UN stresses need to eradicate poverty

NaijaAgroNet:

In marking the 24th anniversary of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP), the United Nations has underscored the need to recognize and address the humiliation and exclusion endured by many people living in poverty, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, noted that as the world work together to honour the pledge to build a life of peace, prosperity and dignity for all, the world must recognize that prejudice and discrimination seriously impede efforts.

“To end poverty, we must commit to respect and defend the human rights of all people and end the humiliation and social exclusion that the poor face every day,” he said.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that this year marks the first commemoration of IDEP since the launch of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals in January 2016. Recent estimates show that despite significant gains since 2002 – the number of people living below the poverty line dropped by half – 1 in 8 people still live in extreme poverty, including 800 million people who do not have enough to eat.

Equally, NaijaAgroNet gathered that an estimated 2.4 billion people have no access to improved sanitation, 1.1 billion people have no access to electricity and 880 million people live in urban slums. Opportunities continue to remain scarce for the world’s most vulnerable people – 59 million children of primary school age are out of school and the youth unemployment rate is 15 per cent, more than three times the rate of adults.

“With its central pledge to leave no one behind, the historic and ambitious new 2030 Agenda recognises that development will only be sustainable if it is inclusive,” said the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo.

“We need to change the course of human development from one characterized by exclusion, inequalities, conflict, and unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, to one that is more inclusive, equitable and sustainable,” Hongbo said.

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SDGs implementation: Ban Ki-moon stresses importance of finance

NaijaAgroNet:

The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon has stressed the importance of financing and other support mechanisms in implementing the global goals for sustainable development and climate action, reports NaijaAgroNet.

He also urged further efforts by G20 countries to fulfilling their commitments to SDGs and climate action.

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a universal, integrated and transformative plan of action for peace and prosperity for all on a healthy planet,” Mr. Ban told a session on inclusive and interconnected development during the G20 Summit happening in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Referencing the 2030 Agenda on 17 global goals adopted by the UN General Assembly last September, he said that achieving them requires balanced, inclusive and sustainable economic growth. 

"The Addis Ababa Action Agenda, adopted in Ethiopia last year, provides a global framework for financing the 2030 Agenda implementation. It aligns all financing flows and policies with sustainable economic, social and environmental development," he said.

Mr. Ban also pointed out that the G20 Action Plan to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda is testament to your commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” the UN chief said, acknowledging China’s leadership for mainstreaming sustainable development in the work of G20.

Mr. Ban also applauded the leaders of France, Germany, Japan, Mexico and the Republic of Korea for initiating inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms on implementation of the global goals, calling upon all G20 leaders to follow “these good examples.”

“Implementing the 2030 Agenda will strengthen our collective ability to address short-term risks and build long-term resilience. This is why it is essential that sustainable development is fully integrated into a global macroeconomic policy framework,” Mr. Ban said.

The G20 initiative on supporting industrialization in Africa and least developed countries will strengthen their inclusive growth and development potential, he said.

The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) report provides a comprehensive framework in this regard. Increased investments in infrastructure and industry, access to finance, sharing and transfer of technologies, trade facilitation, capacity building and improving enabling environments can support the transformation needed, he added.

The G20’s financial support to the Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted last December in France, is crucial, the Secretary-General emphasized. “Now it is time to ensure we live up to our commitments on climate finance, including the commitment to provide $100 billion for the Green Climate Fund,” he said, describing this as “an important step” to support developing countries’ efforts to implement the climate accord.

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