UN optimistic about poverty eradication in LDCs

In the latest report released by the United Nations Group of Eminent Persons, appointed by the UN Secretary General, Ban-Ki Moon, the international organization has expressed its optimism towards poverty eradication in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). According to the report, 48 LDCs can reduce the poverty by half within 10 years, provided if they meet the targeted access to development aid, duty and quota free access for exports and double farm productivity and school enrolment. This can be considered as a bold objective, given that altogether there have been 51 LDCs since the category was created by the UN in 1970, and only three have graduated since then – Botswana in 1994, Cape Verde in 2007, and Maldives earlier this year.

The growth in most of the LDCs has been sluggish during the period of 2000-2009, most of which range between 0-2% and negative growth rate (see table below). In such circumstances, the report not only provides an optimistically achievable target of poverty reduction by half, but also provides guidelines to achieve sub-targets for each objective.

Source: UN Report by Secretary General's Group of Eminent Persons

Issued ahead of the conference on LDCs to be held in Istanbul from 9 to 13 May, which will seek to promote a 10-year programme for food security, decent work, disaster risk reduction, climate resilience and clean energy growth in the LDCs, The Report of Eminent Persons 2011 stresses that these countries can break out of a decades-long poverty trap, depending on determined national action and international support.

The Panel is chaired by Alpha Oumar Konaré, former President of Mali and former Chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, and James Wolfensohn, former President of the World Bank, and includes Kemal Dervis, now the Director of Global Economy and Development at the Brookings Institution and a former Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The report by the Group of Eminent Persons is available on the following link: Group of Eminent Persons.

What do you think about it ? is the claim made by the Group of Eminent Persons is achievable in 10 years, provided the sub-objectives are set accordingly? Let me know what do you think about it in the comments section below.