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Eradicating poverty: moving forward as one.

Article Excerpt
The crisis of global poverty has, at long last, been accorded a high priority on the international agenda. Yet as renewed pledges for action pour in from governments, a feeling of rudderlessness looms.

The mechanisms of poverty eradication have long been defined in primarily material terms. Indeed, the central pillar of the international community's poverty alleviation efforts has been the transfer of financial resources. Approximately $2.3 trillion has been spent on foreign aid over the last 50 years. Tragically, far from ushering in greater self-sufficiency, such aid has often had a detrimental effect, leading to increased dependency on foreign assistance, subservience to externally dictated priorities, misappropriation of funds, and decreased pressure for reform.

It is now increasingly acknowledged that such conditions as the marginalization of girls and women, poor governance, ethnic and religious antipathy, environmental degradation, and unemployment constitute formidable obstacles to the progress and development of communities. These evidence a deeper crisis--one rooted in the values and attitudes that shape relationships at all levels of society.

Viewed from this perspective, poverty can be described as the absence of those ethical, social and material resources needed to develop the moral, intellectual and social capacities of individuals, communities and institutions.

Much like the physical...

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