Over one billion persons live in precarious conditions, Annan
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said some 1.2 billion persons, i.e. 1/5 of the world population, are living in unthinkable conditions of suffering and poverty.
This came in a message to the conference of Arab and African finance ministers, held in Marrakesh May 21-23, to prepare for the World Child Summit, due next September 19-21 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
The message that was read out on his behalf by UNICEF Director General, Ms Carol Bellamy, pointed out that 600 million children are among the persons living in precarious conditions.
The UN secretary general deplored the fact that over the few past years, the GDP percentage earmarked by industrialized countries to assistance to development of least developed countries has shrank considerably and that the impact has been mostly felt by children, plunging them deeper in poverty.
For the UN chief, no effort to alleviate poverty is successful unless it targets the well-being of children and the protection of their rights.
He stated further that the world child summit will give governments, the private sector and the whole international community a unique opportunity to reconsider the national and international budget priorities in favor of children's well-being, insisting on the role of education, mainly that of girls, in reducing poverty.
The conference of Arab and African finance ministers opened proceedings here Monday under the chairmanship of King Mohammed VI and in the presence of several African heads of state.
