PM Dahal criticises int'l community for not doing enough to end world poverty
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said "making poverty history" will
sound empty without a genuine support and cooperation from the developed
countries, adding investment for development in the poorer countries is "an investment in the peace and stability of the world."
Addressing a Roundtable on Poverty and Hunger at the UN General Assembly
high-level event on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in New York
Thursday, PM Dahal said despite the commitment of the international
community to take on poverty, hunger, diseases and many of the development
challenges confronting the world, "it is ironic that more than a billion
people, the so-called "bottom billion", mostly in developing countries,
are still trapped in conditions of grinding poverty with an income of less
than a dollar a day."
He called this "unbecoming of the contemporary human civilization, which
has so much of affluence and prosperity at its disposal."
PM Dahal also rebuked the developed partners for providing only 0.28% of
their GNP as development aid, as against the commitment to provide 0.7%,
adding that development aid has declined in actual terms.
"Most of the least developed countries are still outside the debt relief
initiatives," he said. "Under such conditions, the target of reducing
poverty and hunger and meeting other MDGs will be very difficult."
Elaborating on Nepal's "mixed result" on the achievement of the MDGs, PM
Dahal said, "We are on track of achieving goals related to halving the
poverty by 2015, achieving universal primary education, reducing
under-five child mortality, and providing safe drinking water." He further
said that despite internal conflict, the percentage of people living in
poverty has been reduced to 31% and that the country has made significant
progress in improving access to education and health services.
"But we have numerous challenges to address. The biggest challenge is
effectively addressing mortality among newborns and reducing hunger among
the children under five. We have to address the problem of inequality and
exclusion, which is denying the distribution of fruits of development to
the people, who often live in the periphery of the state and the economy."
He said the current government is therefore committed to put the people,
who have been traditionally marginalised, at the centre of its development
strategy and initiate collective interventions at various levels.
"We feel that MDGs on their own cannot be achieved by all and more
specifically by the LDCs. We can meet them only with global political
support, stronger partnerships and coordinated efforts of all. Our
achievements, including in reducing poverty, are likely to be thwarted by
the rising food and oil prices and threats of climate change," he said,
adding that short term relief and long term measures are required to deal
with them in a comprehensive manner.
PM Dahal also said financing for development of the developing countries
should not be an obstacle when there is so much political will around this
Assembly.
"The situation we are facing demands visionary and strategic choice to be
made globally. It is about time that this Assembly rose up to its
challenge and adopted that strategic choice. After all, investment in
development in the poorer countries is an investment in the peace and
stability of the world," he added.
PM Dahal, who is currently in New York to attend the 63rd General Assembly
of the United Nations, has been busy all this week meeting with world
leaders. Especially his meeting with U.S President George W. Bush Monday
night at a reception hosted in New York hogged national headlines.
He is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly later today. nepalnews.com ag Sep 26 08
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