Editorial

Thanks to our strong Catholic credentials, missionaries, both lay and religious, have been working in very poor and deprived communities overseas for generations and these efforts have been well supported by our community.

Malta also has a good track record in giving assistance, financial or otherwise, towards alleviating poverty in poorer countries.

Yet, most Maltese are acutely unaware of the root causes of world poverty and the responsibility we should shoulder as a somewhat prosperous nation, especially as a member of the European Union.

The waves of refugees landing on Malta's shores in their desperate attempts to reach the European mainland should serve as an indication that something terribly wrong is happening.

Public opinion needs to be informed about the desperate and unjust situations being suffered by so many people in neighbouring Africa and also in Latin America and Asia. It must also be made aware that economic and political frameworks of the Western world are partly responsible for so many millions being caught in a poverty trap.

One should realise that the glaring inequality between different countries has been steadily worsening and has now reached appalling levels. World poverty has major destabilising consequences for us all.

For the first time, there is genuine consensus among more and more people in both rich and poor countries that poverty is the world's problem. Last year's campaigns, climaxing at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, admitted that the war on poverty is a war that needs to be fought and won. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other activists of Make Poverty History have been working to address the structural injustices, insisting that the declared Millennium Goals are honoured, and that fair trade and the empowerment of the poor and disadvantaged are upheld.

Even in Malta, NGOs have been doing their fair share and networking with similar organisations abroad. Indeed, a national platform of Maltese non-governmental development organisations (NGDOs) was set up five years ago.

It is, however, disheartening to hear Michael Gatt, the NGDOs' coordinator, complain that Malta seems to be dragging its feet on its international obligations. Despite Malta signing the UN Millennium Declaration pledging the eradication of world poverty and the country's commitment to a National Development Policy on becoming an EU member, very little seems to have been achieved. Mr Gatt decries the procrastination of the Foreign Ministry in getting the national policy trashed out and adopted. There is indeed a lot of explaining to do in order for the powers-that-be to say why all the work done between 2001 and early 2004 was apparently scrapped and had to start anew. Was it necessary and, if so, why?

As Mr Gatt says, without a development policy, Malta does not have clear guidelines and selection criteria on how to administer its aid. Also, along with other Western countries, Malta fails to get anywhere near honouring the UN agreement it signed where it promised to devote up to 0.7 per cent of its gross national income as official development aid.

Mr Gatt points out that the type and quality of aid given has to be closely analysed. Even here he is unhappy that the government gives very little information on the current development funds being employed.

There is a crying need for NGOs to orchestrate their efforts and raise public awareness on the very serious issues at stake.

If anything, enlightened self interest should make all realise that an island of relative prosperity cannot survive in a sea of surrounding poverty.