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UN and China mark International Poverty Eradication Day with major forum
17 October 2008, Beijing — The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development of China (LGOP) and the United Nations in China jointly hosted in Beijing today a high-level Forum to highlight China’s reform and poverty reduction efforts and the world’s progress on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Mr. Hui Liangyu, Vice Premier and Head of State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development, and Dr. Nafis Sadik, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General and his Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, addressed more than 200 participants, including high level officials from many developing nations, Chinese government officials and the international community in China. In addition, a message from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon was read to the forum by Khalid Malik，United Nations Resident Coordinator in China.
The Forum was timed to mark the 16th International Day for Poverty Eradication, taking place at the midpoint of the global campaign to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and to observe the 30th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up, an era which has seen more than 600 million Chinese people lifted out of poverty (according to the latest World Bank 1USD/day poverty line), an unprecedented achievement in poverty reduction in human history. The recently released China MDG Progress Report 2008 noted that “without China’s reduction in poverty it would be impossible for mankind to achieve the MDG target of halving the share of the population living in poverty.
While addressing the event, Vice Premier Hui’ pointed out that China will extend its efforts to build a moderately prosperous society (Xiaokang) in an all-round way, which is fundamentally in line with the MDGs. “After years of hard work, China has ahead of schedule met the MDG targets of halving the impoverished population, and we will continue to work with international partners for sustainable economic and social development,” he said.
Ban’s message noted China’s unprecedented progress in reducing poverty. “In the 30 years since China launched its reforms, your country has made a great contribution to our shared efforts to improve human welfare and reduce income poverty and hunger.”
Noting that MDG achievement is now facing severe new challenges due to recent instability in the global economic environment, Sadik emphasized the importance of keeping the world’s
poor and vulnerable populations fully in mind even as these new challenges are addressed.
“As attention and resources are focused on restoring sound financial systems it would be all too easy to put out of mind the poor and vulnerable populations whose ability to obtain food and shelter, even before the latest economic crisis, was already fraught with risk and too often hanging by a thread. Countries must not lose sight of the ever-present goal of defeating poverty.”
Many speakers pointed out that despite its impressive gains China still faces daunting challenges in poverty reduction, including environmental stresses that disproportionately affect poor and vulnerable groups and widening inequalities in income and human development indicators. Much of the discussion focused on ways to better solve this new set of challenges.
The opening speeches included addresses by Minister Fan Xiaojian, Head of the State Council’s Leading Group on Poverty Alleviation and Development, senior government officials from the Philippines and Mongolia, Prof. Hu Angang of Qinghua University and Prof. Huzzat Latifee, Managing Director of Grameen Trust International. In the afternoon four panel discussions were held with internationally renowned experts from China and abroad, on the themes of China’s Rural Poverty Reduction Strategy; Further Topics in Rural Development; Growth, Trade and Poverty and New Challenges in Poverty Alleviation.
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MEDIA ENQUIRIES
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For more information, please contact:
Ms. Zhang Wei, Communications Officer, UNDP China
Phone: 86 10 8532 0715, 139 1007 3809
Email: wei.zhang@undp.org
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