[Asia] can eradicate poverty soon

from The New Nation

The Department for International Development (DFID), in collaboration with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, have announced details of a conference to be held on 6-7 March in London to focus attention on building new forms of partnership to eradicate poverty in Asia.

Asia has raised more people out of poverty than any other region at any time in history. Growth has been strong and though currently two out of three of the world's poorest people live in Asia, by 2015 this could fill to one in three if current trends continue. With continued efforts, it is possible to eradicate poverty in Asia in the next generation. Yet Asia still faces huge challenges in nutrition, health, education, social exclusion, water and sanitation and around 650 million people in Asia still live on less than $1 a day.

Asia 2015 : Promoting Growth, Ending Poverty will bring together high-level international figures, including ministers of finance and planning and senior officials from across Asia, as well as influential figures from civil society and the private sector, to discuss the changing face of development in Asia over the next decade. The aim of the two-day event is to agree how Asian countries, together with development agencies and the international community, will meet the remaining Millennium Development Goals.

Rapid growth in Asia has and will continue to have enormous impact on the global economy. Markets such as China and India are undergoing tremendous economic and social development. Trade within the continent is growing at nearly three times the global rate and Asia's share of world exports rose from 23% in 1985 to 38% in 2002.

Despite this recent economic growth in some countries, Asia still faces huge challenges and risks. This conference will raise the profile of both development challenges and opportunities and offers a platform for Asian countries to present and talk about their own experiences and perspectives.