UNGA 74: Eradication of Poverty

74^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Second Committee
Agenda Item 22. Eradication of Poverty

Joint statement by FAO and IFAD
Carla Mucavi, Director, FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York

 

The 2030 Agenda set ambitious development targets for countries and the global community. The world has indeed made remarkable progress in poverty and hunger reduction over the last few decades. However, too many people are still being left behind. Globally, 736 million people live in extreme poverty, 10% of the global population, and 820 million people in the world are still hungry, underscoring the immense challenge of achieving SDG 1 and SDG2 on Zero Hunger by 2030.

Eighty per cent of the poorest people in the world live in the rural areas of developing countries. But the deprivations experienced in extreme poverty go beyond income: extreme poverty is multidimensional and is revealed through social marginalization and exclusion, hunger and different manifestations of malnutrition, poor living conditions and a lack of access to essential health services and basic infrastructure, and resources and employment opportunities. All of which are visible in rural areas in some of the more remote regions of the world.  

If we are to leave no one behind, then empowering rural people is an essential first step to eradicating poverty. It is vital if we aim at fostering sustainable, inclusive and productive development. Poverty and increasing or persisting inequalities in access to resources and human capital slow down economic progress, and prevent more rapid recovery after economic downturns. At the same time, hunger and malnutrition affect the future of young generations, causing learning difficulties, poor health, and lower productivity and earnings over a lifetime.

In this regard, FAO and IFAD invite you to discuss how to ‘Renew efforts to address rural poverty to meet SDG1 by 2030 on October 31in Conference Room 8 from 1.15 to 2.30pm. The objective of the event will help to raise awareness and increase knowledge on the importance of addressing poverty and hunger in rural areas at local, national, regional and international levels. Additionally, the co-organizers, will present the global situation on rural poverty and share examples on how the UN system is working together to ensure that rural communities are able to overcome multidimensional poverty.

FAO recently launched a framework for action on eradicating rural extreme poverty and IFAD's 2019 Rural Development Report provides the kind of analysis that can inform policies, programmes and investments to promote a rural transformation that includes youth. Both FAO and IFAD are actively working towards integrating actions to eradicate rural extreme poverty into agricultural and food systems investment plans and climate action. It is urgent for the global community to strengthen its political engagement and practical actions to meet the 2030 Agenda commitments over the next decade. The event seeks to critically contribute to ongoing discussions of this agenda by Member Countries and the UN System.

Thank you for your attention.