INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR ERADICATION OF POVERTY, 17 OCTOBER 2001

                                                                                                                  Note No. 5684

                                                            16 October 2001

Note to Correspondents

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR ERADICATION OF POVERTY, 17 OCTOBER 2001

Special Events at United Nations Headquarters

A number of special events to observe the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday, 17 October 2001.

An observance to commemorate International Day for the Eradication of Poverty will be held in the United Nations Garden at the commemorative stone engraved in honour of those fighting hunger, ignorance and violence.  During the observance, which will take place from 12 noon to 1 p.m., a message from Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be read out by Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.  A testimony from families living in poverty will also be presented, and a quilt made by children will be presented and offered to the Tapori Movement, which is the children’s branch of ATD Fourth World.  The event is being jointly organized by ATD Fourth World and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of France and Burkina Faso.  (Members of the media are invited to attend.)

The topic of cooperatives has been chosen for a briefing for journalists to take place at 11 a.m. in room S-226.  The objective is to highlight the important role cooperatives are playing in achieving the millennium goals of full and productive employment, eradicating poverty, enhancing social integration and promoting the advancement of women.  The briefing will be given by Donald Lee, Chief of the Poverty and Employment Unit, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.  Also at the briefing will beNamarati Bali, Secretary, Self-Employed Women’s Association of India, and Christopher Johnston, Manager of Research and Business Development, International Development Canadian Cooperative Association.

A panel discussionon the topic of the role of cooperatives in poverty reduction will take place in Conference Room 8 from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m.  Panellists will include Ms. Bali; Mr. Johnston; Mwelukilwa Sizya, Director of Research and Consultancy, Cooperative College, Moshi, United Republic of Tanzania; and Lucy Izumi Ito, Vice-President, World Council of Credit Unions.  José Roberto Andino Salazar, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations, will chair the discussion.  John Langmore, Director, United Nations Division for Social Policy and Development, is expected to address the meeting.  (Members of the media are invited to attend.)

Background Note

Cooperatives provide effective solutions to many problems facing poor people around the world.   Cooperatives successfully work within different cultures, and have become a powerful voice for the poor by building upon traditions of mutual aid and social cohesion.  As social institutions, cooperatives empower, uplift and give voice to the poor.  They provide much-needed services to the growing numbers of the poor in urban and rural areas.

In a report by the Secretary-General to be presented to the current session of the General Assembly (document A/56/73-E/2001/68), governments report their continuing support for the development of cooperatives and their recognition, in particular, of the potential and contribution of the cooperative movement for the attainment of social development goals. 

As stated by the Secretary-General, in his message on the International Day of Cooperatives on 7 July 2001, “ Cooperatives are at work in almost every country and economic sector.  More than 760 million people around the world are engaged in the cooperative movement.  Whether a rural development cooperative in Benin, which ploughs back profits into building reservoirs and upgrading roads, or a savings and credit cooperative in Sri Lanka, providing insurance and postal services to its members, a cooperative can play a significant role in fulfilling development objectives.”

According to information provided by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, improvements to the livelihoods of poor farmers and their families in Central America and the Dominican Republic have been brought about by cooperatives through increased productivity, prices and wages.  Cooperatives have also improved outreach of credit unions in Ghana, and the development of networks of village banks in Uganda and Zimbabwe.  Dairy cooperatives in India have succeeded in improving the social and economic condition of hundreds of thousands of landless agricultural labourers by turning them to dairy farming. 

Microcredit projects target poor rural ethnic-minority women in China, and new model cooperatives are being replicated in Viet Nam.  Cooperatives are also successfully involved in issues related to food security in northern Ghana, HIV/AIDS in South Africa, child care in Costa Rica, health care in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and the Philippines, post-earthquake relief and reconstruction in El Salvador and housing in Zambia and Zimbabwe.   Other well-known examples of successful cooperatives include the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India.

Note:  Journalists without United Nations credentials should fax a letter of assignment to (212) 963-4642, with a follow-up call to the United Nations Media Accreditation Unit at (212) 963-7164.  For United Nations TV coverage, call

(212) 963-7650.

For further information, contact Elisabeth Ruzicka-Dempsey, Public Affairs Division, Department of Public Information, telephone: (212) 963-1742,

fax: (212) 963-1186, e-mail: ruzicka-dempsey@un.org.

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