Tuesday, June 22, 2010

UN Identifies Strategies to Accelerate Development and Poverty Reduction

The United Nations say on the Millennium Development Goals, "development models that focus attention on the poor while expanding job opportunities, increased government spending on social services and aid flows from affluent nations are all successful strategies for alleviating global poverty."

A new report drawn from examples of 50 other countries reaching to complete the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, identifies important factors such as access to low carbon energy and mobilizing domestic capital by for one, improving tax collection, as crucial.

An example from Ethiopia and Kenya shows that when they abolished primary school fees there was a surge in the number of children enrolled in school. Likewise, in Afghanistan innovative health services have reduced morality rates among children under the age of five, according to the UNDP report

The UNDP report concludes that adequate expenditures by government have led to improvements in both education and health.

-Molly McNeill

SOURCE: UN News