7 years into the MDGs, dreadful poverty persists in Asia

NGOs bare the real score on achieving the MDGs in the region

As the world marks the mid-term review of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) July 7, anti-poverty NGOs in Asia have launched events and mobilizations aimed at exposing the dreadful poverty and inequality that persists in the region despite the rapid economic growth and progress within the booming economies in Asia.

Highlighting the failure of Asian governments to make sufficient progress in reducing extreme poverty, members of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) in South East North Central Asia (SENCA) mobilised people in Indonesia, Philippines, China, and Singapore and launched their own progress reports on the status of achieving the MDGs in Asia.

Noting that economic growth in countries like China and India has lifted millions out of poverty in recent decades, GCAP SENCA Convener Maria Victoria R. Raquiza asserted that Asia is still home to two-thirds of the world's poor and that if nothing is done to change this, more than one billion people will be living in desperate poverty in Asia by 2015, the target date for achieving the MDGs. The group called for addressing the dramatic wealth gaps across the region.

“July 7, 2007 is an important date because it marks the marks the halfway point since the historic Millennium Summit. We are concerned that tens of millions of Asians remain mired in dreadful poverty and that many Asian countries are not on track in achieving the MDGs.  Asian governments and donor nations have to act now to correct this situation,” said Raquiza.   

Heads of states from all over the world signed on September 2000 the MDGs, a set of measurable objectives that include halving poverty and hunger, reducing infant and maternal mortality, fighting AIDS and malaria, and ensuring that all children can complete primary education by 2015.

40 countries mark 7/7/7
The GCAP coalition marked July 7 across the globe with various events in 40 countries.  In Asia, 7/7/7 activities included the launching of a GCAP Indonesia report on MDGs during a public dialogue attended by government ministers. Mobilizations were held in Jakarta, Semarang (Central Java), Yogyakarta, Makasar (South Sulawesi), Bali, and Samarinda (East Kalimantan).

“More money is spent by Indonesia servicing its external debt than on basic social services like health, education, housing, public safety, and the environment,” said GCAP Indonesia Coordinator Nur Amalia.  “This is what is preventing our government from reducing poverty.”

Indonesia’s external debt is approximately 1.3 trillion rupiah (US$143 billion).  Some 70 trillion rupiah is spent servicing this debt every year.

Amalia adds that 52% of Indonesian poor have no access to safe water and 44% are without proper sanitation.  Maternal mortality rates are among the highest in Southeast Asia at 307 per 100,000 live births and the HIV/AIDS epidemic is accelerating in key points across the country. 

In Beijing, GCAP China has launched a MDG Shadow Report, a first of its kind in China, to highlight the growing inequality within the country despite China’s rapid economic growth.

“There are a lot of significant challenges for China and among them are ensuring environmental sustainability in the face of a rapid economic boom and halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. Also, millions of our rural population still have no access to safe drinking water,” says Yang Yang, GCAP China Coordinator.

More than a hundred members of people’s organizations and non-governmental organizations under GCAP Philippines have held a picket at the National Housing Authority to denounce the demolition of urban poor settlements in Quezon City.

“We want to show the real situation of the urban poor.  The Philippine government does not think twice about destroying houses of the poor and throwing them to remote dumps called relocation sites. This particular demolition in Quezon City is ironic because Quezon City was declared by the United Nations as a MDG Resource City, which means it will implement programs that will push for achieving the MDGs,” says Lui Rogado, GCAP Philippines Mobilisation Officer.

GCAP and Social Watch Philippines are set to release a MDG mid-way report next month.

In Singapore, local celebrities have taken to the streets to raise awareness on the MDGs and the need to devote more resources to meet the goals.  Actors Lim Yu Beng, Koh Chieng Mun, Kumar, and popular DJ and media host Daniel Ong approached pedestrians in the crowded Orchard Road shopping district to survey attitudes and test people’s knowledge of global poverty.  They asked people questions like "Do you know someone who is poor? Did you know that every three seconds a child dies from extreme poverty? Did you know that there's a global plan to end poverty within one generation?"  Productions crews donated their time and equipment to record the interviews.

"We want people to realize that there are poor in their midst," says Michael Switow, a spokesperson for ONE (SINGAPORE), the group that organised the celebrity walkabout.  "Our generation can make poverty history but donor and recipient nations have to step up their efforts to meet the MDG targets."

In addition to the walkabout, ONE (SINGAPORE)'s campaign is being featured in Singapore's Chinese, English and Malay-language media.

Hottokenai (GCAP Japan) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched “Keep our Promise to End Poverty.” The group also collaborated with clothes manufacturer Gas to produce 8 MDG t-shirts and icons, all created by a popular Japanese designer.

Hottokenai’s 7/7/7 campaign coincides with Japan’s Tanabata (Star) Festival, during which people attach slips of coloured paper with wishes written on them to branches of bamboo. In response to Hottokenai’s call, hundreds of wishes to end poverty are now hanging from the trees.

ABOUT GCAP
The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is a global alliance of trade unions, community groups, faith groups, and campaigners working together across more than 100 countries. GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality.

CONTACT:

Lani C. Villanueva
Communication Officer, GCAP SENCA
Telefax : + 63 (2) 9208949  /  63 (2) 436 6054
Email:  villanueva.lani@gmail.com

May-i Fabros
Media Officer, GCAP Philippines
Telefax : + 63 (2) 9208949  /  63 (2) 436 6054
Email: may-i_fabros@yahoo.com.ph
www.endpovertynow.org.ph

Kaori Kuroda
Hottokenai sekai no mazushisa
GCAP Japan
kaori@csonh.org

Yang Yang
Coordinator, GCAP China
Tel. 0086 10 655 28329 / 655 21869
Fax 0086 10 655 28327
yang.yang@actionaid.org
www.gcap-china.ngo.cn

Michael Switow
President, ONE Singapore
switow@gmail.com