Efforts to Fight Poverty

This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Development
Report.

The World Bank estimates that more than one thousand million
people live on less than one dollar a day. These are the poorest of
the poor, about one-sixth of the world population.

Martin Ravallion works for the Development Research Group at the
World Bank. He says about fifty percent of the people in several
African nations are among the world's poorest. These nations include
Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia.

But even though these areas remain extremely poor, Mister
Ravallion says world poverty has been cut in half over the last
twenty years. He says the number of poor people dropped by almost
four hundred million between nineteen eighty-one and two thousand
one.

To reduce poverty, the World Bank says developing nations should
expand the possibilities for business and investment. The bank's
newest World Development Report notes that private industry creates
more than ninety percent of jobs in developing countries.

The report for two thousand five is based on questions asked of
more than thirty thousand businesses in fifty-three developing
countries. World Bank researchers found that companies are most
concerned about how governments decide to enforce laws. About ninety
percent of those in Guatemala reported policy conflicts with their
government. This was true of more than seventy percent of businesses
in Belarus and Zambia.

Many companies also express concerns about problems like
dishonesty and undependable electricity supplies.

Last week, about fifty heads of state discussed ways to reduce
poverty during a one-day conference in New York. The leaders and top
officials met before the opening of the United Nations General
Assembly meeting.

French President Jacques Chirac
and Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva called for a world
tax to help finance an anti-poverty campaign. Diplomats say
international finances, airplane tickets and sales of heavy weapons
are just some of the things that could be taxed.

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and another official
represented the United States at the conference. She said taxes on
world trade would be undemocratic and impossible to put in place.

The U.N. has a goal to reduce by half the remaining number of
poor people in the world by two thousand fifteen.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill
Moss. This is Gwen Outen.