From New York to Milan, Beijing to Sydney, over 20 million people joined together on October 15 and 16 to raise awareness about poverty, breaking a Guinness World Record.
Tuesday marked the 14th annual International Day on the Eradication of Poverty, an event created in 1992 as a part of the United Nations Millennium Campaign, in partnership with the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP).
The theme of this year’s commemoration was “Working Together out of Poverty,” emphasizing the need to “advance practical steps and develop informed strategies to eradicate poverty,” said Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, President of the 61st General Assembly.
The campaign is a result of one of 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that seeks to cut 1990 levels of poverty and hunger in half by 2015. Other goals include universal primary education, gender equality and maternal health, reduced child mortality, decreased levels of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, environmental sustainability and a global partnership for development.
“We have a unique opportunity to listen, learn and reflect upon the real life struggles that you and others face on a daily basis”, said Al Khalifa.
Over 100 events were staged in Latin America, and roughly 1 million participants gathered in the Philippines to stand up against poverty. In the Middle East, some 500 thousand Palestinian children attending schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) participated in Stand Up events.
At a press conference commemorating the event, Al Khalifa also recognized this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, Muhamed Younus, who started the Grameen Bank in 1976 in Bangladesh. Using a novel system called microcredit, the bank provides loans to the neediest citizens in Bangladesh, particularly women. The money can be used to start up small businesses without collateral, opening avenues of opportunity for people who might otherwise face a life of poverty.
“It is my strong belief that examples such as the Grameen Bank demonstrate that - given a chance - it is the poor who can best empower themselves”, said Al Khalifa. “We must listen to their voices and never underestimate their talent and ingenuity to develop everyday strategies to survive.”
But Secretary-General Kofi Annan claimed that in spite of their good intentions, MDG efforts to eradicate poverty in the last decade have been insufficient, with uneven rates of progress seen between regions and countries.
Economic and social advances throughout Asia have lifted “a quarter of a billion people out of perpetual poverty”, according to Annan. “But poverty rates in Western Asia and Northern Africa have remained stagnant, while the transition economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia have registered increases.”
Sub-Saharan Africa has made the least progress and will most likely be unable to halve its level of extreme poverty by the MDG target year of 2015, according to Annan.
“Regrettably, the ‘global partnership for development’ remains more phrase than fact. This has to change”, said Annan. “All key development actors – governments, the private sector, civil society and people living in poverty – must undertake a truly collective anti-poverty effort that will lift living standards and alleviate human suffering.”
Melorine Mokri
Please also see:
United Nations Millennium Campaign http://www.millenniumcampaign.org
Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) http://www.whiteband.org
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
http://www.unobserver.com/index.php?pagina=layout4.php&id=2704&blz=1
Tuesday marked the 14th annual International Day on the Eradication of Poverty, an event created in 1992 as a part of the United Nations Millennium Campaign, in partnership with the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP).
The theme of this year’s commemoration was “Working Together out of Poverty,” emphasizing the need to “advance practical steps and develop informed strategies to eradicate poverty,” said Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, President of the 61st General Assembly.
The campaign is a result of one of 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that seeks to cut 1990 levels of poverty and hunger in half by 2015. Other goals include universal primary education, gender equality and maternal health, reduced child mortality, decreased levels of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, environmental sustainability and a global partnership for development.
“We have a unique opportunity to listen, learn and reflect upon the real life struggles that you and others face on a daily basis”, said Al Khalifa.
Over 100 events were staged in Latin America, and roughly 1 million participants gathered in the Philippines to stand up against poverty. In the Middle East, some 500 thousand Palestinian children attending schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) participated in Stand Up events.
At a press conference commemorating the event, Al Khalifa also recognized this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, Muhamed Younus, who started the Grameen Bank in 1976 in Bangladesh. Using a novel system called microcredit, the bank provides loans to the neediest citizens in Bangladesh, particularly women. The money can be used to start up small businesses without collateral, opening avenues of opportunity for people who might otherwise face a life of poverty.
“It is my strong belief that examples such as the Grameen Bank demonstrate that - given a chance - it is the poor who can best empower themselves”, said Al Khalifa. “We must listen to their voices and never underestimate their talent and ingenuity to develop everyday strategies to survive.”
But Secretary-General Kofi Annan claimed that in spite of their good intentions, MDG efforts to eradicate poverty in the last decade have been insufficient, with uneven rates of progress seen between regions and countries.
Economic and social advances throughout Asia have lifted “a quarter of a billion people out of perpetual poverty”, according to Annan. “But poverty rates in Western Asia and Northern Africa have remained stagnant, while the transition economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia have registered increases.”
Sub-Saharan Africa has made the least progress and will most likely be unable to halve its level of extreme poverty by the MDG target year of 2015, according to Annan.
“Regrettably, the ‘global partnership for development’ remains more phrase than fact. This has to change”, said Annan. “All key development actors – governments, the private sector, civil society and people living in poverty – must undertake a truly collective anti-poverty effort that will lift living standards and alleviate human suffering.”
Melorine Mokri
Please also see:
United Nations Millennium Campaign http://www.millenniumcampaign.org
Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) http://www.whiteband.org
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
http://www.unobserver.com/index.php?pagina=layout4.php&id=2704&blz=1