The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the world's richest countries to boost aid budgets and debt relief efforts to prevent the gathering downturn in the global economy pushing millions more people in the developing world into abject poverty. |
In a statement following a meeting of ministers and central bankers during the weekend of November 17-18, 2001, the IMF warned that the slump, which has spread around the world since the September 11 attacks on the United States, was likely to extract the heaviest toll on the developing world. |
|
At a crucial United Nations conference in Mexico next March, Gordon Brown, the chair of the IMF's international monetary and financial committee, and Clare Short, the international development secretary, will use the new spirit of international cooperation to call on all countries to meet the UN target 0.7% of national income, currently only reached by four countries, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. In a joint statement the two said that one of the lessons from September 11 was that no country could insulate itself from conflict, insecurity and poverty elsewhere in the world. "It would be easy, at a time like this, for each of us to turn inwards and focus on our own country's domestic concerns," they said. "However... there are 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty, and many more at risk. Unfortunately the impact of recent events is likely to hit these individuals the hardest."
Charlotte Denny, The Guardian
[Send Questions or Comments to the .] [777 Health Index] [777 Science] [Animal Love for Ecology] [Emotional Health]
[Mental Health] [Sex Education] [777 Search] [Privacy] [GuestBook] [777 Chat] [Viagra Shopper] [Hair Shopper] [eDiet Weight Loss] [Health Shopper] [Amazon.com] [Barnes & Noble] [Free, Bi-Weekly Mortgage Management - Save Money!] [eDiets] [ Sports and Fitness] [
Fitness Nutrition] [People Search] [Discount Vitamin Shopper] [Great health and fitness products from The Sharper Image] [Stay Healthy at the Office] [Wear Guard] [Get Top Placement in the Search Engines - Guaranteed]
|
