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Speech delivered at the 118th Assembly of the
Interparliamentary Union (IPU) in Cape Town, South
Africa.
The
World Bank defines poverty in the most simple and
understandable manner; “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is
lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being
able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to
school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not
having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at
a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought
about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack
of representation and freedom.”
Poverty
is a serious and urgent challenge confronting the global
community.
Poverty
is a global issue that must be addressed by all
governments.
Today,
half of the world, or three billion people, continue to
live in abject poverty. The United Nations Children’s
Fund estimates that 30,000 children die each day because
they have no food to eat. This totals to 210,000
children each week, or just under 11 million children
each year, below the age of five. We are rapidly losing
our bright, future leaders to hunger caused by poverty.
Although
poverty alleviation has seen improvement in East and
South Asia, modest prediction points to 2030 to totally
eradicate this global menace. And in this 22-year
shortfall, how many millions will still have to die of
hunger and sickness?
The
specter of poverty is so real, direct, immediate and
encompassing for a world that has become a global
village. It is our common problem. Fighting it with
resolve, vision and a sense of mission is a challenge we
all share.
Various
international organizations have analyzed and discussed
global poverty with all its ramifications. A number of
causes have been identified. Environmental, geographic
and economic factors have been pinpointed as some of the
primary causes of poverty.
Indeed,
our journey will not be easy.
However,
we find comfort in the cumulative achievements of
humankind—the unlocking of the secrets of the atom, the
discovery of cures to dreadful diseases, the many
beneficial applications of space technology and
computers, the creation of the United Nations and the
breaking down of barriers to understanding and
cooperation, among other things.
Necessity is the mother of invention. The need to win
over poverty should enable us to find better ways in
fighting it.
Essential to the solution is to redefine the approach to
the problem. It is in this context that the
theme—“Pushing back the frontiers of poverty”—is most
appropriate.
“Pushing
back the frontiers of poverty” evokes a distinct visual
image of various forces working together to change the
global economic and social landscape into a shape where
the less is substantially improved. It suggests a very
dynamic and progressive process.
The
question before us in the 118th Assembly of the
Interparliamentary Union is—what can the international
community of parliamentarians and legislators do to push
back the frontiers of poverty?
When
parliamentarians from all over the world meet to discuss
and address global problems, they represent the
aspirations and concerns not only of their respective
countries but also those of the international community.
The Inter-parliamentary Union, therefore, has a moral
ascendancy in our world. Its voice is not just one among
many. The fight against poverty, therefore, becomes our
common crusade.
This war
should make allies of all nations. However, it demands
more than a grand alliance. It calls for the solidarity
of all stakeholders, both big and small.
Our
strategic objective is to push poverty farther back from
its present frontiers. To achieve this goal, we must
mobilize all available resources and skills and direct
them at the target with full concentration.
A review
of all previous battle plans against poverty will be
very useful—the various antipoverty programs initiated
by the United Nations and other international
organizations’ insights into the nature of the whole
terrain, the obstacles, the failures and the success
stories.
In terms
of immediate priority, food and medicine, which are the
most basic of human needs and which are beyond the means
of the poor people in the least-developed countries,
should be made accessible and affordable to them.
The lack
of food and medicine may be an isolated problem in the
countries in North America and Western Europe. But in
many parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America, the
problem is at a crisis level.
To let
the prices of these survival items be dictated by the
interplay of impersonal market forces, which are driven
by an overriding desire to get a good return on
investment, is to ignore the plight of a majority of the
world’s population. A socially oriented pricing policy
for poor countries is worth looking into.
Parliaments in more advanced economies may well consider
modifying the international application of patents for
drugs such that the duration of the protection of
intellectual-property rights may vary from one country
to another based on the incidence and level of abject
poverty.
Countries with advanced agricultural technologies and
systems should help those which are perennially
confronted with food shortage. They may share their
expertise in irrigation, coastal- resource management,
modern farm practices and appropriate crop nutrition and
protection methods.
Big
business and industry in advanced economies should also
be involved in the whole undertaking. It is heartening
to note that the idea of corporate social responsibility
is gaining ground and momentum.
The IPU
should lead in working for the adoption of a code of
social responsibility by business communities at the
international, regional and national levels. It should
lend its prestige and influence behind this laudable
advocacy work.
No
regime anywhere can meet adequately the need to provide
education, health care, housing, livelihood and other
basic social services adequately without a corresponding
sustainable economic growth. However, any improvement in
GDP that is not directly translated into an increase in
the level of social progress is meaningless.
Good
governance is also essential in improving the quality of
life of a great number of people. Transparency and
integrity in public service, a passion for results, a
sense of urgency and compassion for those who have much
less in life are the driving forces behind any
successful antipoverty campaign.
Countries too heavily encumbered by external debts that
show no direct and tangible benefits to their people and
which are too poor to pay the interests even of their
restructured loans should not be pushed to the brink of
economic disaster by their lenders. A mix of
interventions may be considered to include such options
as moratorium, condonation or any other financial
arrangement that enables countries in huge debt to
survive and rise again.
We need
to address, too, the negative effects of the
globalization of the world economy on less-developed
countries. The playing field is not even. It favors
those with a solid financial base, a global production
and distribution network and cutting-edge technology.
All
these tactical action plans, if and when pursued with a
clear vision and unity of purpose, will make a big
difference in our war against poverty.
In 2005,
former South African President Nelson Mandela in a rally
said, “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity.
It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a
fundamental human right; the right to dignity and a
decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true
freedom.”
In the
final analysis, victory begins with the will to win. We
can win this war and we must. Thank you. |
