Now is the time to make poverty history

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has welcomed the report 'Make Poverty History'. Addressed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the report was issued today by a coalition of UK-based civil society organisations and personalities.

"The world has never had greater capacity to generate wealth: the rich are getting richer as never before. And yet millions of individuals, families, and communities still live in abject poverty," Mr McKinnon said.

"The 'Make Poverty History' report points to the inescapable fact that the missing ingredient is the political will to get serious about tackling poverty worldwide. The UK's twin presidencies of the G8 and the European Union in 2005 are an opportunity for that country to take the lead in generating the necessary political will around the globe. Prime Minister Blair and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have already given the fight against unacceptable poverty higher priority on the international agenda, and this report calls on them to raise their efforts further to make a real difference globally.

"We know what has to be done. The political consensus agreed at the Financing for Development conference in Monterreyin 2002 provides the road map. The clear objectives are the millennium development goals (MDGs), notably the halving of global poverty by 2015. To achieve these objectives, we need fairer trade rules, more generous and more effective aid, greater debt relief and a stronger commitment to tackle the scourge of HIV/AIDS. The campaign this report is launching should mark the beginning of a new era for development.

"We all need to work together to ensure that 2005 will be remembered as the year that changed the world - the year in which the lives of the millions living in poverty were transformed. The Commonwealth welcomes the report and will do all it can to support the United Kingdom and others seeking to take the fight against poverty to a new level."

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