Draw the poor into anti-poverty campaigns: WB
 

WASHINGTON, Wednesday (AFP)

Poverty will only be eradicated with the involvement of the world's poor themselves, the World Bank said ahead of a Group of Eight summit next month devoted to global development.

The international lender drew on anti-poverty case studies in 14 developing countries to back up its conclusions in a report conducted jointly with the government aid agencies of Britain, France and Germany.

"Achieving and maintaining economic growth is essential in the fight against poverty. So is ensuring that poor people benefit from growth," British international development minister Gareth Thomas said.

"This study tells us more about how to accelerate growth in ways that reduce poverty. It provides valuable insights for decision makers in developing countries and development assistance agencies," he said.

The powerful G8 leaders will meet in Scotland on July 6-8 for a summit that British Prime Minister Tony Blair intends to consecrate to efforts to ease crushing debts and poverty in Africa and elsewhere.

According to the World Bank study, which was to be launched in London Wednesday, growth of one percent in a country's gross domestic product translates into poverty reduction of 1.7 percent.

The best results in the case studies were seen in Vietnam, where the percentage of people living under the breadline fell from 58 percent of the population in 1993 to 29 percent in 2002.

In contrast, Indonesia, Romania and Zambia all saw poverty levels increase during the period, when for them economic growth was weak to non-existent.

"The power of economic growth in reducing poverty is undeniable," said Danny Leipziger, vice president of the World Bank's "Poverty Reduction and Economic Management" network.

"Policy makers who seek to reduce poverty would therefore be well advised to implement policies that enable their countries to achieve a higher rate of growth," he said.

"The sensitivity of poverty reduction to growth can also vary significantly across countries. So, it is important to enhance the capacity of poor people to participate in growth."