UN chief urges concrete support for poor population

UN Secretary-general Ban Ki- moon on Wednesday called for concrete support to the world's poor population, saying that government budgets should not be balanced at the expense of the poor. "Poverty is easy to denounce but difficult to combat. Those suffering from hunger, want and indignity need more than sympathetic words; they need concrete support," Ban said in a message commemorating the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which falls on Oct. 17 every year. Ban stressed that during times of economic austerity, it is even more crucial to put policies in place that will protect the most vulnerable. "As governments struggle to balance budgets, funding for anti- poverty measures is under threat. But this is precisely the time to provide the poor with access to social services, income security, decent work and social protection," he said. "Only then can we build stronger and more prosperous society -- not by balancing budgets at the expense of the poor." According to the UN chief, the Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs), agreed on by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000, have galvanized global action that generated great progress in the eradication of poverty, with the world's extreme poverty cut in half since 1990. However, he pointed out that while these gains represent a major advance toward a more equitable, prosperous and sustainable world, more than a billion people still live in poverty and are denied their rights to food, education and health care. "We have to empower them to help us find sustainable solutions. We should spare no effort to ensure that all countries reach the MDGs by 2015," he said. In his message, the secretary-general also stressed that poverty eradication is "the greatest global challenge facing the world today," as declared by global leaders at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in June this year. "We are now developing the UN development framework for the period after 2015, building on the MDGs while confronting persistent inequalities and new challenges facing people and the planet," he noted. "Our aim is to produce a bold and ambitious framework that can foster transformational change benefiting people now and for generations to come." "Rampant poverty, which has festered for far too long, is linked to social unrest and threats to peace and security. On this International Day, let us make an investment in our common future by helping to lift people out of poverty so that they, in turn, can help to transform our world," he added. Through a resolution adopted on Dec. 22, 1992, the UN General Assembly declared Oct. 17 the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries. This year's theme for the Day is "Ending the Violence of Extreme Poverty: Promoting Empowerment and Building Peace."