Poverty free future?
LONDON, UK—At the turn of the millennium, world leaders committed to fight extreme poverty. Following 10 years of discussions, they drafted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Signed by 189 countries, the MDGs promise to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty; promote gender equality; provide free primary education to all children; reduce child mortality rates by 50 per cent; reduce maternal mortality rates by three quarters; tackle preventable diseases; respond to environmental degradation; and forge global partnerships for development and to combat corruption.
"[World leaders] said by carrying these promises through, we will reduce extreme poverty by 50 per cent by 2015," says Joel Edwards, director of Micah Challenge International, an organization that encourages Christians to advocate for the poor. "The World Bank describes anyone living on less than $1.25 per day as 'living in extreme poverty.' Currently there are 1.4 billion such people."
Edwards says overall we are falling seriously short of our commitments, but he is encouraged by good-news stories coming from unlikely places.
"Recently I saw [reports] pointing out progress in the sub-Sahara. Countries like Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda are actually on target to meet their MDGs. In Malawi, a million people have been lifted out of poverty. It's exciting, because often when you think of Africa, you think of bad news."
Canada, on the other hand, is falling behind on our commitments, says Roy Berkenbosch, director of the Micah Centre at The King's University College in Edmonton, AB.
"As a nation, we've made promises to the poor," he says. "Canada has not been very good at paying attention to justice issues raised by advocacy groups."
However, Berkenbosch says young Canadian Christians are catching the vision. "I really believe Canadians do care about the poor," he adds.
Edwards says the goals are attainable, and that it's largely a matter of political will. He believes Christians are called to be a voice for the poor and challenge world leaders to fulfil these promises.
"Christians should understand the sacredness of promises and trust. Our faith is [founded] on the principle of trust. There is something very compelling in Christian theology that says we have a responsibility to hold public figures to their promises, because we believe in the sanctity of promise. The last thing we want is to forget the poorest of the poor."
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