ANALYSIS - World health gains show goals work, more needed

LONDON (Reuters) - Health targets trumpeted by international bodies are often dismissed as little more than empty promises, but data from the World Health Organisation on Monday show they really can focus minds and deliver results.

Efforts to improve child health, reduce maternal deaths, fight malaria and bring the AIDS epidemic under control in some of the world's poorest nations have led to "striking improvements", according to a WHO report -- and experts say the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that galvanised political determination are largely responsible.