Poverty Can Be Eradicated - EFB

from All Africa

The Voice (Francistown)

NEWS

The Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana (EFB) has called on Batswana to familiarize themselves and utilize platforms geared towards poverty eradication and improving the standard of living.

In commemorating the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on Wednesday, October 17, EFB secretary general, Pastor Owen Isaacs, explained that his organisation would participate in the Global Call to Action Against Poverty's initiative: "Stand Up And Speak". He said the initiative involved people all over the world standing up to remind their Governments of the commitments they undertook in the 2000 Millennium Declaration to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015.

And in observing this day, Isaacs pointed out that while poverty is still a major concern, "the EFB acknowledges all the progress that our government has made to date towards achieving the goals. The EFB would like to request the government to continue to partner with the civil society and to re-double efforts towards achieving more that the standard set by the 2000 Millennium Declaration."

With this in mind, the EFB further called on Batswana to familiarize themselves with the Millennium Development Goals and to participate in the efforts to achieving them as well as our nation's Vision 2016. "If Batswana participate in these efforts they would be better placed to make government to account. The EFB is confident that poverty can be eradicated in this nation. May the Good Lord bless all of us during this day."

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed every year since 1993, when the General Assembly, by resolution 47/196, designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries, particularly in developing countries - a need that has become a development priority.

At the Millennium Summit, world leaders committed themselves to cutting by half by the year 2015 the number of people living in extreme poverty - people whose income is less than one dollar a day.

The theme for this year's International Day for the Eradication of Poverty; "Working together out of poverty", highlighted the need for a truly global anti-poverty alliance, one in which both developed and developing countries participate actively.