Ecuador has recently weathered an economic crisis that widened the gap between rich and poor. Half of its people live in poverty, and a fifth of the population is malnourished.

But some exciting projects are showing what can be done using the ICPD and Millennium Development Goals as a framework for social and economic progress. For example:

• Ecuador's landmark Free Maternity Law guarantees free maternal health care to pregnant women, access to family planning for women of reproductive age and free health services children under five. Local ‘users' committees' make sure that women know about the law and that public health services follow it. full story...

• A growing youth movement has enlisted young people as agents of change in educating peers about reproductive health issues and encouraging responsible behaviour through radio programmes, youth centres and theatre. full story...

• An innovative health clinic offers comprehensive services, including both traditional and modern medicines, to Quecha-speaking indigenous communities high in the Andes. full story...

The country's emphasis on empowering women, providing reproductive health services and meeting the needs of young people and those marginalized by poverty are paying off. Many of Ecuador's demographic social indicators show significant progress toward ICPD and MDG targets. These mutually reinforcing interventions are keys to broad social and economic progress, as the UN Millennium Project experts have concluded. This subject is also explored more fully in the forthcoming State of World Population 2004 report entitled The Promise of Equality.