•.The percentage of population in situation of extreme poverty went from 13.9% in 1995 to 15.6 in 2001, which means that currently, more than 845,000 people live in that condition.

• 5% of the population of boys and girls under 5 years old suffers from global malnutrition, i.e., around 35,000 children under 5 years of age.

• 20% of the boys and girls under 5 years of age are within the fringe of risk of malnutrition, this is equivalent to 141,000 children younger than 5 years of age.

• 30% of the pregnant women already suffers from malnutrition, i.e. around 45,000 women.
• 27% of the population does not have any type of medical care assistance, which means around 1,527,000 people.

• 9% of the children between 5 and 14 years old, i.e. 133,000 boys and girls, are not inside the formal educational system, according to the last estimations of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

• 45% of the population, which represents around 2,577,000 people, does not have access to drinking water, and only 25% has some type of basic sanitation.

Both, the studies that were done, and the empirical evidence show that there are synergies between the universal access to basic social services and human development; between reduction of poverty and economic growth. In this sense the efficient allotment and execution of the Budget is of vital importance for the future of the country.

• Development Objectives of the Millennium
In September 2000, within the World Summit of the Millennium of the United Nations, the leaders of the whole world agreed on putting their best efforts to achieve in 2015 the Development Objectives of the Millennium (DOM), an ambitious agenda that intends to significantly improve the living conditions of the population. These objectives seek to reduce poverty, hunger, diseases, illiteracy, degradation of the environment and discrimination against women.