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Full text of the Video Message of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan to the 23rd Session of IFAD's Governing Council (16-17 February 2000)
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to convey my best wishes to you as you open your first Governing Council of the twenty-first century. As the century opens, almost half the world’s population is forced to live on two dollars or less a day. More than a fifth live in abject poverty. Two billion people have no electricity and 1.5 billion no access to safe drinking water.
Never has the mission of IFAD been more important: to empower the poorest populations in the rural areas of developing countries; to help them increase their productivity and income; to improve their nutrition level. In short, to help them survive and even make a decent living.
The strength of IFAD’s work is that it builds on local innovations that come from within rural communities. You have shown that such ideas can form the basis for simple, effective and durable solutions to local problems. Your experience is unique. Building on this is crucial if we are to stand a chance of reversing the plight of the poor.
But even the most innovative approaches to poverty alleviation are bogged down by the continuing burden of debt. IFAD contributes significantly to the Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative. To be able to carry out its mission effectively, it is essential that Member States do all they can to make IFAD’s financial position as strong as possible.
I ask this for the sake of the poorest: for the small farmers, the rural landless, the fisherfolk and the nomads with a few sheep or cattle. For the indigenous people and, across all groups, for the poor rural women. On behalf of the United Nations, I wish you a most productive Session.
The video message of the Secretary-General of the United Nations is available in Windows Media Player format. If you do not already haveWindows Media Player, you can download it from the link below.
