MEDIA RELEASE
7th July 2009.
Rich world failing the poor: Global poverty targets languish
The developed world is failing to meet the international challenge they have set
themselves in tackling global poverty as evidenced in the latest Millennium
Development Goal Progress Chart.
Signed onto by 189 world leaders in 2000 as a fifteen year action plan to tackle
poverty, the Millennium Development Goals are eight tangible targets that now are
teetering on the brink of failure.
Jack de Groot CEO of Caritas Australia said, “the international community has set
themselves the challenge to tackle the ongoing and dehumanising issue of global
poverty and we are clearly failing to meet this challenge.
“The G8 meeting this week must put poverty firmly on the agenda. The financial crisis
is hurting many of us but it is a temporary malaise in contrast to the billion people a
day who continue to struggle to feed themselves.
“We know we can wipe out poverty and there have been real successes already”, said
Mr de Groot. “The number of people living in extreme poverty has been reduced by
25% due to the MDGs. Enrolment in primary education, the bedrock of building a
prosperous future now sees 88% of children from poor countries in school. These are
enormous successes”, said Mr de Groot.
The 2009 MDG progress chart illustrates that the world has made significant progress
but urgent attention is needed. North Africa is a particular success and appears on
target to meet six of the goals. In South and South East Asia there has also been
significant progress. Yet in sub-Saharan Africa and in our own backyard of the Pacific,
without considerable attention none of the MDGs will be achieved.
“We must redouble our efforts, increase international aid and fight against protectionist
trade measures. We need to improve market access within developing countries to
bolster their internal trade and we must ensure that agricultural policies ensure people
have the control over their food production”.
“This week we have the G8 meeting in Italy and it is crucial that the commitments the
rich world have made to tackle poverty are resurrected”, Mr de Groot concluded.
Caritas Australia is currently staging the travelling exhibition Blueprint for a Better
World: the Millennium Development Goals and You, around Australia. Currently the
exhibition is at Notre Dame University in Fremantle Western Australia.
For more information contact Tim O’Connor 0417 284 831
The Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development
28-32 O’Riordan St, Alexandria, NSW, Australia, 2015 Toll Free 1800 024 413 Facsimile 1800 887 895
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