NZ Must Play Role in Eradicating Poverty in the Pacific

As New Zealand joins world leaders at the United Nations Millennium Development Goals summit in New York September 20-22, Oxfam urges the Government to honour its promise to help lift half the world’s poorest people out of poverty by 2015, starting right here in its backyard; the Pacific.

The Pacific is falling behind in the global fight against poverty. The region ranks with sub-Saharan Africa as the two regions in the world making the least progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“It is often said there is no poverty in the Pacific, since there is enough food for all, but poverty is not just about having enough to eat,” says Oxfam New Zealand’s Executive Director Barry Coates. “It is also about basic rights for all, opportunities for all and the prevention of unnecessary deaths. There is poverty in the Pacific. It is wasting opportunities, wasting lives and killing people.”

In September 2000, New Zealand, along with 190 other countries, agreed on eight measureable goals to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. The goals are to: halve world hunger; ensure universal primary school education; reduce the number of children who die before their fifth birthday; reduce the number of mothers dying during childbirth; combat HIV and AIDS and other diseases, and promote gender equality, environmental sustainability and global partnership.

While some Pacific countries (mainly the Polynesian nations) have achieved, or are on track to achieving the MDGs, the countries that comprise most of the Pacific’s population are falling further behind.

Education is crucial for development. Yet over one million children of school age are out of school in the Pacific. Another generation of Pacific children are about to be failed by their education systems. In Papua New Guinea (PNG) only 45 per cent of children complete primary school, and 59 per cent in Vanuatu.

In PNG, 3.9 million people – almost the population on New Zealand – lack access to safe, clean water. Drinking dirty water is a major source of sickness and infant deaths. In PNG, 75 out of every 1000 children born die before their fifth brithday; in New Zealand, it is 6 children per 1000. If PNG had met the MDG target of reducing child mortality to 30 per 1000 live births, approximately 6975 fewer children would die each year.

In Samoa, Vanuatu and PNG, rapid population growth has led to 40 per cent of the population being aged under 15. There is a severe lack of job opportunities for young people. In Samoa, 54 per cent of men and 64 per cent of women aged 15-24 are officially unemployed. In the Solomon Islands, 61 per cent of 14-29 year olds are unemployed.

The Pacific is vulnerable to external shocks. It is estimated that around an extra 5 per cent of the Pacific population will have fallen into poverty in the last two years due to the global financial crisis and the rise in food prices.

“Global economic turmoil is no excuse for country leaders to turn their backs on their promises to the world’s vulnerable and marginalised people,” says Coates.

“The Pacific’s cultural diversity, rich resources and the resilience of its people are huge assets. However, pride in the Pacific’s uniqueness often makes it difficult to accept that there is poverty. But the term ‘hardship does not do justice to the wasted opportunities for young people, the suffering people bear and thousands of preventable deaths. Accepting the fact that there is poverty in the Pacific is an important step towards tackling it.”

“Pacific countries that have so much to offer the world should not be willing to accept the continued existence of poverty within their societies.”

“There are only five years remaining for countries to meet the MDGs. The forthcoming UN summit September 20-22 should be a wake up call for the Pacific and its supporters.”

Oxfam is calling for actions to speak louder than words when world leaders meet in New York next week.

Pacific governments must prioritise strengthening their economies through sustainable resource management and improved access to markets; improving government accountability and wider participation from civil society, women and young people; and improving the delivery of essential services for all, including affordable education, health care, safe water and sanitation.

The New Zealand Government and people of New Zealand have an important role to play. In order to be good neighbours New Zealand must honour its pledge to give 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income by 2015 in overseas development aid. New Zealand gives less than half of that (around 0.3 per cent GNI), and is well off-track and needs to do far better.

New Zealand should stop destroying the Pacific islands, their land and their people through our contribution to climate change. New Zealand is one of the highest emitters of greenhouse gases per person in the world, but is refusing to go to UN negotiations with the emissions reductions and climate finance proposals that will contribute to a fair, ambitious and binding global deal.

“Globally, the MDGs are a way to make us realize that we live in a world where too many lives are wasted, where too many people suffer and die, even though we collectively have the resources and the solutions to prevent this,” says Coates. “There are five years to go until the MDG targets are due to be met. It is not too late for all countries of the Pacific to meet these goals.”

Please visit www.oxfam.org.nz/mdg for more information.

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