Addressing an audience at the Initiatives of Change Centre in London, Dr Mukarji, Director of the aid agency Christian Aid, vented his exasperation at the slow pace and lack of commitment by world leaders toward tackling global poverty.
'Poverty is a scandal,' declared Dr Daleep Mukarji speaking on the eve of the summit of world leaders at the United Nations. Speaking on13 September 2005, Dr Mukarji vented his exasperation at the slow pace and lack of commitment by world leaders toward tackling global poverty. Political leaders gathered at the UN have, however, renewed their commitment to the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, which include halving the number of people living in absolute poverty by 2015. Dr Mukarji paid tribute to the role of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and the UK International Development Secretary Hilary Benn in putting poverty reduction on the world’s agenda at the Gleneagles summit of G8 leaders last July.
'Look at the facts,' Dr Mukarji said. 'Every three seconds, poverty takes a child’s life. Every day 600 people die of HIV/AIDS in South Africa and more than 13 million children have been orphaned by the disease. More than 1.3 billion people live on less than $1 (56 pence) a day. Over 125 million children will never be able to go to school. And over 800 million people will go to bed hungry tonight. These facts will not change themselves. To deny them is also a scandal.'
In an impassioned plea, Dr Mukarji said it was inconceivable that poverty existed in a world where some had so much. The world’s three richest people had more wealth than the whole of the population of Africa. 'Poverty will not be eradicated without an immediate and major increase in international aid,' he said. He was speaking on the theme of “The scandal of poverty—can we make poverty history?” reflecting the title of the Make Poverty History campaign of which Christian Aid is a leading partner. The UN Millennium Development Goals set in 2000 were wonderful, he said. 'I actually thought the world was going to get on and make a difference.' But this was not to be.
While many countries had signed up to the UN commitment to provide 0.7% of their gross domestic product on aid, European aid in 2002 was only 0.23%. But poverty was more than about numbers or facts and figures, Dr Mukarji continued. 'It’s about people. People like you and me who are made in God’s image … all having basic needs for water, shelter, health care, education and a decent life. These people want dignity. These basic human needs and human rights we take for granted, yet they are sadly denied to so many people.' It was for this reason, he said, that many people had joined forces to demonstrate in Edinburgh and at Gleneagles in Scotland. 'Many of us have come together in 2005 to Make Poverty History because we believe we can, and must, influence our government and international leaders to put into action a plan to deliver on agreed Millennium Development Goals. World poverty is sustained not by chance or nature, but by a combination of factors such as injustice in global trade, the huge burden of debt and insufficient and ineffective aid.' The issues of trade, debt and aid 'are all linked,' he said, 'and we must do something in these areas that will enable more resources and better economic practices to ensure that countries committed to poverty reduction strategies can tackle the AIDS crisis, get people into schools, and improve health facilities.'
The three main goals of the Make Poverty History coalition of some 500 organisations were trade justice, debt relief, and more and better aid. 'To end poverty and to protect the environment we need trade justice – not free trade. International trade rules rob poor countries of £1.3 billion a day – that’s 14 times what they get in aid. That’s a scandal! And although the UK government has been a leading promoter of "free trade", which means trade liberalisation, privatisation and deregulation, its rhetoric has shifted in the face of growing evidence about the social, economic and environmental costs of its policies. However, while the rhetoric has shifted, the practice remains substantially the same.'
'We want to stop forced liberalisation,' Dr Mukarji emphasised. 'The world’s poorest countries have often been required to open their markets to foreign exporters as a condition of receiving aid, loans or debt relief from donors such as the UK Government and institutions such as the Word Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Simply put, poor countries want trade, not just aid, to help them tackle poverty.'
On the issue of debt relief, the crisis was far from over, Dr Mukarji said. Even after existing debt relief commitments had been implemented, the 42 countries eligible under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative would still be left with multinational debts of £35 billion. “If poverty is to be eradicated, any resources for debt cancellation must be in addition to, and not drawn from, the funds required to meet existing targets for overseas aid. We need a fair and transparent international process to make sure that human needs take priority over debt repayments. In this, the poorest countries need to be given more grants, rather than seeing their debt burden piled even higher with yet more loans.'
Some progress in aid and debt relief had been achieved at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. There was little new on the trade justice front. Yet much more needed to be done and done soon to save lives and build a safer, more just world. 'Can we make poverty history? Yes. Will we make poverty history? That all depends on factors such as political commitments, pressure from less developed countries, and a change in the attitude of the United States,' concluded Dr Mukarji.
Asked whether aid was counter-productive, creating a dependency culture, he replied: 'Most aid agencies want to help people to help themselves. There is no attempt to dump aid on people or countries. Everyone is a human being, a child of God. It’s a scandal that people are dying when we can avoid it. But aid gives people a chance to get off the ground. It gives them a chance to invest in farming, in business and other things that will enable them to help themselves. It’s the Christian Aid motto of helping people to help themselves.'
His own faith had given him his passion for social justice and the sense of hope that this brings. 'We can change the world and that is what the faith communities must provide—a sense of inspiration, of hope, of vision, and direction. Many of the development workers I work with, and my own staff, want to change the world. People of faith have a vision for a better, safer world, the perspective and values of the Kingdom, and that gives me a sense of calling and a sense of hope.' But he also said that the scandal of injustice made him terribly angry that it was not possible to change things fast enough 'and that anger keeps my passion and faith going. I have seen so much in my lifetime change. My faith, and working with people who in really difficult circumstances see that they can change the world, gives me a sense of hope.'
Thanking the speaker, Mike Smith, Associated Editor of For A Change magazine, said, 'What I appreciate so much is Dr Mukarji’s passion. He deeply touches our conscience and our lives.' Initiatives of Change, Smith said, aimed 'to build relationships of integrity and trust across the world’s divides. This of course means encouraging the motivations of unselfishness and care which are so essential for social justice.'
Neil Mence
English