PROTECTING NATURE-BASED ASSETS COULD BOOST RURAL POOR’S INCOME – UN

New York, Oct 8 2008 1:10PM
Increasing nature-based enterprises could simultaneously enhance incomes for the world’s rural poor and increase their resilience to economic, social and environmental threats, according to a new United Nations-backed report launched today.

Some three quarters of the 2.6 billion people living on less than $2 a day depend on local natural resources for their livelihoods, which are now being menaced by climate change and ecosystem degradation.

“World Resources Report 2008: Roots of Resilience” was released in Barcelona, Spain, at the World Conservation Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The new publication is a joint effort by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, and non-governmental organization (NGO) known as the World Research Institute.

“Poverty will never be made history unless we invest in more intelligent management of the world’s nature-based assets,” <"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2008/october/nature-based-enterprises-can-help-rural-poor-adapt-to-environmental-threats.en">said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director. “There are now countless models and case studies of how ecosystems can be managed to boost rural livelihoods and incomes while meeting the goal of environmental sustainability.”

The report concludes that translating these models into reality requires emphasizing three key elements: ownership by the poor of local resources; the capacity of local communities to manage ecosystems competently; and creating networks to link nature-based enterprises to increase access to the economic mainstream.

One example cited in the new publication is a scheme in Bangladesh to help villagers to sustainably manage fisheries and wetlands. Prior to that programme, there had been fierce competition over fishing rights, but in the eight years after its implementation, degradation of the bird and fish habitat has been reversed and a 140 per cent increase in fish catches and a 33 per cent rise in local income have been recorded.

In a related development, UNEP unveiled a new “Paint for the Planet” <"http://www.unep.org/paint4planet/">website yesterday showcasing stand-out entries from its International Children’s Painting Competition.

Five young artists from Burundi, Colombia, Malta and the United States will attend an event in New York to plead for leadership on climate change and officially open an exhibit at UN Headquarters on 23 October.

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FINANCIAL CRISIS THREATENS EFFORTS TOWARDS GLOBAL ANTI-POVERTY TARGETS, SAYS MIGIRO

New York, Oct 6 2008 3:10PM
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro has warned countries that the current financial crisis, which is impacting all economies and exacerbating the suffering of millions, is also threatening the efforts to slash poverty, hunger, disease and other socio-economic ills by 2015, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“The financial crisis only exacerbates the hardship already being caused by higher prices of food and energy, especially in low-income countries, fomenting social and political unease,” Ms. Migiro <"http://www.un.org/apps/dsg/dsgstats.asp?nid=131">told the General Assembly’s Second Committee, which deals with economic and financial matters.

“Despite the recent announcement by the World Bank that considerable progress has been made in reducing poverty and hunger, our work to achieve the Millennium Development Goals is clearly at risk,” she cautioned.

Ms. Migiro told delegates that they were meeting at a time of financial turmoil, and that urgent action was needed to avert a recession, including through stimulus packages and measures to stabilize financial and foreign exchange markets.

In the midst of the current financial woes, “achieving the MDGs by 2015 continues to be our major development challenge,” the Deputy Secretary-General stated. Although the progress made so far towards the Goals has been uneven, it is still possible to achieve them by the target date, she added.

Noting that Africa remains the region with the greatest challenges ahead, particularly against the backdrop of much higher food and energy prices and climate change, she called for increasing and better coordinating aid, reducing agricultural subsidies in developed countries, and investing more in infrastructure.

“Let’s make sure the financial crisis does not divert our efforts,” she appealed to Member States. “If we are to take away any lesson from the multiple crises we face, it is that delaying action only makes matters worse.”

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UN OFFICIALS HAIL PARTNERSHIP WITH PRIVATE SECTOR IN ACHIEVING ANTI-POVERTY TARGETS

New York, Sep 19 2008 7:10PM
United Nations officials have lauded the involvement of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs), the eight anti-poverty targets world leaders have pledged to achieve by 2015, noting the increasingly vital role played by the private sector in tackling today’s most pressing challenges.

“The private sector, it is increasingly recognized, has the capacity and the power to make a difference,” Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Office, told a news conference at UN Headquarters today.

The Compact pledges participating businesses – now numbering some 5,000 in over 100 countries – to observe principles regarding human rights, labour rights, environmental sustainability and the fight against corruption.

Mr. Kell welcomed the involvement of the CGI in the work of the UN, stating that its “innovative model of securing actionable commitments has not only been an inspiration for the CGI members but for many other voluntary initiatives.”

Ever since former United States president Bill Clinton set up the initiative in 2005, CGI members have made commitments designed to, among others, reduce poverty and hunger, work toward education for all and combat disease.

“CGI is not a typical philanthropic organization. We don’t give away any money at all,” said Bob Harrison, the Initiative’s chief executive officer.

“We create an opportunity for people with ideas to connect with people with resources. We distinguish ourselves from other meetings by a track record of converting ideas into solutions with tangible results,” he added.

CGI members commit themselves to action in one of four focus areas, which this year are education, climate change, global health and poverty alleviation.

“Through those four focus areas, CGI members are doing their part toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals set out by the United Nations,” Mr. Harrison said.

An example of this is the commitment made two years ago by corporate member Procter and Gamble to provide clean, safe drinking water to one million African children. Working with 17 non-governmental organizations (NGO), the company is distributing a product known as PUR, which, when put in dirty water, produces potable drinking water.

“The initiative had reached over 700,000 children so far, clearly addressing several of the MDGs,” said Mr. Harrison.

He added that, over the past three years, members have made nearly 1,000 commitments valued at upwards of $30 billion to improve more than 200 million lives in over 150 countries. Over 230 of those commitments have been completed to date.

In addition, CGI has had about 20 commitments made in partnership with the UN. At its fourth annual meeting next week, the Initiative will be announcing some 10 more.

More than 130 leading business leaders and over 50 current and former Heads of State have confirmed their attendance at the 23-26 September meeting, set to coincide with the UN high-level event on the MDGs on 25 September.

Among those slated to address the CGI gathering are Queen Rania of Jordan, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and United States presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.

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DISASTERS PERPETUATE CYCLE OF POVERTY, SAYS UN AGENCY

New York, Sep 16 2008 3:10PM
Recent devastating storms and floods have reinforced poverty in many parts of the world, the United Nations agency tasked with minimizing the threat posed by natural disasters said today.

“The extreme and repeated consequences of hurricanes in the Caribbean and the [United States] show that development levels are directly linked to the toll that natural hazards take on a country’s population,” <"http://wwww.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/FBUO-7JJHXT?OpenDocument">said Sálvano Briceño, Director of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) Secretariat.

He noted that it will take Haiti, one of the world’s poorest nations where over three-quarters of its population living on less than $2 a day, years to recover from the four storms which have battered the Caribbean in the past few weeks.

“Even if a developed country is highly hazard-prone, they are still far less vulnerable than a less-developed country with weak infrastructure and limited capacity for prevention and response,” said the Director of the Geneva-based agency.

Some 94 per cent of all those who lost their lives in natural hazards in the past 25 years had either low or lower-middle incomes, with half of all deaths occurring in countries low on the human development scale.

Climate change is leading to more frequent and intense natural disasters, threatening development, Mr. Briceño noted.

“The Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] will not be fully achieved if disaster risk reduction is not among the solutions used to reduce poverty,” he stressed, referring to the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

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BAN URGES CONCERTED NEW DRIVE TOWARDS ACHIEVING UN ANTI-POVERTY GOALS

New York, Sep 11 2008 1:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for an “aggressive push” towards attaining the anti-poverty targets world leaders pledged to achieve by 2015, after a new United Nations report found that progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs) is threatened by high food and fuel prices and the global economic slowdown.

The UN’s <i>Millennium Development Goals Report 2008</i> is the most comprehensive global assessment to date on progress towards the targets, which range from eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, and achieving universal primary education, to reducing child mortality and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

“It provides hard evidence on what we have done well, and what more needs to be done if we are to reach our goals by 2015,” Mr. Ban told a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1201">news conference in New York at which he launched the report.

Mr. Ban noted that developing countries are devoting more resources to education and health thanks to reduced external debt servicing, fresh assistance and new financing from private foundations.

In addition, primary school enrolment is rising, and there has been progress on health and gender equality, he said.

According to new data from the World Bank, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty is expected to decline by half by 2015. “But progress is largely concentrated in Asia,” said the Secretary-General, adding that until recently, sub-Saharan Africa was losing ground in the fight against extreme poverty.

The report states that current high food prices are expected to push many people into poverty, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, which are already the regions with the largest numbers of people living in extreme poverty.

He noted that despite the challenges, there are enough successes to prove that most of the Goals are reachable in all countries. “In most cases, we already know what needs to be done, and how. Now we need an aggressive push to get the world on track,” he stressed.

On 25 September, Mr. Ban and the incoming President of the General Assembly, Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, will convene a high-level gathering to review progress to date, identify gaps and commit to concrete steps to ensure that all countries can achieve the MDGs.

Some 150 countries will be participating in the event, including more than 90 Heads of State or government and other international figures, as well as nearly 20 of the world’s biggest philanthropic foundations.

“We are looking for intensified action from a new and broader coalition of partners: governments, NGOs [non-governmental organizations], faith groups, the private sector and others,” said Mr. Ban. “I expect all participants to announce specific initiatives or commitments and lay out plans to realize them. By the close of the meeting, we hope to be in a very different place from where we are today.”

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MORE PEOPLE LIVING IN EXTREME POVERTY THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT – WORLD BANK

New York, Aug 27 2008 3:10PM
The <"http://www.worldbank.org/">World Bank has revised upward its estimates of the number of the world’s poor from nearly 1 billion to 1.4 billion, drawing on new data that indicates that poverty is more widespread across the developing world than previously thought.

But despite the new figures, a new study by the agency shows that great strides continue to be made in the fight against poverty.

“The new data confirm that the world will likely reach the first Millennium Development Goal [<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDG] of halving the 1990 level of poverty by 2015 and that poverty has fallen by about one percentage point a year since 1981,” said Justin Lin, the World Bank’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Development Economics.

“However, the sobering news that poverty is more pervasive than we thought means we must redouble our efforts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa,” he warned.

The revised figures are based on 2005 measures of purchasing power parity, but due to lags, do not reflect the impacts of recent surge in food and fuel prices.

The agency also raised its poverty benchmark from $1 a day to $1.25 a day – the average poverty line for the world’s 10 to 20 poorest countries – based on the new data, reflecting a more accurate picture of the cost of living in developing nations.

“The new estimates are a major advance in poverty measurement because they are based on far better price data for assuring that the poverty lines are comparable across countries,” said Martin Ravallion, Director of the Development Research Group at the agency.

The number of the world’s poor has dropped by 500 million since 1981, but despite this positive progress, some one billion people will still live on less than $1.25 a day by 2015, the target date of the MDGs.

In East Asia, the poverty rate has been slashed from almost 80 per cent in 1981 to 18 per cent in 2005, driven by China’s success in elevating the poor.

Overall, the poverty rate has fallen in South Asia from 60 per cent to 40 per cent from 1981 to 2005, with over two-thirds of the region’s poor in India.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the percentage of people living under $1.25 a day remains unchanged at 50 per cent, but the number of poor has nearly doubled, from 200 million in 1981 to 380 million in 2005.

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DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA TOPS TALKS BETWEEN ASSEMBLY CHIEF, GUINEAN OFFICIAL

New York, Jul 23 2008 7:00PM
The importance of African development and finding ways to reach the globally approved anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were under the spotlight during talks today between General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and Guinea’s Planning and Cooperation Minister Djigui Camara.

Mr. Camara stressed the need to advance on the commitments made by United Nations Member States to achieving the MDGs, such as by exploring innovative ways of mobilizing resources, according to a statement released by Mr. Kerim’s spokesperson after the meeting in New York.

Mr. Kerim noted that the Assembly’s current session has a strong focus on development, with the MDGs and financing for development being among the main priority issues. The current global food and energy crisis is also being closely examined.

Mr. Kerim also drew attention to the Assembly high-level meeting on African development, scheduled for 22 September, and a separate leaders’ summit later that week on the MDGs, jointly organized by the Assembly President and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

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NEW UN REPORT URGES COMPANIES TO BOOST BUSINESS WITH WORLD’S POOR

New York, Jul 1 2008 9:00AM
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has encouraged companies to expand beyond traditional business practices and offered them strategies and tools to bring in the world’s poor as partners for economic growth, in a new report released today.

Part of UNDP’s Growing Inclusive Market’s initiative, “Creating Value for All: Strategies for Doing Business with the Poor” draws on extensive case studies and demonstrates the effectiveness of more inclusive business models.

The report highlights the untapped potential of the poor for consumption, production, innovation, and business activity. The more companies include the poor, the more likely they are to not only boost growth but also contribute to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the global anti-poverty targets to be achieved by 2015.

“The power of poor people to benefit from market activity lies in their ability to participate in markets and take advantage of market opportunities,” UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis stated. “Business models that include the poor require broad support and offer gains for all.”

The report offers five strategies that private businesses have successfully used to overcome the most common obstacles to doing business with the poor. They include adapting products and services, investing in infrastructure or training to remove constraints, and leveraging the strengths of the poor to increase labour and management pool and expand local knowledge.

“There is room for many more inclusive business models. There is room for more inclusive markets. And there is room for much greater value creation,” noted the report, which showcases 50 case studies from around the world which demonstrate that companies can increase profit while boosting their impact on local communities.

Among the examples is a company in China that offered affordable computers and training to rural farmers via a low-cost operating system and software that is easier for customers with limited education, thus expanding its market base.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the banking sector was decimated by years of war, a mobile phone company offered encrypted short message service technology to allow customers to wire money. The company now has two million customers in the vast African nation.

The report also offers new tools for interested businesses, such as heat maps – which offer a visual overview of the market or services landscape and a first look at potential new markets.

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The $5.6 million grant over two years will allow the countries, through the FAO country statistics information system (CountrySTAT),' target=_blank>http://www.fao.org/statistics/countrystat/">CountrySTAT/>),/> to “substantially improve” the quality, accessibility, relevance and reliability of their national statistics on food and agriculture.

The 17 countries involved in the project are Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

“With good and reliable data it is much easier to pinpoint where assistance is working, where it may be weak and understanding possible future needs,” said Hafez Ghanem, FAO Assistant Director-General for the Economic and Social Development.

“Ensuring reliability of country data is crucial both to governments and to those working with countries to reduce undernourishment and strengthen agricultural and rural development,” he added.

In total, some 20 countries and regions are currently involved in CountrySTAT, which focuses on data in the areas of food, resources and economics. The grant from the Gates Foundation will enable FAO to improve its information in 17 countries, nine of which currently use CountrySTAT in some capacity.

“Reliable data will help national governments, donors, researchers and the agricultural development community set priorities and policies that will ensure small farmers can access the supplies and support they need to boost their yields and incomes and build healthy, productive lives,” said Dr. Rajiv Shah, Director of Agricultural Development for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Development Program.

“Quality data will help us make better decisions so that our investments in agricultural development throughout Sub-Saharan Africa can be as targeted and effective as possible,” he stated.=

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(9 May 2008)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged members of the business community in the United States city of Atlanta to help the United Nations in its efforts to combat global poverty, arguing that this is good for the world and the bottom line.

“Never has the global corporate community been so engaged as it is today,” he said. “Look at what the Gates Foundation is doing in health care. Look how Rotary International, supported by Atlanta’s Centers for Disease Control and some of your most forward-looking companies, is on the verge of eradicating polio.”

The world’s poorest need international help from a range of players, he said. “The United Nations cannot do it alone. We need you.”

He argued for an approach that promotes self-sufficiency. “Unless the world’s poor become better able to fend for themselves, they – and we – are lost,” he told the gathering at the headquarters of the Coca Cola company, which is a member of the UN’s voluntary corporate citizen initiative known as the Global Compact.

The Secretary-General said companies are introducing new technologies that are sparking local entrepreneurship and, in the process, creating growth and promoting new markets. “Vodaphone and Tata, to name but two, have discovered that cell phones are about far more than voice communication. Poor farmers in Africa and India use them to check market prices and get information about when and what to plant. This transforms their lives.”

Sales are “exploding,” he said, and “along the way, both companies find that they are contributing in a big way to solving the global food crisis – by advancing local development and helping to boost agricultural production.”

Some 5,000 companies, in 120 countries, belong to the UN’s Global Compact. Addressing those that have not joined the initiative, the Secretary-General said, “I urge you to sign up. After all, we are in this together.”

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UN OFFICIALS CALL FOR URGENT ACTION TO ADDRESS IMPACT OF SPIRALLING FOOD PRICES

New York, Apr 9 2008 5:00PM
Warning that soaring food prices could lead to increased poverty and unrest, several senior United Nations officials have called for urgent measures to tackle the global crisis, which threatens to hit the world’s poor the hardest.

The World Food Programme’s (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?n=31">WFP) Deputy Executive Director has warned of the rise of a “new face of hunger” that will require the combined efforts of governments, the private sector, and humanitarian organizations to overcome.

“Food prices are now rising at rates that few of us can ever have seen before in our lifetimes,” John Powell told the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development (DIHAD) Conference.

He expressed particular concern about the fact that markets are full of food, but large numbers of people simply cannot afford to buy.

Yesterday, at the same conference, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes warned that rising food prices could spark worldwide unrest and threaten political stability.

The past few weeks have witnessed violent protests over rising food prices in a number of countries, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal, Morocco and, most recently, in Haiti, where several people have died in riots.

Mr. Holmes, who is also Emergency Relief Coordinator, discussed the issue today in his meetings with officials in Kuwait, the latest stop on his four-nation visit intended to encourage greater partnership with Gulf States in international humanitarian efforts.

Meanwhile, the head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) called for urgent measures to reduce the impact of high food prices on the poor, which he said was due to a combination of factors such as reduced production due to climate change, increased demand for biofuels production and the higher cost of energy and transport.

Director-General Jacques Diouf made the appeal at the first-ever Global Agro-Industries Forum in New Delhi, India, which has been sponsored by UN agencies to focus on how such industries can contribute to poverty reduction

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SURGE IN FOOD PRICES COULD LEAD TO INCREASED UNREST, WARNS SENIOR UN AID OFFICIAL

New York, Apr 7 2008 11:00AM
The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (<" WFP)" target="_blank">http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2811">WFP) today called on donors to respond to the agency’s appeal for additional funds to deliver lifesaving assistance, warning that the global surge in food prices could lead to further tensions such as those witnessed recently in <" Haiti">http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/minustah/">Haiti and other countries.

“What we see in Haiti is what we’re seeing in many of our operations around the world – rising prices that mean less food for the hungry. A new face of hunger is emerging: even where food is available on the shelves, there are now more and more people who simply cannot afford it,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.

Following the deaths of four people in two days of rioting last week over rising food prices, WFP has called on donors once again to urgently support its operations in Haiti, which has been particularly vulnerable to the spike in costs.

So far the agency has only received 13 per cent – or $12.4 million – of the $96 million required to assist 1.7 million people in Haiti – the western hemisphere’s poorest country. As a result, it barely has enough to support operations throughout April.

“Riots in Haiti underline the additional need for lifesaving food assistance,” Ms. Sheeran said. “At this critical time, we need to stand with the people of Haiti and other countries hardest hit by rising food prices.”

Last month, WFP announced it was seeking funding to close a $500 million gap caused by the global spike in food and fuel prices, which have increased by an estimated 55 per cent since last June.

In addition to Haiti, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Indonesia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Mozambique and Senegal have also experienced unrest in recent weeks related to soaring food and fuel prices.

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ASSEMBLY CHIEF PROPOSES ANNUAL MEETINGS TO CHART PROGRESS ON ANTI-POVERTY GOALS

New York, Apr 4 2008 7:00PM
The General Assembly should meet every year until 2015 to take stock of the progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs) and to hold all partners to account for the commitments they have made to fight poverty and other ills, its President Srgjan Kerim said today at the conclusion of this week’s special <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/ga10700.doc.htm">debate on the issue.

Mr. Kerim <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/ga10701.doc.htm">told the debate participants that while it was clear that significant progress has been made since world leaders pledged in 2000 to try to achieve the Goals, it has been uneven and still too slow, despite the availability of solutions.

“The key issue that we all have to deliver on our commitments, scale-up our efforts and accelerate progress,” he said this morning as he wrapped up the four-day debate, adding that Africa and the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) need additional long-term assistance from the international community if they are to catch up.

Mr. Kerim stressed that one point made repeatedly throughout this week’s debate was that “delivering on our commitments is a priority and that delivering results a necessity.

“Donors need to provide the additional aid and debt relief that they have promised. And, developing countries need to integrate the Millennium Development Goals into national development plans, and speed up implementation of other commitments, including better governance.”

He noted that many delegations have already endorsed his proposal for the annual meetings to chart progress worldwide.

In addition to the meetings, the President called on the 192-member Assembly to mandate the UN Secretariat and the relevant UN funds, programmes and agencies to provide an annual MDG global monitoring report analyzing implementation across all countries.

On 22 September at UN Headquarters in New York, UN Member States will gather for a major meeting on the MDGs, with the focus on Africa’s specific development needs.

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INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE KEY TO REDUCING POVERTY IN AFRICA – UN OFFICIAL

New York, Apr 3 2008 12:00PM
A senior United Nations official has called for greater investments in agriculture and rural development to boost economic growth and reduce poverty in Africa, both of which are critical to achieving the global target of halving poverty and hunger by 2015.

“Rapid agricultural and rural development holds the key to eliminating poverty in Africa,” Kanayo Nwanze, Vice-President of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) <"http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2008/21.htm">told the meeting of African Union and the UN <"http://www.uneca.org/">Economic Commission for Africa delegates gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“A concerted, coordinated and collective effort is the most effective way to tackle the triple scourge of poverty, climate change and high food prices and to guarantee a sustainable future for women, marginalized groups and smallholder farmers in Africa,” he stated.

Mr. Nwanze stressed that the situation in Africa, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, remains critical and recent food price riots in some African countries are likely to expand in the coming months. “The escalation of social unrest we have seen in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Senegal may become commonplace in other African countries,” he said.

While noting the gains achieved by sub-Saharan African countries in recent years, several UN officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, have cited an urgent need to scale up efforts to meet the global anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs) by 2015.
According to IFAD, the proportion of people in sub-Saharan Africa living in extreme poverty remains above 40 per cent. In addition, while the proportion of undernourished people in Africa decreased between 1990 and 2000 – from 29 per cent to 27 per cent – the absolute number of undernourished people rose by about 20 per cent – from 174 million to 212 million – during the same period.

The Fund is currently supporting more than 120 programmes and projects in Africa, worth over $2.6 billion. Almost half of that funding is provided by IFAD and the rest is from partners, including national governments.

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MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY NEEDED TO ACHIEVE ANTI-POVERTY GOALS – ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

New York, Apr 2 2008 6:00PM
Mutual accountability between rich and poor States is the only way forward to achieving the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs), the General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said today, <"http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/statements/MDGsOpeningGA20408.shtml">addressing a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/ga10697.doc.htm">debate on how to best achieve those Goals by 2015.

Mr. Kerim said it was clear from the discussions so far – the multi-day debate in the Assembly began yesterday with a series of speeches and panel discussions – “that we have the solutions. The key issue is that we all have to deliver on our commitments, scale up our efforts and accelerate progress. Failure is not an option.”

The Assembly President stressed that it was important not to “descend into mutual accusations” that would divert attention from taking real action to achieve the MDGs, which include pledges to drastically reduce poverty, improve maternal and child health and ensure much greater access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

“When aid is effectively aligned behind national governments and predictable over the long term, rapid progress can be achieved,” he said. “Leaders across every level of the development system now need to hold themselves to account… We need to urgently translate political commitments – made at the highest level – into results on the ground.”

Mr. Kerim said yesterday’s panel discussions on education, health, poverty and hunger reaffirmed the view that making progress on those fronts is crucial to achieving all of the eight MDGs.

Yesterday he told the opening of the debate that the world has a “critical window of opportunity” this year to accelerate progress towards the MDGs by translating earlier commitments into concrete action.

Recent reports have indicated that sub-Saharan Africa remains well off track to achieving any of the Goals, and the debate has heard calls for renewed commitment to help the continent make greater progress.

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Addressing the opening of the Assembly’s thematic debate on the MDGs, Mr. Kerim said the world will only achieve the MDGs by the target date of 2015 if Member States show more commitment and dedication to the cause.

“At the midway point to achieve the MDGs… all of our commitments must now be urgently translated into practical plans with systematic follow-through by all parties,” he said, noting that current trends indicate the pace of progress so far has been too slow. None of the eight Goals will be met in sub-Saharan Africa without a dramatic improvement, for example.

“The stakes are high. If we achieve the MDGs on time, 500 million people will be lifted out of poverty, 300 million more people will be adequately fed, and 30 million young children’s lives will have been saved.”

Mr. Kerim said affluent countries need to do more to translate their commitments of aid or support into more concrete action on the ground.

“Donors need to issue country-by-country timelines for how they are going to increase aid, so partner governments can plan for essential investments in services. All of our attention must be focused on creating a more coherent development agenda, based on the nexus between Financing for Development, the Millennium Development Goals and the challenge of global warming.

“This is the only strategy we can adopt to create a more sustainable, just and equitable future for all.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the debate that too many countries are not on track to achieve the Goals, despite the laudable efforts so far in many parts of the world.

He said the UN was working to improve internal coordination and to streamline its procedures to help countries reach the targets, which world leaders pledged in 2000 to try to achieve.

Mr. Ban said he hoped that a series of gatherings this year, particularly the high-level meeting on Africa’s development needs scheduled for 22 September in New York, will send a strong message to governments that they should rise to the challenge of providing greater financing for development.

Representatives of dozens of countries will speak before the Assembly debate – entitled “Recognizing the achievements, addressing the challenges and getting back on track to achieve the MDGs by 2015” – over the next few days.

In a related development, Mr. Kerim and the United States businessman Ted Turner, chair of the UN Foundation, announced that the Foundation and the United Methodist Church and the Lutheran world movement are working together to try to raise an additional $200 million to fight malaria in Africa.

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REAL CHANGE FOR WORLD’S POOR REQUIRES GREATER EFFORTS BY ALL, MIGIRO SAYS

New York, Mar 27 2008  2:00PM
With the global scorecard for reaching the bold pledges world leaders made to halve poverty and other social ills by 2015 showing mixed progress among countries, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today called for accelerated action to achieve real change for the world’s poor.

“Today, the world must refocus its attention, and its resources, on the places and people that are being left behind,” she said in a keynote address to Columbia University’s State of the Planet Conference.

In doing so, she stressed the need to view people living in poverty as agents of change. This requires encouraging national ownership of development strategies, citizens actively participating in policy-making, and governments becoming more accountable in their efforts to achieve development targets, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  

“Above all, it requires a true partnership for development where rich countries do their part in delivering resources and productive employment opportunities through market access,” Ms. Migiro said.  “Tremendous gains are possible if the international community translates its commitments into results.”

She noted that the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day has fallen, and experts predict that the MDG target of halving extreme poverty may be met. “But this welcome progress is uneven with Africa lagging far behind in many of our grand promises,” she added.

At the same time, the systems, knowledge and tools needed to reach the MDGs, and thereby save millions of lives and empower African countries to achieve sustained growth, are in place.  

“To finance these programmes, African countries need to mobilize domestic resources, and developed countries must provide the support they promised on an adequate, sustained and predictable basis.

“The facts on the ground in many poor countries are clear: with carefully designed programmes and sound policies, backed up by strong government leadership and support from the international community, real change can happen,” she stated.

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WORLD CITIES AT UN FORUM UNITE TO REDUCE POVERTY AND BOOST DEMOCRACY

New York, Mar 27 2008  2:00PM
Representatives of cities from 100 countries around the world are meeting in Athens, Greece, to create local plans to achieve international development goals through the promotion of democracy, the United Nations Development Programme (<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP) said today.

More than 1,000 delegates are taking part in the sixth global forum of the World Alliance of Cities against Poverty, meeting from 26 to 28 March, in an effort to work together on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs), targets to slash extreme poverty and other global ills by 2015.

At the forum, municipalities are sharing their experiences in the areas of hunger, access to primary education, water and sanitation, child mortality, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and gender gaps. Richer cities will commit to cooperation with cities in the developing world, UNDP said.

One of the innovative outcomes expected from the meeting is the adoption of time-bound and quantified local “road maps” that will determine targets to be reached on various facets of poverty in each city.

The meeting, according to UNDP, is a response to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s call to intensify efforts to meet the 2015 deadline for achieving the MDGs, now that the midpoint between that year and 2000 has been passed.

Greece, which is marking the 2500th anniversary of the birth of democracy in Athens, was chosen for this event because of the meeting’s focus on the role of local participatory processes as a lever for better progress towards poverty eradication.

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DECENT WORK KEY TO POVERTY REDUCTION, SOCIAL INTEGRATION – MIGIRO

New York, Feb  6 2008  5:00PM
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today underscored the vital role that employment and decent work play in promoting development.

“Decent work is not just an end in itself,” she said in her opening <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/dsgsm374.doc.htm">address to the Commission for Social Development (CSD) at UN Headquarters. “It is crucial for poverty eradication and social integration, the two other planks of social development.”

The Deputy Secretary-General also advocated for workplace security and social protection for workers and their families.

In its 46th <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/soc4737.doc.htm">session which ends on 15 February, the CSD – whose 46 members are elected by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – will focus on employment, ageing and disability.

Ms. Migiro voiced hope that the Commission will come up with recommendations for how best to further the cause of decent work in national strategies and development plans, in particular through macroeconomic policies.

“Special priority should be given to the design of policies resolving the problem of long-term unemployment and underemployment of youth, women, persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups,” she stressed.

A “coherent approach” to further the cause of decent work within the broader development agenda which brings together the UN family, civil society and the private sector is essential, the Deputy Secretary-General noted.

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“We are at the mid-point of a great campaign to end world poverty, set forth in the Millennium Development Goals. Too many nations have fallen behind. We need fresh ideas and fresh ideas and fresh approaches,” Mr. Ban told a news conference in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum.

The Secretary-General repeated his recent calls for attention to the poorest of the world’s poor, known as the ‘bottom billion.’

“They are the forgotten ones, the nearly 1 billion left behind by global growth,” he said.

Mr. Ban illustrated the urgent need for action with stark statistics showing that one child dies of hunger every five seconds; for two thirds of the world a glass of ordinary drinking water is a luxury; and 1 million people die from malaria every year.

“That is why I am launching, together with global leaders, a new initiative,” he said. “This September, the UN will host a high-level meeting on the MDGs, with a special focus on Africa.”

The aim, he said, is to “bring together world leaders and, together, demand action.”

Last year, Mr. Ban used a similar forum to spur action on climate change. “This year, we will do the same for the bottom billion,” he pledged.

“This is a sacred cause. The fight against global poverty and human suffering is a moral imperative.”

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Child Poverty Is Highest in Rural Counties in U.S.

While many people think of poverty in the United States as primarily an urban problem, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that most of the counties with high child poverty rates are located in rural America. Of the 100 counties with the highest child poverty rates in 2005, 95 are rural. All 100 counties have child poverty rates above 40 percent, more than twice the national rate of 18.5 percent in 2005. Ziebach County, in South Dakota, has the highest rate--70 percent. This article was written by William O'Hare, visiting senior fellow at the Carsey Institute; and Mark Mather, deputy director of domestic programs at the Population Reference Bureau.

http://www.prb.org/Articles/2008/childpoverty.aspx

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2008 SHOULD BE THE YEAR OF THE ‘BOTTOM BILLION,’ STRESSES BAN KI-MOON

New York, Jan  7 2008  2:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed that 2008 should be the year of the “bottom billion,” citing the need for renewed determination to address the needs of the poorest of the world’s poor who have been left behind by global economic growth.   </p>  


“We must address ourselves to the needs of the weak, the disadvantaged, those who have been excluded from the mainstream international community,” Mr. Ban told reporters at a Headquarters <"press" target="new149695770">http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1118">press conference, his first for the new year.  </p>  


“And so I say, let 2008 be the year of the ‘bottom billion,’” Mr. Ban declared, employing the phrase used by some economists to describe the poorest of the world’s poor – the nearly one billion left behind by global economic growth.  </p>  


Noting that most of the world’s poorest live in Africa or the small developing islands of Asia, “eking out lives of hardship on incomes of less than $1 a day,” he pledged to work over the coming year to strengthen the UN’s role in development. </p>  


He also called for fresh thinking on ways to help nations achieve the pledges to slash poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy by 2015, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At the mid-point towards the 2015 deadline, it is widely acknowledged that many countries, particularly in Africa, are not on track to meeting the Goals.  </p>  


To help remedy this, Mr. Ban established the MDG Africa Steering Group last September in an effort to mobilize the full resources of the UN system and its partners to achieve the MDGs in Africa. </p>  


In addition, he drew attention to a high-level meeting of the General Assembly to be held in September with the goal of re-energizing the world’s commitment to the MDGs, with special attention to the poorest of the poor, noting that a similar forum was used last year to galvanize world action on climate change.  </p>  


Regarding climate change, he cited the need for a global grassroots public awareness campaign to focus political pressure and keep global warming at the forefront of public consciousness.  </p>  


“The road from Bali will be difficult as well,” he noted, recalling the landmark UN climate change conference held in Indonesia, where nearly 200 countries agreed to launch a two-year process of formal talks to tackle the problem of global warming.  </p>  


The Secretary-General also noted that the demands on the UN continue to increase, whether it is nurturing a fragile peace process in the Middle East, helping Iraq emerge from conflict, staying the course in Afghanistan or pushing for peace in war-torn Darfur.  If the past week is any indication, he said that “the coming year promises to be even tougher than the last,” pointing to the recent turmoil in Kenya and renewed violence in Sri Lanka.   </p>  

“We therefore move into the new year with renewed commitment to our ultimate mission – building a stronger UN for a better world,” Mr. Ban stated, pledging to continue his push to modernize, revitalize and streamline the Organization, upholding the highest standards of ethics, performance and accountability.

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1. According to UNICEF, 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”

   That is about 210,000 children each week, or just under 11 million children under five years of age, each year. ^{source 19}

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Community Guides: Emmanuel Asomba  |  Agyemang Koforobour Amo  
Anura Widanapathirana

Water for Sustainable food production and poverty alleviation

Photo Credit: The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

"Any attempt to determine whether there will be enough water to grow food for the almost 8 000 million people expected to inhabit the Earth by 2025 requires an understanding of the link between water availability and food production.

Once this relationship is understood, decision-makers can perceive more clearly the consequences of the choices they make in order to balance water supply and demand. There have been more than 20 estimates of future world food security in the past 50 years, based on various, increasingly complex, computer models.

FAO and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have produced regular forecasts, but others, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have also published their own forecasts. Others, such as the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), have made projections of future water-use scenarios.

Whatever model one may adopt, it is clear that agricultural water use will still increase, albeit at a diminushing rate, if the growing world population needs are to be met."

Source: FAO, "Unlocking the Water Potential of Agriculture"

Most resources contributed by Agyemang Koforobour Amo, dgPoverty Guide

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