Thursday, November 27, 2014

Ecuador Recognized by UN for Poverty Reduction | News | teleSUR


The Good Living development model has led to a significant reduction in poverty in Ecuador, which has been recognized by the United Nations.

Ecuador was recognized at the 11th Annual Meeting of the United Nations for its drastic reduction in inequality and poverty which has been occurring since the beginning of President Rafael Correa's first term in 2007.

The Good Living, or Buen Vivir, development goals of Correa's government have been attributed as a cause for this success.

“We do believe in the concept of Buen Vivir adopted policies and implementing those policies in a way which are centered on the human being and which are sustainable with the environment … the basic premise of Buen Vivir is actually very very close to a proposal that can get us closer to the Millennium Development Goals,” said Diego Zorrilla, the Director of the United Nations Development Program in Ecuador, in an interview with teleSUR English.

Ecuador has the highest public investment in the region, at 15 percent of its gross domestic product. This investment has had favorable results, as the poverty rate has dropped from 38 percent to 26 percent and extreme poverty from 17 percent to 8 percent since 2006.

National Secretary for Planning and Development Pabel Muñoz said, “The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean made it known that Ecuador is among the three countries where poverty has most dropped, that it was the country where the GINI coefficient most rapidly decreased. So that citizens have an idea, the GINI coefficient in Ecuador dropped 8 points, while during the same period the average in Latin America only dropped 2 points.”

Along with reducing poverty and inequality, Ecuador was recognized by the U.N. as being a model for sustainable development. Under Good Living, the country has invested more than US$9 billion in renewable energy sources. It is estimated that 92 percent of all energy used for internal consumption will be renewable by 2016, as the country continues to work towards a type of development that can be felt by all citizens.

The 11th Annual Meeting of the United Nations was attendend by representatives of the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the Organization of the American States, and the International Monetary Fund, among other international organizations.