Poverty, the 2015 is a year that could shape the course of history. This is what the Ngo One affirms in its recent report “Putting the poorest first”. At the moment 43% of people in the least developed countries live in extreme poverty, while 13% in other countries. In September the new Global Goals for the sustainable development will be presented and in the upcoming months international meetings in the agenda will be quite numerous, for example the G7 Summit and the African Union Summit.
Until now, according to the study, donors failed their aid target and their financial support for the least developed countries continue to decrease. In 2014 the least developed countries received less than one third of the aids (30.3%) even if the number of people living with less than 1.25 dollars per day is increasing. Had that share been increased to 50%, an additional $26.5 billion would have been available to those who need it most. ONE is asking that the aids be better targeted to the increase of domestic revenue from their own governments and the fund to supply basic services for all by 2020. Actually there is a gap of around 152 billion dollars in the fund to cover all these essential needs in the world, 34.4 billion dollars for the least developed countries. The July’s Financing for Development (FfD) conference in Addis Abeba will ensure the commitments on this. “New global goals which could set out the roadmap to end extreme poverty will be worth little if leaders fail to back them with an ambitious financing plan. Everyone, no matter where they are born, should be able to access basic services, including health and education” Eloise Todd, ONE’s Global Policy Director, said.
A five point plan for the poorest
During the conference on Financing for Development in Addis Abeba five key points should be agreed on according to the study by One: ensure that basic needs of every person can be met, including health and education, with a focus on girls and women; developing countries should drive up revenue through implementing fair tax policies, curbing corruption and stemming illicit financial flows. Furthermore, development assistance should be targeted where it is most needed, with 50% going to LDCs, and donors setting a timetable to reach the international target of spending 0.7% of GNI on aid. While the investments, according to the study, are relevant for a sustainable inclusive growth, investment to drive up productivity, in particular agriculture, infrastructure, energy, trade and private finance. While countries should agree on a better accountability through data to ensure that commitments are followed through. In general, to achieve the global aims planned to fight the extreme poverty there should be a minimum spending of 500 dollars for person per year, 10 % of GDP as mentioned by ONE. While for the countries which are spending less than 150 dollars per person per year One recommends an interim target of 300 per person. The total cost is 152 billion dollars for the 66 countries worldwide that are below their targets; the cost for the 37 LDCs is 34.5 billion dollars. Domestic resources could be increased by 106.9 billion dollars by halving the revenue gap in the developing countries and 14.4 billion in the least developed countries.
Poverty has a woman face, few funds for education
Women in particular are most hit by the poverty, just think in Ethiopia, for instance, the number of girls in primary age currently missing out on schooling is the same as the total number of girls in school in the UK. Dramatic is the data of maternal deaths, it occurs amongst 13 % of the world’s women living in LDCs. While the number of women with vulnerable jobs is around 86.2% in least developed countries, three times higher in other countries. Ensure that all the students, girls included, would complete their capacity of a basic readings skills could cut extreme poverty globally by as much as 12%. During a seminar on poverty and education at the European Parliament , Silvia Costa president of the Culture Committee said “Despite having been included in the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and in the EU’s draft of the Sustainable Development Goals, education of youth and adults in emergency situations has registered a decrease in funding provided by governments and donors since 2010, while the number of users has been increasing not only in refugees’ camps, but also in European countries”.
@IreneGiuntella
Poverty, the 2015 is a year that could shape the course of history. This is what the Ngo One affirms in its recent report “Putting the poorest first”. At the moment 43% of people in the least developed countries live in extreme poverty, while 13% in other countries. In September the new Global Goals for the sustainable development will be presented and in the upcoming months international meetings in the agenda will be quite numerous, for example the G7 Summit and the African Union Summit.
