MANY TO MANY 67

GLOBAL POVERTY

Since the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen 1995) where 186 governments pledged to work together to eradicate global poverty, there has been very little progress in this matter. Only 38 countries so far are known to have set targets for the eradication of extreme poverty. In rich countries poverty is on the increase while at the same time fewer resources are made available for social programmes.

Many countries have also reduced their development assistance. Although governments are agreeing that overcoming poverty has become the most urgent issue facing all countries and societies today, world aid fell from US$55.4 billion in 1996 to US$47.6 billion in 1997.

According to the Human Development Report 1998 (published by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP) more than two billion people around the world have little or no access to food, basic services or adequate shelter; 12 million children die each year of curable diseases or malnutrition before their fifth year and nine-hundred million people globally are either unemployed or under employed, 40 million of them in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The overall consumption ratio between people living the poorest countries to those living in the richest is one to 16. An estimated 1.3 billion people live in absolute poverty.

"This is not a fitting legacy for the next generation", says UNDP Administrator, James Gustave Speth, "Particularly at a time when the worst aspects of poverty can be eliminated for the price of 1% of the world's income of US$25 trillion."

Another report "The Reality of Aid 1998/1999", published by Eurostep, Norwegian People's Aid and the International Council for Voluntary Agencies, (ICVA), says that aid to the poorest countries is at its lowest level in a decade and stresses that: "Time has come to close the wide gap between what ministers say about aid and what is actually done."

The report stipulates that the following ingredients are necessary for making progress toward the goal of poverty eradication:

-shared responsibility between developed and developing countries;
-developing country ownership, participation and civil society engagement;
-coherence (aid must be linked to economic, financial and other measures in favour of the developing countries);
-donor coordination; and
-political will and credibility.

Added to the social impact of poverty is the rising food crisis around the world.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) concluded in 1998 that, compared to one year ago, many more people in the world today are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. WFP has had to "greatly increase its food aid assistance to millions of people due to the increase in natural disasters, economic emergencies and man-made catastrophes."

The World Health Organisation., (WHO) Director-General, Gro Harlem Brundtland, stresses that: The deep roots of global health problems are still linked to poverty and under development. Ill-health leads to poverty and poverty breeds ill-health."

Ms Brundtland also points out that people in developing countries carry over 90% of the global disease burden while having access to merely 10% of the resources used for health. She reminds us all that "Changing the equation is the core of our challenge."

The 1998 UNDP Report emphasises that not only must additional resources urgently be mobilized, but the delivery of aid will also have to be reformed so as to better meet the needs of the poor. Aid should be directed at building capacities and know-how, allowing poor countries to "improve their infrastructures, decentralize their governments to bring public administration closer to the people, and manage natural resources in a sustainable way."

UNDP Administrator, James Gustave Speth, is adamant that "none of the development goals we are committed to today will be achieved without serious global and national efforts to rid the world of poverty." Knowing that extreme poverty can be eliminated in a single generation, Mr Speth suggests that "we have no ethical alternative but to take on this challenge with all the seriousness it deserves."

The Human Development Report 1998 (228 pages, US$19.95) is available from:
UN Publications, Sales and Marketing Section, room DC2-853. Dept. D076, New York, NY 10017, USA. E-mail: (http://www.un.org/publications)



Many to Many
a quarterly publication issued by
Operation Peace through Unity

Anthony Brooke and Gita Brooke, co-founders
Te Rangi, 4 Allison Street, Wanganui 5001, New Zealand
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Many to Many
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