Workshop Report: The Millennium Development Goals in Pacific Island Countries - Taking Stock, Emerging Issues, and the Way Forward

This report provides a regional perspective on the progress made by Pacific island countries (PICs) in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It also discusses the implications of climate change, rising food and fuel prices, the 2008 financial crisis, and emerging trade agreements.

Most PICs face considerable challenges in achieving the MDGs, largely because of stagnant economic growth, a lack of employment opportunities in the formal sector, and the subsistence nature of the informal sector. The Cook Islands, Niue, Palau, Samoa, and Tonga are “on track” toward achieving the MDGs. Fiji, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu are exhibiting “mixed progress” in realizing the goals by 2015. Conversely, Kiribati, Nauru, and Papua New Guinea are “off track” in achieving the MDGs.