11:15 AM |
(Embedded image moved to file: pic08514.jpg)
Press Release
Economic Tsunami Looms for the Pacific
[Suva – November 12] The Pacific is faced with an economic tsunami in the
form of the global economic and financial crisis. More households will
find themselves sliding into poverty, while others will find it
increasingly hard to make ends meet. The urban poor, small scale and
subsistence farmers, low skilled workers, internal-migrants and immigrants
will find themselves facing more hardship as a result of the crisis.
If no appropriate action is taken, the lives of many Pacific peoples,
especially women and children, stand to be shattered. This could lead to a
regression in development gains made towards achieving the Millennium
Development Goals.
The World Bank describes the current global economic and financial crisis
as a development emergency.
It is for these reasons that the Government of Vanuatu, together with the
United Nations and other development partners, will convene a conference on
the human face of the global economic crisis and its impact on the Pacific.
"The impact of the current crisis will depend on a variety of factors and
will vary between different countries. Nevertheless, children and women in
Pacific Island countries are likely to be amongst the most severely
affected, and those already most vulnerable will face the greatest
impacts," said Knut Ostby, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations and
Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Fiji
Multi-Country Office.
The full impact of the global economic crisis has not yet been felt in the
Pacific. This gives a small window of opportunity to Pacific Island
governments to put together more thoughtful and effective policies that not
only buffer the effects of the current crisis but also build resilience for
future crises.
The conference will look at three major ways of building reinforcement to
counter the impact of this economic tsunami. The first is to address the
vulnerabilities faced by women and children. The second is to find ways to
enable Pacific governments to respond in creative and sustainable ways to
the crisis. This includes promoting green growth and social safety nets.
The final reinforcement is to build the region's resilience in addressing
future crises.
A report produced by UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UNDP Pacific Centre,
"Protecting Pacific Island Children and Women During Economic and Food
Crises: Working Edition one for Advocacy, Debate and Guidance" urges
Pacific governments to use the crisis as an opportunity to start a new
development paradigm.
"Pacific Island governments can use this crisis to jump start a new
development paradigm, one in which social expenditure on children and women
is at the heart of a more inclusive and sustainable pattern of economic
growth in the region," states the report.
The report discusses a set of new policy options to protect women, children
and other members of society from being washed away in this economic
tsunami.
[Ends]
Background Information:
The Pacific conference on "The Human Face of the Global Economic Crisis"
will be held in Port Vila, Vanuatu from February 10-12, 2010. More than 200
people including government ministers, parliamentarians, development
partners, UN agencies, youth and women's groups and civil society
organizations are expected to attend. The conference is organized by the
Government of Vanuatu with support from the United Nations, Asian
Development Bank, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Secretariat of the
Pacific Community and the University of the South Pacific.
The report "Protecting Pacific Island children and women during economic
and food crises: Working Edition one for Advocacy, Debate and Guidance" can
be accessed from
http://www.undppc.org.fj/pages.cfm/publications/mdg-achievement-poverty-reduction-reports/
For more information, please contact:
Jean Sese, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs on (678) 27045 or
jsese@vanuatu.gov.vu or
Donna Hoerder, Communications Specialist on (679) 3300439 or
dhoerder@unicef.org ; or
Shobhna Decloitre, Communications Associate on (679) 3300399 or
shobhna.decloitre@undp.org
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
----------------------------------------
pacific islands media association
pima.nius@gmail.com
aotearoa, new zealand
----------------------------------------
The pima.nius googlegroup is a facility for discussion and distributing information. Content sent by this googlegroup are forwarded from various networks and media publications.
DISCLAIMER: These emails are unedited and discussions made through this googlegroup are unmoderated. Announcements made through this googlegroup do not constitute endorsement for the organisations, individuals or opinions featured. Please check the integrity of organisations and individuals before exchanging personal information with them.
- - - - - - - - -
comment here:
http://groups.google.com/group/pima-nius/topics?hl=en
send an email comment here:
pima-nius@googlegroups.com
unsubscribe:
pima-nius+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
more options
http://groups.google.com/group/pima-nius?hl=en?hl=en
- - - - - - - - -
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
0 comments:
Post a Comment