Latin American, Caribbean nations post poverty reduction for 3rd yr

from Yahoo via Kyodo News

Poverty and indigence shrank in Latin American and the Caribbean nations in 2005 for the third consecutive year and the downward trend remains in 2006, according to an Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean report released in Chile on Monday.

The Social Panorama of Latin America 2006 report indicates that 209 million people, or 39.8 percent of the region's population, were poor in 2005, while 81 million people, or 15.4 percent, were extremely poor or indigent.

The latest statistics have shown a drop of more than 4 percentage points, compared with 2002, when the poverty level represented 44 percent and indigence 19.4 percent among locals, according to the report.

The downward trend will remain in 2006, the report said, with 4 million people estimated to leave poverty and 2 million no longer estimated to stand as indigent.

"In the last four years (2003-2006), Latin America has turned in its best performance in 25 years in economic and social terms," said ECLAC's report.

The positive trend in the region is a consequence of "falling unemployment, improving income distribution in several countries and a strong upswing in number of jobs," according to the commission.

The most significant improvement in poverty reduction has been reported in Argentina, where it dropped to 26 percent in the 2003-2005 period, from 45.4 percent in 2000-2002, followed by Venezuela where it shrank to 37.1 percent from 48.6 percent.

The report warns that despite the progress in the region, "poverty levels remain high and the region still faces a great task."

"ECLAC concludes that the upturn in employment and, partially, in wages over the last two years has not been accompanied by significant changes in the quality of new jobs," the report said.

The report warns local governments that "the current levels of coverage of employment-based social security systems cannot sustain progress toward universal pension and retirement regimes in which minimum benefits can be financed over the long-term."

Another major source of concern for the local populations is the quality of life of indigenous groups. "The persistent inequality that affects them is a great challenge to 21st-century democracies in terms of state reforms and policies," said the report.

The social and economic progress has led the commission to conclude that the region has progressed toward the first target of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by the year 2015.

"The projected decrease in extreme poverty for 2006 represents a 69 percent advance toward meeting the goals. In this respect, the region is well positioned in its commitment to reduce extreme poverty by half by the year 2015," the report said.