[Malawi] Poverty alleviation UN’s greatest challenge—Bingu

from The Nation Malawi

by Gospel Mwalwanda, New York, USA,
President Bingu wa Mutharika on Thursday told the United Nations that eradicating poverty remains the greatest challenge facing the world organisation.

Mutharika, delivering Malawi’s statement at the 61st session of the UN General Assembly, said global peace, security and stability cannot be assured if the greater section of humanity lives in abject poverty.

“I believe that in the search for global partnership for development, the greatest challenge the United Nations faces is to eradicate poverty that engulfs the majority of humanity,” he said.

He made a passionate plea to “those who have plenty, to share with others.”
The theme for this year’s session is “implementing a global partnership for development.

Mutharika said meeting the millennium’s challenges such as eradicating poverty and injustice, and the promotion of democracy, peace and security in the member nations were ingredients for sustainable economic and social development.

Mutharika said his government had given highest priority to agriculture and food security because the sector was the mainstay of the country’s economy, and was vital to make Malawi a hunger-free nation.

He said Malawi needed international partnership in irrigation and water development to reduce the country’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture, and produce enough food when rains fail.

He added the country considered transport and communications infrastructure to be essential for growth and development and a good “candidate for international partnership.

Mutharika’s speech also touched on the 238 km Shire and Zambezi waterway which he intends to develop from the inland port of Nsanje, to that of Chinde in Mozambique.
He said Malawi also needed donor support to develop its energy sector, and to promote integrated rural development since the greater percentage of the country’s population lives in rural areas.

“We believe that when fully implemented, these sectors will, together, pull our people out of poverty,” he said.

On HIV and Aids, Mutharika said on its own, the country cannot successfully wage the battle against the pandemic.

Malawi is one of the countries reeling form Aids which has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the first case in the country was identified in 1985. An estimated one million people in Malawi are living with the virus that causes Aids.

On the country’s completion point of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (Hipc) initiative, he thanked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Band for cancelling Malawi’s K400 billion multilateral debts.