Thus, even if the world as a whole achieves the target set for Goal 1, important regions, especially sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, may not achieve that target unless very vigorous steps are taken soon. Theories of development have often tried to point out specific factors and identify the main obstacles, which have changed over time. Development policies and foreign assistance programmes were then designed to overcome capital, infrastructure and/or foreign-exchange constraints, through addressing inequalities in asset or income distributions, investing in human capital, strengthening social protection systems and improving governance and market institutions.