Rich agree on moral responsibility in reducing poverty

Dubai: Most taxpayers in developed countries are willing to personally contribute to halve hunger and poverty by 2015 on the condition that it is a collective measure, a global poll has showed.

The poll, conducted by the global polling and research centre of WorldPublicOpinion.org and released on the eve of World Food Day yesterday, also concluded that most people agree that developed countries "have a moral responsibility" to cut poverty and hunger in poor areas.

Cutting hunger and severe poverty in half by 2015 was one of the eight main Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations (UN) set in 2000. The World Bank has estimated that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members will have to together increase their aid by $39 billion (Dh143.3 billion) per year to fulfil that goal.

Rising costs

However, rising energy costs and the price of food earlier this year, as well as the recent financial crisis, is expected to increase malnutrition around the world and push millions towards hunger and poverty.

According to estimates, 970 million people are expected to go hungry in the coming year, up from about 920 million last year.

The poll covered 20 nations, including some of the largest like China, India, the United States, as well as members of OECD such as France, Italy, Great Britain and South Korea. It also surveyed public opinion in developing countries like Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Turkey and the occupied Palestinian territories.

"Respondents were presented a necessary annual per person contribution towards meeting this goal, adjusted for national income, ranging from $10 (Dh37) for Turks to $56 (Dh205.7) for Americans," said a press statement, a copy of which was sent to Gulf News.

"In every case, and in most cases by a large margin, majority of respondents say they are willing to personally pay the amount necessary to meet the goal, provided people in other countries did so as well," it added.

However, Russians were the only people to give a "modest majority" of 54 per cent.

Clay Ramsay, research director of Programme of International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, said this was because Russia had not been an aid-giving country since the fall of the Soviet Union.

"Only now are there plans and studies within the Russian government about joining the donor countries sometime in the future," Ramsay told Gulf News.

"Despite great economic improvements in recent years, Russia is still scarred by the crises of the 1990s and there is serious poverty, inequality and uneven development at home," Ramsay added.

Also, majority in all nations surveyed gave positive answers when asked whether developed countries have a "moral responsibility" to work to reduce hunger and severe poverty in poor countries.