STWR - Share The World's Resources

Upward trends in inequality and hunger call into question conventional approaches to poverty reduction. Rather than depending on deregulated markets to encourage growth, governments should take a central role in promoting sustainable economic development, argues a report by UNDESA.

Expert panellists and film director Philippe Diaz discuss the structural causes of poverty and suggest possible solutions at the UK premiere of ‘The End of Poverty?’ on 12th December 2009. The event was coordinated by STWR and the British Film Institute (BFI).

Poor countries across the globe are struggling to respond to the global recession that continues to slash incomes, destroy jobs and has helped push the total number of hungry people in the world above 1 billion, writes Oxfam.

Executive excess lies at the heart of the recklessness that brought the United States - and the world - to the brink of economic collapse. Yet compensation packages for top executives remain at levels completely disconnected from any underlying value that they offer to society, says the Institute for Policy Studies.

The current global development agenda prioritises poverty reduction whilst largely ignoring the problem of inequality. Policy makers should place greater value on redistributional justice, which could be achieved through global taxes and social protection, argues Francine Mestrum.

Poverty is above all a political problem; it results from the human and institutional indifference of policy makers towards the less powerful. Only a global social movement can influence politics radically enough to end world poverty, says a report by Christian Aid.

Economic recession has reversed a 20-year decline in world poverty and is likely to add up to 90 million people to the ranks of the hungry in 2009 - an increase of six per cent over current totals, says a UN report.