Africa: UN Experts Urge Creation of New Fund to Lift World's Vulnerable From Poverty

18 November 2012

A new global initiative ensuring the social protection of the world's poorest people is a growing necessity, two United Nations independent experts said today, noting that without such a programme, chronic unemployment, food insecurity, and natural disasters would pose continuous impediments to those seeking to emerge from poverty.

In a joint news release, Magdalena Sepúlveda and Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteurs on extreme poverty and the right to food, respectively, urged the creation of a Global Fund for Social Protection, stating that 2 per cent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) would be enough to provide all the world's poor with basic social protection from the effects of unemployment, illness, disability, crop failure and soaring food costs.

...

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.