The widening global financial crisis has created a development emergency, preventing many countries from achieving targets on reducing hunger, child mortality and major diseases, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)and World Bank have warned in a report.

The Global Monitoring Report, released Friday on the eve of IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, said it was unlikely that the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), an ambitious programme adopted by governments in 2000, would be met by the target year of 2015.