The finance minister, AMA Muhith, attributed the country's struggle to overcome poverty and other challenges to the failure of donors to fulfill their aid pledges. He expressed this view at the launch of a report on Bangladesh's progress towards Millennium Development Goals at Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka on Wednesday. According to Muhith, achieving MDGs would not be a difficult task if donor agencies honored their commitments. Bangladesh, like other nations, is committed to reducing extreme poverty by half by 2015 as part of the MDGs. Despite some progress on certain issues, the minister acknowledged that there are several obstacles to reaching these goals. He stated that the issue of children's malnutrition continues to be a significant problem. Muhith also mentioned that while progress has been made in addressing sanitation issues, the problem of arsenic contamination still needs to be fully resolved. In terms of economic growth, he noted that the rate is positive but lags behind that of neighboring countries. Various officials, including Planning Minister AK Khandker and Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, also spoke at the event. Khandker emphasized the need for increased international assistance to tackle the effects of climate change in Bangladesh. Moni stated that the country's development is being hindered by natural disasters caused by climate change. She mentioned advancements in poverty reduction, women's empowerment, primary education, and child mortality. Shamsul Alam, a member of the Planning Commission, shared the progress report.