Global News Post: Poverty

One Million Ugandans Move Out of Poverty between 2006 And 2010

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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By David Mugabe<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">KAMPALA (NNN-NEW VISION) -- About one million Ugandans, or around 6.6 per cent of the population, have moved out of the absolute poverty bracket of living on just 1.25 USD a day between 2006 and 2010 as a result of the diversified economic activities, a new report indicates.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Poverty Status Report, produced by the Ministry of Finance, indicates that Ugandans living below the poverty line fell to 24.5 per cent of the population, or 7.5 million people, in 2009/2010 from 31.1 per cent (8.5 million) in 2005/06.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rather than constantly struggling to meet their most basic needs, many more Ugandans are now striving for new opportunities to improve their lives, reads the report which launched by Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka here Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Higher pay, ability to cope with risks because of increased asset base and better access to savings instruments are some of the reasons for the decline in absolute poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Chairing the panel discussion during the report's launch, Keith Muhakanizi, the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, acknowledged the decline in the quality of some of the key indicators driving the poverty growth.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Muhakanizi, however, stressed that the country was better off having these programmes and addressing the quality concerns than not having them at all. He sighted universal primary education (UPE) in which the completion rate to primary seven is at 57 per cent, meaning kids are jumping out of school.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Muhakanizi said no doubt there are challenges with quality of education, but we are better off with the schools enrollment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy, employing about 75 per cent, but the majority of the people in the sector are poor. Also key in the report is the fact that the number of middle class Ugandans has risen from 7.8 million (28.7 per cent) to 10 million (32.6 per cent.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kiwanuka said electricity accounted for 73 per cent of maize milling costs and rural electrification was crucial for agro-processing and value-addition. -- NNN-NEW VISION<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

One Million Ugandans Move Out of Poverty between 2006 And 2010

By David Mugabe KAMPALA (NNN-NEW VISION) -- About one million Ugandans, or around 6.6 per cent of the population, have moved out of the a...

3 Million Facing Hunger in Afghanistan

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A group of aid agencies has warned that three million people in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> are facing hunger this winter.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The organizations, including Oxfam and Save the Children, said Friday a drought earlier year has left communities with very little food.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The agencies said that food prices have soared — causing families to skip meals, borrow money, or migrate. They said schools have closed because children are being put to work.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The U.N. launched an emergency appeal for $142 million in October to help relieve the situation. Reuters news agency says international donors have funded only 7 percent of that amount.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Oxfam's director in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> said there is little time left to provide communities with the help they need before the harsh winter conditions make areas inaccessible. He said snow is already falling in some areas. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

3 Million Facing Hunger in Afghanistan

A group of aid agencies has warned that three million people in Afghanistan are facing hunger this winter. The organizations, including ...

South Africans March against Unemployment, Poverty

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">At least 2,000 South Africans are taking part Thursday in a demonstration in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Johannesburg</st1:city></st1:place> to demand the government do more to address joblessness and poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The demonstration was organized by the controversial youth leader of the governing African National Congress, Julius Malema, who is known for his calls to nationalize the country’s mines and redistribute white-owned farmland to poor blacks.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Protesters sang, danced and held signs protesting the country’s high unemployment rate, which is over 25 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Demonstrators plan to march to <st1:country-region w:st="on">South Africa</st1:country-region>’s Chamber of Mines and the <st1:city w:st="on">Johannesburg</st1:city> Stock Exchange before heading 60 kilometers north to the capital of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Pretoria</st1:city></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">After an overnight vigil in the capital, Malema plans to present government officials with a list of demands, including government assistance for jobs and housing, as well as the nationalization of the mines.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Hundreds of police closely monitored Thursday’s protest in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Johannesburg</st1:city></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In August, hundreds of Malema supporters clashed with police at the start of a series of disciplinary hearings brought against Malema by the ANC.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Malema faces expulsion from the party after saying in July that the youth league would form a team to help oust <st1:country-region w:st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region>’s government, and calling <st1:country-region w:st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region> a security threat to <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>. He also called the country a “puppet” of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United   States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Malema later apologized for making the statement.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He and Mr. Zuma once were allies but their relationship soured as the president ignored Malema’s policy demands. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div>

South Africans March against Unemployment, Poverty

At least 2,000 South Africans are taking part Thursday in a demonstration in Johannesburg to demand the government do more to address jobl...

World Bank Says European Crisis is Hurting Developing Countries

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</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>World Bank President Robert Zoellick says new programs may be needed to help developing countries hurt by the European debt crisis.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Zoellick made the remarks Wednesday while touring a slum community outside the Philippine capital Manila where residents are benefiting from a World Bank anti-poverty program.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>He said the European crisis has driven borrowing costs up and lowered stock prices and exports around the world, even in countries as far away as the Philippines.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The European crisis is also causing concern in Beijing, where Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu was asked about it Wednesday at a briefing.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>She said China hopes the European Union will adopt effective measures to restore market confidence and stability.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Despite the severity of the crisis, Zoellick said he was not too concerned that European leaders are saying they need more time to come up with a comprehensive solution to the problem.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>But he said the European leaders cannot take too long to decide what they want to do.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>On Thursday, Zoellick will meet with Philippine President Benigno Aquino to discuss his efforts to fight corruption and revitalize the economy.---VOA NEWS</i></span></div></div>

World Bank Says European Crisis is Hurting Developing Countries

World Bank President Robert Zoellick says new programs may be needed to help developing countries hurt by the European debt crisis. Zoell...

Tanzania: Mushrooms Could Save Families Out Of Poverty

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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">MOROGORO (<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">TANZANIA</st1:place></st1:country-region>)-(NNN-DAILYNEWS) -- The myth about mushroom consumption that originates from the fact that some of the species collected from the wild are poisonous should not be cause for despair to families intending to fight poverty in a short period of time, an expert has advised. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Consumption of mushrooms in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tanzania</st1:place></st1:country-region> is as old as history but unfortunately poisonous mushrooms are also collected along with edible varieties putting consumers in a danger of consuming poison. Lethal mushrooms are not easily distinguished from edible ones. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Some families have experienced tragic losses of their beloved ones due to consumption of toxic wild mushrooms. But today, mushroom entrepreneurs can apply the simplest available methods to ensure food safety at household level. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Dr. Delphina Mamiro of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro says that wild mushrooms become plentiful in the forests and farmlands during wet season. Researches have come up with simple methods that can benefit millions of people. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"I have seen the potential in the production of mushrooms in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tanzania</st1:place></st1:country-region> especially the Oyster type with seeds readily available. Some people ask where the market is but remember that they inquire about the market for a commodity they don't have. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"I would like to assure you that the market is wide both within and beyond national borders," Dr Mamiro says. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Apart from her office work, she produces dozens of kilograms of mushrooms with daily harvests after every 25 to 28 days. "The market grows day by day and I am ready to share my knowledge and skills with fellow citizens who wish to fight poverty," Dr Mamiro offers. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">A market survey revealed that the current retail price of oyster mushrooms ranges from 5,000/- to 10,000/-. However, locally cultivated mushrooms are not common in Tanzanian markets. For example: most of mushrooms sold in hotels in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tanzania</st1:place></st1:country-region> are imported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Dr Frank Kimboi from the Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) says that frequent <i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">mushroom consumption is recommended for patients of hypertension, ulcers, diabetics, tuberculosis, high level of cholesterol, and cancer. </span></b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Also, frequent mushroom eating contributes to body immunity maintenance which is important to fight viral diseases. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"Mushrooms are known to produce lipid lowering agents. Furthermore, mushrooms have a low energy level which is beneficial for weight reduction that is beneficial for the diet of persons suffering from metabolic diseases such as gout and rheumatism," Dr Kimboi says. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Speaking while cutting into small pieces remains of discarded agricultural wastes (substrates) such as dry straws of rice, maize, millet, maize cobs and different types of grass, Dr Mamiro says that mushroom farming also contributes to environmental protection since agricultural wastes are re-used instead of burning them. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"Mushrooms are a short duration crop and are land saving as their cultivation does not need much land. Mushrooms can be grown on a wide range of substrates and as such one doesn't need expensive agricultural inputs such as fertilizers," she says. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The expert recalled the time she visited families in Masasi, Lindi, Morogoro and Kilimanjaro and felt bad when she saw people living in poverty which can be kicked with as little capital as 15,000/- plus very simple technology. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"The government educated me and I feel indebted. I must share my knowledge with other people on the best ways to cultivate mushrooms. Lack of knowledge on proper mushroom farming is the major setback for the sustainable production of mushrooms. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"Anyone interested is invited," she says. There are many edible mushroom varieties that are cultivated today. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Mushrooms can be grown either on commercial scale using highly sophisticated equipment and mushroom houses, or as a home business using fabricated equipment, low cost materials and agricultural wastes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Whether for large- or small scale production, the technologies for growing different species for edible mushrooms are available and one can choose what species or type of mushrooms can be cultivated in the locality. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The agricultural wastes are used for the mushrooms to feed on. These are boiled to release starch, left to cool down and wrapped up in plastic bags or containers ready to receive seeds. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">They are placed in a dark room the simplest but equally efficient made out of thatch with bare floor sprinkled with water to provide moisture in the room. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"Mushrooms protein content is higher comparable to some vegetables. Although they cannot compete with meat, fish and eggs, their protein content is almost equal to maize, milk and legumes and definitely higher than other leafy and root vegetables," Dr Mamiro says. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">She concluded by mentioning other advantages of mushrooms which are rich in protein (about 51 % on dry weight basis) and also rich in vitamins. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">People have used mushrooms to overcome numerous diseases and disorders relating to the immune system, chronic and acute allergies, cataracts, hearing difficulties, stress syndrome, chronic fatigue, diarrhoea, constipation, and disorders of the liver," Dr Mamiro concluded. -- NNN-DAILYNEWS<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Tanzania: Mushrooms Could Save Families Out Of Poverty

MOROGORO ( TANZANIA )-(NNN-DAILYNEWS) -- The myth about mushroom consumption that originates from the fact that some of the species collec...

Scoring a try against hunger: Rugby World Cup takes UN message to billions

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon displays<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">his commemorative jersey at the<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">launch of the 2011 <st1:place w:st="on">Rugby</st1:place> World Cup<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">From the scrums on the fields of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New   Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the current Rugby World Cup is taking the United Nations fight against global hunger, and its fundraising appeal, to a potential audience of 4 billion people in the latest partnership between the world of sport and UN agencies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Via a combination of in-stadium visibility with advertising boards, programme advertisements and public service videos shown in stadia, at Cup “fanzones,” online and via tournament broadcasters, the Tackle Hunger campaign, first launched by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 2003, for the first time directs viewers to a secure donations page on WFP’s website.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“People think that solving hunger is an insurmountable task, but every time someone learns about WFP, visits the IRB or WFP sites, donates to help feed a hungry school child, we are building a momentum to defeat hunger, end malnutrition and help save a generation of young people that otherwise might be doomed to a diminished tomorrow,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Defeating hunger, estimated to afflict more than 1 billion people, is the first of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that seek to slash hunger and poverty, maternal and infant mortality, a host of diseases and lack of access to education and health care, all by 2015, and IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset voiced his organization’s pride in the partnership with WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian agency.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The Tackle Hunger campaign, with the support of rugby fans around the world, can contribute in some way to alleviating the plight of those less fortunate than ourselves and have a real and positive impact on the lives of so many where hunger is present,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The campaign is also using a variety of social media platforms to connect directly with rugby fans across the world, and a recent news release on WFP’s response to the devastating famine in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region> and the rest of the Horn of Africa was sent to more than 1.2 million Rugby World Cup Facebook followers and 46,000 followers on Twitter.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The <st1:place w:st="on">Rugby</st1:place> World Cup – which concludes on 23 October – is the third biggest global sporting event after the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup, and a television audience estimated at 4 billion people is expected to tune in during the course of the tournament.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In May, the tournament’s Webb-Ellis Cup trophy was displayed at UN Headquarters in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state> at a ceremony attended by diplomatic representatives of the 20 participating teams. “For seven years, through the Tackle Hunger programme, you have raised awareness and funds that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said then.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Launched at the 2003 event in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region> and continued at the next tournament in 2007 in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">France</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Tackle Hunger sprang from IRB’s desire to meet its social responsibilities and help the UN achieve the MDGs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The campaign is but one in a whole series of collaborations between UN agencies and world sport, which has seen the likes of football legends Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane scoring goals against poverty, the European Swimming League in “a race against time” to prevent deaths from unclean water and the Cricket World Cup batting for the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the battle against HIV/AIDS.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Similar initiatives have involved <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United   States</st1:place></st1:country-region> football stars, marathon runners and drivers from Formula One car racing.---UN News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Scoring a try against hunger: Rugby World Cup takes UN message to billions

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon displays his commemorative jersey at the launch of the 2011 Rugby World Cup From the scrums on t...

Half of world’s poorest countries can escape poverty by 2020 – UN

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt;">  <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: .5pt solid windowtext; border: none; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-between: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-bottom-alt: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; mso-padding-between: 1.0pt; mso-padding-bottom-alt: 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Half the world’s 48 least developed countries (LDCs) can “graduate” out of their impoverished status within 10 years, according to a United Nations report released Wednesday.</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdcttxvxHTkVVTiEsT0YIZ6TGTnEM_mfqIZ6Yd7fSBHHW77krRI43cF9lSLx3eeKAaIjkBmMFXPIc0f6YeEENAYdzVDzM0nf5QnI5J4yl06OiwgtfXOWf7A5vvWHkX1n_8haUtnyDbD30/s1600/T30316326-1113659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdcttxvxHTkVVTiEsT0YIZ6TGTnEM_mfqIZ6Yd7fSBHHW77krRI43cF9lSLx3eeKAaIjkBmMFXPIc0f6YeEENAYdzVDzM0nf5QnI5J4yl06OiwgtfXOWf7A5vvWHkX1n_8haUtnyDbD30/s1600/T30316326-1113659.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Such a development will take place if those countries benefit from better targeted development aid, duty- and quota-free access for exports and doubled farm productivity and school enrolment, and the report added. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is considered 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. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“This is the time for global solidarity to achieve progress even in the poorest countries of the world, which will go a long way in advancing global prosperity and security,” says the report by the Group of Eminent Persons appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to look into development problems facing the world’s poorest countries. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Issued ahead of the conference on LDCs to be held in Istanbul from May 13, which will seek to promote a 10-year program 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. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Eminent Persons have taken up the theme that has emerged from intergovernmental negotiations for the next 10-year LDC plan of action aiming to graduate half of the current members of the grouping by 2020, a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) said here on Wednesday. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The report shows upward progress in category after category of economic and human well-being indicators by developed and dynamic developing countries, while LDC trends are close to flat-lining. Pointing to the high incidence of conflicts in countries with extreme poverty and weak institutions, it says “increasing marginalization of the LDCs is creating a future that we, as a global community, cannot afford.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Measures advocated by the panel include adequate, prioritized and better targeted development assistance; duty- and quota-free access for LDC exports; doubling farm productivity and school enrolment; and beefing up the developmental and democratic capacities of LDC governments. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Panel promotes an innovative scheme for cooperation with neighboring countries in six sub-regions where LDCs are located, and links the LDCs themselves in geographically oriented self-help groupings. They include 33 in sub-Saharan Africa and outlying islands, 14 in South Asia and Oceania, and one (Haiti) in the Caribbean. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The drive for better global integration by the least developed countries is not starting from a standstill, the report notes. Since the previous LDC conference in Brussels in 2001, almost all have experienced strong per capita economic growth, and official development assistance (ODA) has risen sharply. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Also since 2001, LDC governments have progressed in terms of adopting democratic constitutions, increasing women’s role in government, and instituting economic reforms and new legal frameworks. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While dependence on primary commodities remains a problem, the LDCs’ significant share of the world’s strategic minerals, oil, arable land and eco-resources gives them an inside track on attracting trade and investment and diversifying economies, the study says. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt 1.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">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 Program (UNDP).</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">(</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">IRNA)</span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div>

Half of world’s poorest countries can escape poverty by 2020 – UN

Half the world’s 48 least developed countries (LDCs) can “graduate” out of their impoverished status within 10 years, according to a U...