BULLETIN on thee rad i cat ion o f pover ty asdf

CONTENTS

Poverty and hunger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

World poverty and hunger fact sheet . . . . . . .3

Microcredit and microfinance alleviate poverty worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . .6/7

International Year of Microcredit 2005 . . . . .7

Regional Workshop on ageing and poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Expert group meeting on social fundsand poverty eradication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Youth Employment Network update . . . . . . .9

Cooperatives and poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Eleventh observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty . . . . . . . .10

Message of the Secretary-Genera . . . . . .11Other observances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Activities, events and publications on povertyEconomic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Economic Commission for Africa . . . . .15

Other poverty-related events and publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Poverty and hunger

T he joint observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and theWorld Food Day at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in October 2003served to highlight the link between poverty and hunger. Some 842 million people

worldwide are undernourished and almost all of them live in developing countries.

Progress to reduce hunger over the past decade has beenmixed: The modest but steady gains worldwide during theearly part of the decade - when the number of hungry peoplefell by 37 million - were diminished somewhat by evidencethat the number of hungry people had risen by 18 million inthe late 1990s.

Regional performance

Latin America and the Caribbean is the only region thathas achieved an overall decrease in the number of hungry sincethe mid-1990s, and the decline in the number of malnourishedin 20 of the 24 countries in the region is attributed to theimproved availability of food and the decline in extremepoverty. Yet, according to the Economic Commission forLatin America and the Carribean, more than 20 per cent of thepopulation in Bolivia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaraguaand the Dominican Republic still suffer from hunger.1 Theavailable data suggest that, for the most part, the problem ofhunger in Latin America and the Caribbean is less a reflectionof insufficient food supply than of insufficient access to foodbecause of the poverty of the population.

In Asia, the incidence of malnutrition has fallenconsiderably in the past two decades against a background ofstrong economic expansion. Nevertheless, the region's largeshare of the world's population means that it still accounts forabout two thirds of the world's malnourished - South Asiaalone is home to one third of the world's malnourished. Inseveral East Asian countries, rapid economic growth has beenassociated with a rapid decline in absolute poverty and withimprovement in income distribution.2 In other countries likeChina, Thailand, Pakistan and Malaysia, the data show that

No. 10 Time to End Poverty Annual edition, 2003

1 Social Panorama of Latin America 2002-2003, Economic Commissionfor Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), ECLAC web site.2 World Bank. 1993. The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth andPublic Policy. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdfeconomic growth has been accompanied by rising incomeinequality. In these countries, gains in food security wouldhave been greater if not for the negating effect of risinginequality.3

A study by the Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations highlights the fact that Asiancountries which achieved stronger economic andagricultural growth have managed to reduce hunger,suggesting that hunger is essentially a poverty problem.4The study found compelling evidence that rapid incomegrowth that is sustained for a long period leads to povertyreduction, resulting in improved food security andnutrition of the population. However, the study alsonoted that food security was correlated with lowerpopulation growth and increased economic and socialdevelopment. Furthermore, Asian countries that gavepriority to the development of human capabilities, suchas through better access to basic schooling , health, andnutrition, directly enhanced well-being and alsoimproved income distribution and raised average incomeover the longer term. Less successful countries sufferedfrequent food emergencies associated with civil strife,droughts and high rates of HIV/AIDS infection leadingto low agricultural productivity.5

Progress has been slow in Africa. The Inter-national Food Policy Research Institute estimates thatabout one third of Africa's population is malnourished.Furthermore, according to the United NationsUniversity Institute for Natural Resources on Africa,about 35 per cent of Africa's children is malnourishedand by 2025, if current trends continue, Africa's foodproduction will feed only 40 per cent of its projected1 billion people.6 Poverty, widespread political in-stability, low agricultural production due in part todegradation of natural resources, trade imbalances andthe impact of HIV/AIDS are among the problemscontributing to food insecurity.

The vicious cycle of poverty, exacerbated by

HIV/AIDS and the lack of adequate nutrition, is a seriouschallenge in Africa. The long-term impact ofHIV/AIDS, particularly the loss of the agriculturalworkforce, has several important socio-economicramifications, including low agricultural productivity anda rising number of orphaned children.

Addressing poverty and hunger

There is no single formula to reduce poverty andhunger and country policies should be predicated onspecific national circumstances.

Income distribution is an important consideration inthe fight against poverty and hunger. FAO has noted thatthe link of growth to food security and nutrition mightbe blunted by highly unfavourable income distribution,as well as limited access of the poor to infrastructure,improved technology, and human capital formation.Rising inequality, left unchecked, could even dampensubsequent growth.7 Despite technological advancesthat have revolutionized and increased agriculturalproduction, food insecurity persists because of thepersisting inequitable distribution of food supply.Several of the biggest Green Revolution successes of thepast - India, Mexico, and the Philippines - achievedincreases in grain production and exports. Nonetheless,hunger has persisted and the long-term productivecapacity of the soil has been degraded.8 A moreequitable access to food - through the redistribution offood, the means of producing it or the purchasing powerof poor people to buy it - is also essential. The adverseimpact of pro-growth strategies on the environment,which could threaten food production in the long-run,should also be considered.

An initiative worth noting is the zero hungerprogramme of Brazil, which aims to address the rootcauses of poverty that result in hunger. The programmehas two parallel strategies to fight hunger in the short and

3 Poverty Alleviation and Food Security in Asia: Lessons andChallenges, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific,December 1998, FAO RAP Publication 1999/1.4 Ibid.5 Ibid.6 Ernest Harsh, “Food security through science”, Africa Recovery,United Nations,http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/subjindx/134food.htm

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7 Poverty Alleviation and Food Security in Asia: Lessons andChallenges, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific,December 1998, FAO RAP Publication 1999/18 12 Myths about Hunger, Food First Institute for Food andDevelopment Policy,http://www.foodfirst.org/pubs/backgrdrs/1998/s98v5n3.html

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdfWorld poverty and hunger fact sheet

Background• 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day, the absolute poverty level.1• 24,000 persons die each day due to hunger, 16,000 of whom are children under five years

of age.2• 800 million people, or one in every six, are malnourished, 200 million of

whom are children.• The average life expectancy of people living in areas with chronic hunger

is 38 years. People living in wealthy nations have an average life expectancy of 70 years.3

• Access to food is a basic human right that is no different from the right to life.

Poverty and hunger are closely linked - those who live in poverty are likely to suffer fromhunger or malnutrition. Poverty and hunger are often caused by lack of education,employment and healthcare.

Regional Manifestations• Nearly one half of the world's hungry are in South Asia and one third are

in sub-Saharan Africa.4• South Asia is home to about one third of the world's malnourished; about

one out of every five persons in the region is chronically undernourished.• In Latin America and the Caribbean, about 55 million people have

suffered from some degree of malnutrition in the past decade.• Undernourished populations in India (233 million), South Asia, China (119

million) and sub-Saharan Africa (196 million) represented roughly 9 per cent of the world's population in 2000.5

Global ActionThe United Nations, FAO, and the World Bank have made concerted efforts to tackle poverty and hungersimultaneously. The Millennium Development Goal target to halve poverty and hunger by 2015 is proving to be a strongmotivating force that is driving the efforts of governments and organizations worldwide to urgently address poverty andhunger reduction.

Economic growth and more equitable access to resources and markets in the context of sustainable development areessential for poverty reduction and food security worldwide. These are challenges that require broad multilateralcooperation among governments, civil society and the private sector.

1 See report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration (A/58/323), para. 522 ht tp : / /www.wfp .o rg /coun t ry_br ie f /hunger_map/ fac t s .h tml3 FAO "The State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2002", http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y7352e/y7352e00.htm#TopOfPage4 ht tp : / /www. thp .o rg /5 ht tp : / /www.fao .o rg /wor ld foodsummit /eng l i sh /newsroom/focus / focus2 .h tm

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdflonger term. The two-prong approach aims to providefood for the hungry as an emergency response and toimprove professional training, reduce poverty andstimulate food production over the long term. Earlyresults show tangible outcomes, according to FAO, whichrecently signed a $5.8 million agreement with Brazil tostrengthen its collaboration and support of the country'sprogramme.9

In Africa and Asian countries, traditional yet modernfarming methods have had improved yields. Throughsustainable agricultural initiatives in 17 Africancountries, some 730,000 households in the past 20 yearshave substantially improved food production andhousehold food security.10 Such methods rely less onexpensive chemicals and pesticides and promote insteadlocally available natural resources, crop rotation, organicmanures as fertilizers and botanicals for pest control.Food production has been increased and resourcedegradation reduced as a result. Scaling up such initi-atives will require policy support.

Challenges

Issues of food production and distribution, as well asthe trade of agricultural products, are key to the long-termsolutions to the challenges posed by poverty and foodinsecurity.

It is important to invest in research that aims to improvefood production and reverse the degradation of naturalresources as well as to promote the advantages of producingindigenous crops. The role of women as managers of naturalresources and guardians of indigenous knowledge on foodcrops and useful plants should be tapped. Increasingproduction by using genetically modified food is analternative that is also being carefully studied, with particularconsideration given to its possible negative impacts.Population growth can also be a threat to food security.

In most cases, access to food is a problem ofdistribution. In countries where there is enough food forthe population, the poor cannot afford to buy. For

example, in Argentina - the fourth biggest exporter offood in the world - the deepening poverty incidence dueto the economic crisis has resulted in the deaths ofchildren from malnutrition.11 In addition, fooddistribution is affected by increasing urbanization, whichhas shifted the demand for food from cereal to meatproducts. Owing to economic progress, for example, theChinese are eating more meat.

Trade of food and agricultural products is vital forfood security, poverty alleviation and growth. Foodimports contribute to the supply of basic foodstuffs inmany of the world's poorest countries. In addition, agri-cultural exports are an important source of rural incomeand foreign exchange. Since most people in thedeveloping world live in the rural sector and rely onagriculture, it is important to have free and fair trade inagricultural products.

At the follow-up development round of the WorldTrade Organization trade negotiations in Cancun, muchexpectation was generated for a balanced trade regimethat would make a real difference for the poor, especiallyin the least developed countries. This expectation stemsfrom imbalances in the existing trade regime: subsidiesin advanced countries exceed the total income of sub-Saharan Africa; the average European subsidy per cowmatches the $2 per day poverty level at which billionsof people barely subsist; America's $4 billion cotton

Maria Clara Chet de Rivera and Martha Zoila Caballeros Ruiz,delegates of ATD Fourth World, Guatemala during the observanceof the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

9 FAO strengthens commitment to Brazil’s Zero HungerProgramme, FAO Newsroom, 10 Vidal, John, “Famine in Africa: Controlling their own destiny: Ifsouthern Africa is to improve crop yields, communities must takecontrol”, The Guardian, Manchester (UK) 30 Nov 2002, p.8

11 Baldock, Hannah, “Child hunger deaths shock Argentina:Economic crisis sharpens poverty in world’s fourth biggest foodexporting country”, The Guardian, Manchester (UK) 25 Nov. 2002,p.15.

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdf

subsidies to 25, 000 well off farmers bring misery to 10million African farmers and more than offset America'sforeign aid to some of the affected countries.12

Poor farmers cannot escape the poverty trap if theyare to compete with products subsidized by the richestcountries in world trade and in their own domesticmarkets. Efforts to reach agreement on reducing oreliminating agricultural subsidies in rich countries,which depress world prices and undermine thelivelihoods of poor farmers in developing countries, arenecessary.

Similarly, the crisis in commodities needs to beaddressed. Since the mid-1990s, several major exportcommodities have seen a sharp decline in prices. InZimbabwe, for example, the cost of basic commoditiessuch as maize and vegetable oil increased by 1,000 percent in 2002, leaving very few who could afford to feedthemselves adequately.13 Deteriorating terms of trade

have had an adverse impact on human developmentthrough reduced employment, lower wages andincomes, vulnerable livelihoods and reduced access tobasic social services.

Thus, the challenges of increasing agriculturalproduction through modern, as well as traditional,methods suited to each country's conditions, and a moreequitable distribution of food supply are issues to beconsidered in the debates.

In addition, the role of fair trade, the reduction orelimination of protectionist measures and agriculturalsubsidies in rich countries, and commodity pricestabilization measures are all issues that need to beaddressed in reducing poverty and hunger.

12 Will Cancun Promote or Undermine Development?, JosephStiglitz, Project Syndicate, August 2003

Members of the Tapori Movement observing the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

13 Akbar, Arifa, “Food is key to fighting AIDS”, The Independent,London (UK) 18 Oct 2003, p.10.

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdfPolicy considerations and conclusion

From a policy viewpoint, it is useful to identify theimmediate, underlying and basic causes of food andnutrition insecurity. It is also helpful to act to redressfood insecurity within the context of other develop-ment goals.

Food for work and relief programmes are twopopular examples of public response to insecurity inaccess to food. Provision of credit to certain targetgroups is another example.

Maximum programme benefits should be directedto people suffering form severe poverty, making use ofthe poverty incidence (proportion of the population thatis poor) as the indicator for budget allocation.

Potential gains in food supply via agro-biotechnology (genetically engineered food) must beweighed against considerations of ethics, safety andintellectual property rights. The possible adverseimpact of new production technologies on small-scalefarmers, biodiversity and the environment needs to befactored into policy decisions.

FAO advocates a two-prong approach: Thereshould be direct and immediate public action targetingthe hungry, such as food assistance and access to safedrinking water. This short-term response should becomplemented by investment in agricultural and ruraldevelopment. Examples of such long-term initiativesinclude investment in the research and development ofproductive and well-adapted crop varieties and theirdissemination, particularly in Africa.14

Rapid technological advances have beenresponsible for the overall increase in agriculturalproduction globally. However, that increase has notbeen shared evenly. Hunger and malnutrition continueto be a problem in vulnerable areas that are mired inpoverty and untouched by technology.

Policies that address more equitable andsustainable food and agriculture production anddistribution, allow poor farmers from developingcountries to compete in the world market and offerinnovative approaches to feed the hungry should openup opportunities for achieving food security and

improving the lot of the poor. Establishment of thesepolicies will require the commitment of national andlocal governments, as well as regional and inter-national support.

14 FAO Press Release 01/69,

Microcredit and microfinance alleviatepoverty worldwide

Recent success stories from microfinanceand microcredit programmes:

Research in Indonesia conducted by theConsultative Group for the Poor - a consortiumof donors of which the United Nations CapitalDevelopment Fund is a member - found thatmicrocredit borrowers increased their incomesby 12.9 per cent compared to increases of 3per cent in the incomes of control groups.

In another study, Freedom from Hunger foundthat clients in Ghana had increased theirincomes by $36 per annum compared to $18per annum for non-clients. Beneficiaries ofmicrocredit were not only able to increasetheir earnings but, more importantly, were ableto diversify their incomes. Eighty per cent ofmicrocredit beneficiaries reported secondarysources of income versus 50 per cent amongnon-clients.

A study of Bank Rakyat Indonesia borrowerson the island of Lombok reported that, onaverage, the incomes of clients had increasedby 112 per cent and that 90 per cent ofhouseholds had moved out of poverty.

A study of SHARE clients in India found thatthree quarters of the clients who participated inthe programme for longer periods saw greaterimpro-vements in their assets. They furtherfound that cash flow was smoothed bydiversification of earnings, increasedemployment of family members and reliance onsmall businesses.

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asdf

The GeneralAssemblysets out the

Programme ofaction for the

International Year ofMicrocredit, 2005

In its resolution 57/266, the 58th Session of theGeneral Assembly emphasized the role of microcreditas an effective tool in the fight against extreme poverty.

Microcredit and microfinance have receivedincreasing attention as effective anti-poverty tools.Microcredit has successfully contributed to liftingpeople out of poverty in many developing countries byproviding, inter alia, small business loans to the poor,in particular to poor women and thereby enabling themto start small businesses. It is important to recognize,however, that people living in poverty deserve accessto a range of financial tools that can enhance theirability to increase income, build assets and mitigatevulnerability in times of economic stress. The pro-vision of this range of financial services to the poor isoften referred to as microfinance.

Sound microfinance is having a positive impacton the lives of poor people. Evidence from micro-finance programmes demonstrates that access tofinancial services can enable poor people to improvetheir health, nutrition, education and the school enrolmentof their children. Financial services can also help toimprove the stability and growth of micro-enterprises.

Poor people in most countries, however, still donot have access to formal financial services. Thechallenge is to expand the reach of microcredit andmicrofinance and develop more effective financialservices for poor people on a sustainable basis.

The resolution supports the Programme of Actionfor the International Year of Microcredit, 2005.Observance of the Year will provide an occasion toraise awareness of the importance of microcredit and

microfinance in the eradication of poverty, to sharegood practices and to further enhance financial sectordevelopment that supports sustainable pro-poorservices in all countries.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations,Kofi Annan, said that the International Year ofMicrocredit, 2005 underscored the importance ofmicrofinance as an integral part of the collective effortto meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Sustainable access to microfinance helped alleviatepoverty by generating income, creating jobs, allowingchildren to go to school, enabling families to obtainhealth care, and empowering people to make thechoices that best served their needs. The stark realitywas that most poor people in the world still lackedaccess to sustainable financial services, whether it wassavings, credit or insurance. The great challenge aheadwas to address the constraints that excluded peoplefrom full participation in the financial sector. TheInternational Year of Microcredit, 2005 offered apivotal opportunity for the international community to

Microcredit and microfinance alleviatepoverty worldwide

In Bolivia, the incomes of Crédito conEducación Rural clients increased by two thirdsafter joining the programme. Moreover, 80 percent of clients said their savings had in-creased, whereas 78 per cent had not had anysavings prior to programme participation.

In Honduras, a study undertaken by Save theChildren reports that clients participating incredit and savings programmes increased theirearnings, allowing them to send many of theirchildren to school and reducing studentdropout rates.

In Bangladesh, BRAC found that basiceducation competency among 11 to 14 year-oldchildren in client households doubled to 24 percent in three years, overtaking children in non-client households by 14 per cent.

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdfengage in a shared commitment to meet the challenge.By working together, it was possible and necessary tobuild inclusive financial sectors that helped peopleimprove their lives.

The resolution designated the United NationsCapital Development Fund and the United NationsDepartment of Economic and Social Affairs to jointlycoordinate the activities of the United Nations systemin preparation for and in observance of theInternational Year of Microcredit, 2005.

According to the Programme of Action, theUnited Nations will join together with Member States,non-governmental organizations, the private sector andcivil society to raise public awareness, build sustainabilityin the microcredit and microfinance sectors, andpromote innovative partnerships. Althoughmicrocredit and microfinance have already had apositive impact on the household budgets and qualityof life of millions of poor people, many of them are stilldenied access to financial services that could raise theirstandard of living and protect them against economicsetbacks. The International Year of Microcredit, 2005will encourage and support the growth of microcreditand microfinance sectors to best serve the needs of awide variety of poor clients.

Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) saidthat microfinance was much more than simply anincome generation tool. By directly empowering poorpeople, particularly women, it had become one of thekey driving mechanisms towards meeting theMillennium Development Goals, specifically theoverarching target of halving extreme poverty andhunger by 2015.

For additional information on the International Year ofMicrocredit, 2005, please contact Emily Krasnor at the UnitedNations Capital Development Fund, tel: (212) 906-6308, e-mail:emily.krasnor@undp.org or Sarangerel Erdembileg at theDepartment of Economic and Social Affairs, tel: (212) 963-4720,e-mail: erdembileg@un.org

Regional workshop on ageing and poverty29-31 October 2003

The Regional Workshop on Ageing and Povertywas held in Dar es Salaam from 29 to 31 October 2003.It was hosted by the Government of the United Republicof Tanzania and organized by the United NationsDepartment of Economic and Social Affairs in associationwith HelpAge International.

Some 70 participants representing governmentofficials, civil society, UNDP, the United NationsPopulation Fund, the World Bank and the Department forInternational Development of the United Kingdomattended the Workshop.

The Workshop explored the practical links betweenthe agreements made at the Second World Assembly onAgeing in Madrid in 2002 and the poverty-relatedprogrammes of the Governments of sub-Saharan Africa.The commitments in the Madrid International Plan ofAction on Ageing, 2002 call for governments tointegrate older persons into national and internationaldevelopment frameworks. In particular, it was deemedimportant that older persons be included in programmesdesigned to achieve the Millennium Development Goals,especially the goal pertaining to poverty reduction.

The underlying principle of the Workshop was thatMillennium Development Goals could not be achievedunless older persons were full participants in, andbeneficiaries of, the related action programmes of theGoals -not merely as targets of poverty programmes butalso as contributors to their success. The Workshopreviewed the evidence on ageing and poverty acrossAfrica and elsewhere and developed recommendationsfor governments, international financial institutions,development agencies and civil society for theincorporation of ageing into national poverty reductionstrategy papers and the Goals.

Some of the key recommendations of theWorkshop were the need, inter alia, to integrate andalign policies related to older persons into futurepoverty and development processes, includingprogrammes of the Millennium Development Goals; toinclude consultations with the older poor, analysis of

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdftheir poverty situations and appropriate responses tothe poverty of older persons in poverty policies andprogrammes, including poverty reduction strategypapers and the Goals, to monitor the equitable accessof the older poor to social and other services; to giveolder poor more voice and influence in nationalpoverty-related consultations and budget; and toinclude targeted income transfers to the older poor inpoverty programmes.

For more information, please visit:http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageing/age-wkshp-tz.htm

Expert group meeting on socialfunds and poverty eradication 15 - 16 October, 2003, United Nations, New York

The expert group meeting brought together a smallgroup of practitioners and experts familiar with socialfund projects and practices to discuss the impact of socialfunds on poverty alleviation. The meeting focused on thecontributions social funds have made to povertyeradication as well as on how those funds could be betterutilized for the benefit of the poor.

Social funds are often basic social servicesproviders in national systems, funded and supported byexternal institutions. While much research has beenconducted on the adaptation of social funds to localcircumstances, especially in the wake of financial andeconomic crises, there is limited research of consequencethat has examined the actual impact of the funds onpoverty alleviation.

Social funds were discussed within the broadercontext of development practices and poverty alleviationand specific examples were provided to illustrate howthese funds worked in the field. Poverty targeting andits benefits in alleviating poverty among the poorest, suchas women and the marginalized, were also discussed.The impact of social funds projects such as infrastructurework, employment schemes and disaster relief onpoverty reduction were discussed in local contexts inwhich participants had direct, first-hand experience.

The opportunity to present tactical groundwork

alongside theoretical academic research benefited andchallenged participants to discuss and propose policyand institutional frameworks that would ensure thatsocial funds are more effective in poverty reduction.

The meeting made a number of usefulrecommendations that defined government andinstitutional roles, focused on the poorest of the poor andprovided long-term employment and incomeopportunities.

For more information, please visit:http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/poverty/poverty_egm2.htm

Youth Employment Network

The Youth Employment Network was established bythe Secretary-General to tackle the pressing issues ofunemployment and underemployment, particularlyamong youth, as well as a means to alleviate poverty andhasten economic recovery.

The high-level panel of the Network held its secondmeeting in Geneva in July 2003. The panelrecommended that the Network take the following fivesteps:

- Endorse the high-level panel's recommendationon the four thematic areas of focus and stressed the needto translate policies into concrete action at the countrylevel, based on the road maps produced by the panel'sfour working groups;

- Encourage governments to design andimplement national action plans for youth employment,as called for in General Assembly resolution 57/165;

- Propose the promotion of social dialogue onyouth employment, inviting representatives ofemployers and workers to participate in the design andimplementation of the action plans;

- Invite youth organizations all over the world toadvise on the design of youth employment programmes,to contribute to their implementation and to helpgovernments monitor progress towards theircommitments on youth employment and to work with thehigh-level panel in an ongoing advisory capacity;

- Mobilize a resource base on twinning andpartnership, with leadership from the World Bank and the

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdfInternational Labour Organization. In relation toresource mobilization, it was noted that Sweden hadprovided the initial funding for the Network Secretariatand that discussions had been initiated with Spain,Germany and Finland as future potential partners.

Action at the national level, on the implementationof the Network's activities takes on urgency in the nextphase. So far, the launching of the Youth EmploymentNetwork has brought a sense of awareness and urgencyto the task of providing young people with access todecent and productive work. The Network has demon-strated that diverse partners in the international communitycan work together to address the various dimensions of thischallenge.

For more information, read the Network newsletterhttp://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/yen/

Cooperatives and poverty

Nearly 800 cooperators gathered in Oslo, Norwayfrom 30 August to 5 September 2003 for the GeneralAssembly of the International Cooperative Alliance andrelated events. The Assembly highlighted the rolecooperative enterprises can play both in alleviatingpoverty and in effectively organizing economic activity,even in the more developed nations of the world.

Juan Somavia, Director-General of the Inter-national Labour Organization, in addressing theAssembly, noted that whether it was voice andrepresentation in the community, creating jobs andreducing poverty, combining values and profits, ormaking globalization more fair and inclusive, thecooperative enterprise, the cooperative movement, mustbe considered a central actor for more just, moreproductive, more balanced societies.

The Assembly reviewed the challenges facing theworld where, despite unprecedented economic growth,poverty and hunger continue to afflict millions of people.Gender issues, the challenges of Africa, and the role ofyoung cooperators in building the cooperative movementfor the twenty first century were also given particularattention. In addition, the Assembly discussed the

different experiences around the world on howcooperatives have been instrumental in developmentinitiatives and how the cooperative movement cancontribute to achieving the Millennium DevelopmentGoals.

The Assembly adopted a resolution on cooperativedevelopment in which it reminded members and partners ofthe important role of women in all development activities andthe need to include a gender and youth perspective whenaddressing cooperative development. It also called for greatercontributions by governments, international donororganizations and other development agencies to cooperativedevelopment and requested Alliance members in theindustrialized world to increase their efforts to promotedevelopment in the developing world. Finally, membersaffirmed their resolve to actively support the Alliance'sdevelopment programme and the campaign againstpoverty.

Eleventh observance of theInternational Day for theEradication of Poverty17 October, 2003

Joint events to mark the International Day for theEradication of Poverty and World Food Day were heldon 17 October 2003 in New York to focus attention onthe plight of victims of extreme poverty and hunger.

World Food Day is observed on 16 October eachyear and is intended to heighten public awareness of theworld food problem and to strengthen solidarity in thestruggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. Thesejoint events were co-organized by the Department ofEconomic and Social Affairs, FAO and the InternationalMovement ATD Fourth World.

The commemoration for the International Day forthe Eradication of Poverty was held in the United NationsGarden where children and adults representing poorcommunities gathered. United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, José AntonioOcampo, delivered the message of the Secretary-Generalfor the Day. This was followed by messages by thePresident of the Economic and Social Council, Gert

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Yesterday, we observed World Food Day. Today, weobserve the International Day for the Eradication ofPoverty. This year, we are holding joint events inrecognition of the close links between hunger andpoverty.

Approximately 1.2 billion people struggle to surviveon less than a dollar a day. An estimated 840 millionsuffer the gnawing pain of hunger, and as many as24,000 people, many of them children, die everyday as a result. People who are hungry are moresusceptible to disease, and find their capacity towork diminished as well. Hunger also impairs children's ability to learn, withconsequences that are felt long after childhood is over. There is no time to lose if weare to reach the Millennium Development Goal -- agreed by all the world's countries --of halving by 2015 the proportion of people who live on less than a dollar a day and theproportion of people who suffer from hunger.

The achievement of that goal -- and all the other Millennium Development Goals --depends on many things. But none is more vital than forging a truly global partnershipfor development - which is itself one of the Millennuium Development Goals. Such apartnership requires bold reforms from many developing countries. But it also requiresbold action from developed countries.

An essential component is a trading system that is both free and equitable. The failureof the recent World Trade Organization meeting in Cancún to reach agreement onreducing and ultimately phasing out tariff and non-tariff barriers is a source of greatconcern. These barriers shut out many developing countries from the markets ofdeveloped countries - stunting growth, stifling opportunity and starving millions of peoplewho want to trade their way out of poverty.

The Monterrey and Johannesburg conferences on financing for development andsustainable development also set out key parameters and commitments for building aglobal partnership for development. Some progress has been made, but much moreneeds to be done to meet those commitments.

A world that is not advancing toward the Millennium Development Goals - a world miredin the deprivation of hunger, the prevalence of disease and the despair of poverty --will not be a world at peace. On this day, as we recall the link between poverty andhunger, let us also recall the link between development and peace. And in that spirit,let rich and poor alike rededicate themselves to achieving the Millennium DevelopmentGoals.

MESSAGE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL17 October 2003

H. E. Mr.. Kofi Annan

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdfRosenthal of Guatemala, and the PermanentRepresentatives of France and Burkina Faso to the UnitedNations. The ceremony was well attended and drewattendees from non-governmental organizations, UnitedNations staff and the general public who came todemonstrate solidarity with those who endure poverty,hunger and violence on a daily basis, and to renew theircommitment to fight poverty and hunger everywhere.

The ATD Fourth World invited two representativesof very poor families in Guatemala, Clara Chet de Riveraand Marta Zoila Caballeros, to share testimonies aboutwhat it means to build solidarity with others, despiteliving in extreme poverty. There was also a performanceof songs in Spanish, English and Arabic by the Peace ofHeart Choir, which was formed to promote diversity andmutual understanding.

To mark World Food Day, FAO organized a specialceremony at the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium on thetheme working together for an international allianceagainst hunger. The event included a video conference

that brought together children from the Tapori Network,an international network of children concerned aboutpoverty, and children from Zimbabwe to discuss povertyand hunger. The children from the Tapori network alsoperformed a play based on an African folktale.

Other observances

To commemorate the International Day for theEradication of Poverty, the Economic and Social Commissionfor Western Asia (ESCWA) in partnership with the WorldBank, held panel discussions to address the link betweenpoverty and food security in the region. The themes for thethree panel discussions were " Is there a food security issuein the .region ?", "Rights-based approach to poverty in theESCWA region" and "Combating poverty in Lebanon".

The panel discussions were intended to promotedialogue and stimulate debate on poverty issues in a morelively and interactive way. There was integrated andmultisector coverage of issues with panelists drawn from

Mr. José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs greets Crystal ofthe Tapori Movment

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdfthe United Nations agencies, governments, non-governmental organizations, academia, the media and theprivate sector.

The United Nations Information Service/Economicand Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific observanceof the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty washeld in Bangkok at the United Nations Conference Centre.The celebration was organized in collaboration with UNDP,the International Movement ATD Fourth World and WorldVision.

The programme included testimonies contributed bypersons who had overcome adverse circumstances. Therewere panel discussions on the themes "Barriers to reachingthe poor: Do they exist and how do we overcome them?"and "Building new pathway towards cooperative future withthe poor".

A small exhibition by United Nations families andnon-governmental organizations, including the sale ofproducts made by groups of persons with disabilities and thepoor, were also featured as part of the event marking the Day.

UNDP Viet NamOn the occasion of the International Day for the

Eradication of Poverty, UNDP Resident RepresentativeJordan Ryan released a statement to celebrate theachievements of Viet Nam in poverty eradication.

Viet Nam leads the developing world in reducing itspoverty rate from 60 per cent in 1990 to 29.1 per cent in2002. The success is attributed mainly to the results of abroad-based reform process (doi moi) launched in 1986.

Source: "Viet Nam succeeds in poverty reduction: UNDP chief", AnhMinh, The Saigon Times Daily, Ho Chi Minh City, Oct 21 2003. p.1

Activities, events andpublications on poverty

Economic Commission for LatinAmerica and the Caribbean

The 2002-2003 edition of the Social Panorama ofLatin America analyses a number of issues relating tothe Millennium Development Goals. Three of thedocument's five chapters on poverty, hunger andgender-based inequalities assess the outlook for Latin

American countries in terms of achieving MillenniumDevelopment Goals by the year 2015.

The chapter on efforts to combat hunger in theregion, which was prepared with support from theWorld Food Programme (WFP) provides backgroundinformation on the scale of undernourishment and childmalnutrition in 24 Latin American and Caribbeancountries during the past decade, including discussionof trends in this regard and their underlying causes.

For more information visit:http://www.eclac.cl/default.asp?idioma=IN

Region's poverty indices stagnate:Summary of Social Panorama of LatinAmerica 2002-2003

In 2002, the numberof Latin Americans livingin poverty reached 220million people (43.4 percent), of which 95 million(18.8 per cent) wereindigents. These areamong the estimatespresented by theEconomic Commissionfor Latin America and theCaribbean (ECLAC) inits study, Social

Panorama of Latin America 2002-2003.The report goes on to observe that progress towards

overcoming poverty in the region ground to a halt in thepast five years, with poverty and indigence ratesremaining practically constant since 1997. The soleexception was 2000, when better economic performancebrought with it a reduction in the incidence of poverty bymore than 4 million people.

At the country level, these indicators changed little formost countries over the period 1999 to 2002. However,there were notable exceptions as in the cases of Argentinaand, to a lesser degree, Uruguay, both of which sufferedserious declines in living conditions. In Argentina, povertyrates in urban areas almost doubled, rising from 23.7 percent to 45.4 per cent, while indigence grew threefold, from

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdf6.7 per cent to 20.9 per cent. In contrast, Mexico andEcuador were the only countries studied that postedmeasurable declines in poverty and indigence in theirurban areas during this period.

ECLAC projections for 2003 indicate that theseregional rates will rise yet again, owing mainly to the lackof growth in per capita gross domestic product (GDP).Living conditions in most countries should remainrelatively unchanged, except in Venezuela, where povertycould rise significantly, and in Argentina, where it is likelythat renewed economic growth should reduce povertyrates.

Magnitude of hunger in the regionAlmost 55 million people in Latin America and the

Caribbean were suffering from some degree ofmalnutrition toward the end of the past decade. In a specialchapter on hunger, prepared in cooperation with WFP,ECLAC estimates that 11 per cent of the population isundernourished. Almost 9 per cent of children under fiveyears of age suffer from acute malnutrition (low weight-for-age) and 19.4 per cent from chronic malnutrition (lowheight-for-age). This last indicator is particularly alarmingbecause its negative effects upon children are irreversible.

The ECLAC report provides information for 18 LatinAmerican countries on public social expenditure andfocuses on the impact of slowing economic growth. In thepast decade, social expenditure per person rose to anaverage of 58 per cent in the region. The study concludesthat despite a significant slowdown in the expansion ofsocial expenditure posted by virtually all countries from1990 to 1997, the higher priority assigned to social areaswithin GDP prevented larger declines in per capitaspending.

Women now have more education but remainpoorer

ECLAC reports that more women than men live inpoverty in Latin America. Female household heads haveless monetary income than men in poor and high-incomehouseholds. Single parent households, mostly headed bywomen, also suffer from additional disad-vantagesassociated with the lack of unremunerated domesticlabour.

Latin American women have higher educationallevels than men and women in the workforce averagemore years of education. They nonetheless suffer frommore severe unemployment, wage discrimination andrestricted working hours than do men. During the1990s, women's participation in the workforce rosemore quickly than men's. But while maleunemployment rates rose by 2.9 per cent from 1990 to1999, women's rose by 6.1 per cent.

ECLAC rated the progress in women's politicalparticipation and management positions as still tooslow, except in countries where affirmative actionpolicies have been implemented.

An examination of household surveys makes itpossible to estimate income poverty among females. Thedata show that the percentage of women over 15 years ofage earning no income was much higher than that of menand, in urban areas, 45 per cent of women versus 21 percent of men lacked their own income.

The last chapter of the report reviews labourconditions and employment policies in Latin America. Itreports that while all governments have ratified thefundamental international charters on non-discriminationin employment, this is not the case with children's labourand regulations governing the minimum working age in theregion, which still do not conform to internationalstandards.

From 1998 to 2003, collective labour laws werereformed in Colombia, as were labour codes in Chile andGuatemala, and laws governing collective bargaining inCuba. In Mexico and the Dominican Republic, socialsecurity laws were changed. Nevertheless, the problem ofnoncompliance with legislation remains.

To mitigate the negative effects of changing modes ofemployment and rising job insecurity, governments haveimplemented a range of policies. Passive policies includeunemployment insurance, while active ones include creditsto small businesses and intermediation in job searches. InLatin America, just six countries - Argentina, Brazil, Chile,Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela- have unemploymentinsurance.

The whole document is available in both English and Spanishon the ECLAC website: http://www.eclac.cl

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdfEconomic and Social Commission ofAsia and the Pacific

A new Poverty and Development Division wascreated in January 2003 as part of the organizationalrestructuring in ESCAP, which seeks to blend research,analysis, and operational activities. The new division willfocus on: the provision of basic services to the poorthrough public-private partnerships; management of waterresources for poverty reduction; and support for localgovernments and regional networks in poverty reductionactivities. It will also support urban poverty reductionprogrammes in such areas as slum improvement, womenin local government and human security; the participationof the urban poor in environment management; andintroduction and communications technology and otherpoverty issues. A special area of concern is women'srepresentation in policy-making bodies. The Division willseek to promote regional cooperation and exchange ofexperiences through capacity-building of national,subnational and local governments, non-governmentalorganizations, research and training institutes as well asregional institutes and networks.

In conjunction with UNDP, ESCAP has published aregional report entitled "Promoting the MillenniumDevelopment Goals in Asia and the Pacific: meeting thechallenges of poverty reduction," which is geared towardsimproving cooperation among countries in the region andhighlighting success stories and best practices. The reportidentifies slow economic growth, declining officialdevelopment assistance, uneven distribution of income andunfavourable social conditions as some of the keyobstacles to reducing poverty and achieving the otherGoals in Asia and the Pacific. The report notes that theachievement of the Goals in Asia and the Pacific reliesheavily on sustained economic growth and improvedequity, as well as on increased levels of external aid.

For more information, visit www.unescap.org/pdd/

Economic and Social Commissionfor Western Asia

In accordance with the recommendations of theWorld Summit for Social Development, ESCWA iscurrently in the second phase of a region-wide project

aimed at promoting the provision of universal access tobasic services and building an integrated vision of socialpolicies. Social policy in the region is plagued by poorintegration, uncoordinated programmes, andadministrational neglect, and has suffered as a result ofprivatization of basic services and a reduction in socialexpenditure. ESCWA has created a programme ofcountry profiles, with information on poverty, policy, andpractice for each country in the region. The countryprofiles will include reference material for decisionmakers and researchers alike, and will serve as platformsfor the exchange of information and experiences innational social policy formulation, implementation andmonitoring. Particular attention will be given to theeffect of social policies on women, youth, the aging aswell as other vulnerable groups.

ESCWA has also begun publishing a regional reporton integrated social policies, which will have a focus onpoverty and serve as a resource and empowerment tooland will act as an impetus for effective and integratedsocial policy. The report will draw upon the countryprofiles and will be published every two years. The nextissue is to be published in 2004.

On 20 June 2003, ESCWA held a workshop inBeirut, on social indicators, with emphasis on theMillennium Development Goals and Indicators, topromote the Millennium Declaration. The workshop,organized in collaboration with UNDP, includedstatisticians from national statistical offices,development experts from national and regionalorganizations as well as representatives of UnitedNations specialized agencies, such as the ILO, the UnitedNations Children's Fund, the World Health Organizationand the United Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization.

For more information, visit: http://www.escwa.org.lb

Economic Commission for AfricaAfrican countries and the Economic Commission for

Africa (ECA) participated in the third TokyoInternational Conference on African Development(TICAD III), held from 29 September to 1 October 2003.TICAD is a leading platform for African development

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdfsince its inception at the first Tokyo conference in 1993.A regional workshop held in Nairobi, for East and NorthAfrica, prior to the conference in Tokyo, reviewed thefollowing: progress in reducing poverty; Africa'sintegration into the global economy; the goals agreed onat TICAD II five years ago; and global partnerships forAfrican development. Regional participants called onTICAD III to focus on consolidating peace in the war-torn continent, and improving governance -- including awider role for civil society, and promoting agriculture,which they spotlighted as a leading engine of growth.Other priorities endorsed at the Tokyo conferenceincluded support for the private sector, building nationaland regional infrastructure, strengthening humanresources, mobilization against HIV/AIDS and otherinfectious diseases, and improving water supplies. Alsohighlighted was information and communicationstechnology as an area for productive cooperationbetween Asia and Africa.

ECA also organizes a forum on the African learninggroup on the poverty reduction strategy paper, tofacilitate peer learning on the experiences with thestrategy papers in Africa. The most recent meeting of theforum was held from 18 to 21 of November 2002 inBrussels. The focus of the learning group is to share bestpractices, identify national capacity gaps, formulaterecommendations for actions by various stakeholders(African Governments and civil society organizations,African research institutions, and the private sector) andadvocate for change in aid modalities and approaches.The learning group also aims to stimulate dialogue ontransforming development relations between Africancountries and their key external partners for increased aideffectiveness and enhanced development impact. ECAconsiders poverty to be Africa's most pressingdevelopment challenge, and looks toward policies thatguarantee broad-based economic growth as the key topoverty eradication

For more infromation, visit: http://www.uneca.org/prsp

Other poverty-related events andpublicationsWorld Conference on Inequality, Poverty andHuman Well-beingHelsinki, 30-31 May 2003United Nations University/World Institutefor Development Economics Research

The Conference provided an opportunity toreview recent advances in analytical conceptsand methods and identify ways in which futureresearch on inequality, poverty and human well-being can make best use of the advances. Thetopics covered included: Measuring human well-being; spatial inequality; global trends ininequality and poverty; micro simulationstudies; and modeling approaches (dynamic, andcomputable general equilibrium models etc).The conference catered primarily to researchersfrom the academic, government and developmentcommunities, with over 140 economists andexperts attending.

For more information, go to the conference website:http://www.wider.unu.edu/conference/conference-2003-2/conference2003-2.htm

Macroeconomic performance and povertyreductionWorking paper, April 2003 (Anne Epaulard, IMFInstitute)

This paper investigates the link between macro-economic performance and the change in the povertyrate among 47 episodes of growth and 52 episodes ofeconomic downturn in developing and transitioneconomies.

Read the paper here:http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2003/wp0372.pdf

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BULLETIN ON THE ee rr aaddii ccaatt iioonn ooff ppoovvee rr ttyyasdfThe impact of external indebtedness on povertyin low-income countriesWorking paper, March, 2003, (Loko, Boileau;Mlachila, Montfort P.; Nallari, Raj; Kalonji, KadimaD.; Policy Development and Review Department.)

This paper explores the relationship betweenexternal debt and poverty. A number of observers haveargued that high external debt is a major cause ofpoverty. Using the first-differenced general method ofmoments estimator, the paper models the impact ofexternal debt on poverty, measured by life expectancy,infant mortality, and gross primary enrolment rates,while duly taking into account the impact of externaldebt on income. The paper thus endeavours to bringtogether the literature that links external debt withincome growth and poverty. The main conclusion isthat once the effect of income on poverty has beentaken into account, external debt indicators have alimited but important impact on poverty.

Read the paper here:http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2003/wp0361.pdf

How not to count the poor(Sanjay G. Reddy and Thomas W. Pogge, Barnard

College, presented at the "Leading Edge Roundtable"sponsored by the Human Development Report office andthe Ford Foundation's Peace and Social Justice Program)

The paper argues that the estimates of the extent,distribution and trend of global income povertyprovided in the World Bank's World DevelopmentReports for 1990 and 2000/01 are neither meaningfulnor reliable because: the World Bank uses an arbitraryinternational poverty line unrelated to any clearconception of poverty; it employs a misleading andinaccurate measure of purchasing power"equivalence" that creates serious and irreparabledifficulties for international and inter-temporalcomparisons of income poverty; and it extrapolatesincorrectly from limited data and thereby creates anappearance of precision that masks the high probableerror of its estimates. The systematic distortion

introduced by these three flaws may have led to anunderstatement of the extent of global income povertyand to an incorrect inference that it has declined. Thepaper concludes that a new methodology of globalpoverty assessment, focused directly on the ability ofthe poor to achieve the most elementary income-dependent human capabilities, is both feasible andnecessary.

Read the paper here: http://www.columbia.edu/~sr793/count.pdf

Bulletin on the Eradication of PovertyUnited Nations SecretariatRoom DC2-1358New York, NY 10017United States of America

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