says that even though Asia has made dramatic progress in the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, drastically reducing the number of people living on a dollar a day, there is evidence that the benefits of economic growth are not being shared across different parts of the continent.

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007 is a statistical compilation of the progress made in achieving the goals agreed to by world leaders in 2000 to improve health and other living standards for the world's poorest. It comes exactly at the halfway mark of the MDGs, which governments have promised to achieve by 2015.

The midpoint of the MDGs -- July 7, 2007 -- is being marked as an important day across the globe by campaigners from the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) as well as development organizations that plan to hold a variety of events to raise awareness on poverty and climate change.

Activists also plan to drum it into their governments that most nations are far from achieving the goals, which would guarantee people their rights and help them live a life of dignity.

Even the UN is organizing a concert -- "Keep the Promise" -- to mark the midpoint of the MDGs Saturday in New Delhi. It will feature fusion music as well as traditional music by Indian artists.

"Though resources are being spent, these are not reaching the poor," said Syeda Hameed a member of the Indian Planning Commission, a top government body that does economic planning for the country. "Obviously the trickle down effect has not happened."

She stressed that a solution to inequality can be found in local governance. "This can be redressed by a bottom-up approach to planning in which local institutions govern people and find out solutions themselves."

The report mentions that progress in improving child nutrition is unacceptably slow and South Asia and Southeast Asia are among the sub-regions with the highest percentage of children suffering from malnutrition.

UNICEF's India's Eimar Barr said: "46 percent of all children in India under the age of three are underweight, but if one goes deeper into statistics one finds that in some areas the figures can be very high."

A representative of the World Health Organization added that the South Asia region can meet environmental sustainability and water-related targets, but is lagging behind in sanitation-related goals.

The report also notes that South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa share the distinction of having the highest number of maternal deaths and also have the lowest proportion of skilled health attendants at birth.

Referring to rather modest gains for women serving in politics and the government, Firoza Mehrotra, from the South Asia bureau of the UN Fund for Women, said that gender equality and women's empowerment will have to be achieved first if the MDG targets are to be met.