Allow poor to define their futures

[PETRUS]

Over one billion of us live without many of the basics that the other six billion take as given. In the least-developed countries, conflict, disaster and broader human insecurity impose structural limits on efforts to move from crisis to risk reduction and from growth to sustained development. Although 28 countries have moved from low-income status to middle-income status, with Ghana and Zambia among the newest Middle Income Countries (MICs), an estimated 800m people still live in low-income countries, while 2/3 of the global poor now live in the MICs (UNDP, IPC-IG). Many millions have been lifted out of poverty in the last 10 years, including 26m Brazilians who made the transition out of poverty between 2004 and 2009. The rate of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has improved in a number of developing countries, with 13 of the top performers being least-developed countries, many from Sub-Saharan Africa. Seventy two countries accelerated their rate of progress on extreme poverty and hunger. Deceleration was notable on environmental sustainability.

Significant and sustained progress will require faster and better efforts. Beyond the critical issues of 'carbon footprints', 'low-carbon development',' green economy' and the economics behind saving the planet, we must draw attention back to the continuing challenge of ensuring that growth and development deliver for and with the poor and vulnerable. In its many forms - energy poverty, lack of access to water and sanitation, malnutrition or insecure access to food and lack of access to education and health - the scale and scope of global deprivation call current development policy and practice into question.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/11/20111124163914369938.html

More at the link.

[jwirr]

1. This has always been the problem - we take our ideas to these

countries with fewer resources and over population and we expect them to work