Asia: 17 million new poor due to the global crisis
Manila (AsiaNews) - In 2009 over 17 million new poor were created in Asia because of global crisis. This is the conclusion of a report into the economic health of Asia by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the UN. The document entitled “Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in an Era of Global Uncertainty” was presented yesterday in Manila. The ADB and UN report is calling on governments to implement effective social measures and stimulus for the economy to solve the problem and announce a further 4 million new poor in 2010.
Noeleen Heyzer, UN under-secretary, said: "People working in the areas of exports and tourism are the most affected by the phenomenon, which continue to lose jobs. The collapse of foreign investment involves mainly migrants, resulting in a significant decrease in remittances that support the growth of many Asian countries". Among the workers women are mainly suffering poverty. They represent most of the seasonal workforce, the first to go in a crisis.
"Governments have focused too much on economic growth - says Akay Chibber, head of the UN Development Program for Asia - and have not faced the problem of how growth was distributed among the people and which sectors of society need to still be developed".
The Asian countries spend only 2-3% of their budgets in social reforms and aid programs to the population. To get results, the percentage should be around 6%. The economic measures designed to combat the crisis are also contributing to poverty. These are only focused on maintaining economic growth and bear down on the wages of workers. According to the document the anti-crisis fiscal stimulus should have instead a component of social spending in order to allow both the maintenance of standards of economic growth as well as the progress of the population.
"Asian governments must devote more money to the poor in order to support families through training, more job opportunities and better living conditions," said Mgr. Broderck S. Pabillo auxiliary bishop of Manila and head of social services to the Filipino bishops' conference. "One of the ways to reduce the social inequality - he adds – is a fair distribution of resources so as to have less poverty in the long-term." For the prelate the population needs more investment in education, healthcare and basic necessities, as the only way to ensure a real economic and social development.
With 10 million migrant workers and a poverty rate of nearly 30% of the Philippines is one of the countries most affected by the crisis. To counter the collapse the government reduced interest rates and multiplied public works to create jobs. According to the ADB in the second quarter of 2009 employment in the Philippines fell by 7%. In October 2009 it registered 2.7 million unemployed. These are 191 thousand more than 2.5 million jobless in October 2008. This figure also weighed down by the damage of typhoons Ketsana and Parma, that between September and October brought the capital to its knees, where the vast majority of industry is established.
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