(2) what progress the Government is making towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal on (a) reducing child mortality, (b) improving national health, (c) poverty reduction and hunger and (d) achieving universal primary education.
The UN conducts the official assessment of progress towards the millennium development goals (MDGs). Their latest report relating to 2008
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications/mdg-factsheets/mdg-report-2008.pdf
found that the global collective effort is yielding results and that progress is being made globally towards achieving many of the MDGs even in some of the more challenging regions. A number of targets are expected to be reached by their target dates in 2015.
The Department for International Development (DFID) also conducts an annual assessment of progress towards key MDG targets at a country level based on international data. The latest assessment was published in its 2008 autumn performance report (copies of which are also in the parliamentary Library):
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications/aut-perf-report-08.pdf