Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - The Gambia’s poverty rate has climbed to 53.4% largely due to COVID-19, according to The Gambia Poverty and Gender Assessment 2022 report. The report states that before the COVID-19 induced crisis the national poverty rate declined from 48.6% in 2015 to 45.8% in 2019. A statement made available [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Almost two years into the COVID-19 crisis, a huge divergence in the recovery is undermining global trust and solidarity, according to a new policy brief on jobs and poverty eradication, outlined by UN chief, António Guterres on Tuesday.  The Secretary-General warned that the pandemic has not only confirmed but deepened existing [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for solidarity with all people living in poverty, during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.  Mr. Guterres issued the appeal in a video message to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, observed annually on 17 October.  He highlighted how [...] Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The U.S. Embassy in Congo on Wednesday unveiled an estimated US$1 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Fund, through the World Food Programme (WFP) to the Congolese government for continued food assistance to vulnerable populations in the Likouala region in the [...] Full text...

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (PANA) - The number of people living in poverty has increased despite progress on the continent, says a report on Africa's progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. "... the absolute number of people living in poverty has increased from 389 million in 2013 to 422 million in 2019, [...] Full text...

Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Zimbabwe’s daily Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) jumped 19 percent to an equivalent of US$1.41 at the end of November 2019, indicating a continued rise in the cost of living, official figures show. The increase was from a comparative TCPL figure of US$1.22 for October against the [...] Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - Angola's poverty rate has increased by four per cent over the past 11 years, with 41 per cent of the population living below the poverty line against 37 per cent in 2008. According to data from the National Statistical Institute (INE), of the approximately 30 million Angolans, [...] Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The World Bank will provide approximately 1.5 billion CFA francs development support for Congolese communities through the Japan Social Development Fund, the Sustainable Livelihoods Support Project (PASD) in Kinkala, Mindouli and Goma Tsé districts, Pool Department in the south of the country, the public radio announced [...] Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - Some 300 households in financial and material difficulties in Bujumbura, the economic capital of Burundi, are going to be reintegrated in their villages of origin across the country, PANA learned on Wednesday from a source close to the Ministry of Human Rights, National Solidarity and Gender.   The [...] Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) – Calls for Zambia to declare the hunger situation in some parts of the country a national disaster are unfounded, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FAO Country Representative George Okechi says although some parts of Zambia are facing famine, the situation does not warrant [...] Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA)   -   The Police Comptroller General, Soumaïla Allabi Yaya, has been appointed head of the Republican Police Directorate (DGPR) to replace the 2nd class Police Inspector General, Nazaire Hounnonkpè, according to a decision of the Council of Ministers held on Wednesday. The new DGPR was previously director of organization [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Cameroonian President Paul Biya has told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that peace, essential for the survival of humanity and sustainable development, “is dangerously under threat,” notably from terrorism, conflicts, poverty and climate disruptions. Taking the podium as the first speaker on the fourth [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Poverty is both a cause and consequence of marginalization and social exclusion, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said on Monday, stressing that to fulfill the promise of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind, "we must address the humiliation and exclusion of people living [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Children are more than twice as likely as adults to live in extreme poverty, with nearly 385 million children worldwide experiencing that condition, according to a report by the World Bank Group and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The report, titled: "Ending Extreme Poverty: A Focus [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Namibian President Hage Geingob on Wednesday said the he will use the platform of the Sustainable Development Agenda to drive economic and social programmes toward ensuring a life of dignity for all Namibians. "We are all in agreement that effective implementation of this agenda will require [...] Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - A multidisciplinary international team from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) arrived Wednesday in Mauritius to participate in the Mauritian Government’s Marshall Plan to combat poverty and social exclusion, PANA reported from here. One Government official recalled that the Mauritian Government had announced in January 2015 a [...] Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritius has launched the “Lovebridge Parrainage Project” meant to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable group of the Mauritian population, PANA reported Tuesday from the Mauritian capital. The programme will help to improve the living conditions of poor people generally by raising the level of [...] Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - A new funding plan to deliver basic health and education for everyone is essential to end extreme poverty, according to a new report launched Friday in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire on the sidelines of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group Annual Meetings. ''If the new Global Goals that [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Wednesday said that representatives of East African nations are meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to share best practices on fighting poverty and inequality. A brief UN information note issued to reporters in New York said the [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Friday marked the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, with calls to accelerate efforts in eliminating poverty in all its forms. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message for the Day, which is commemorated annually on 17 October, said: "Entrenched poverty and [...] Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - The Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) here has called on government to embrace joint action plan which was developed by government itself and the organization to address extreme poverty in the country. CSPR Board Chairperson, John Lijimu, on Tuesday challenged government to engage in meaningful multi-sectoral [...] Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – The World Bank and the Congolese government have signed an agreement to set up a project called "Lisungui", designed to help about 5,000 poor households, including pregnant women and children aged under 14 years, according to an official communique issued here Thursday. It said that the agreement [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on Thursday called for greater support for people struggling to escape poverty and build better lives. He also called on the world to "listen to the voices that often go unheard". The PANA Correspondent in New York, reported that Ban made the call [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – Rwandan President Paul Kagame has urged world leaders to muster the courage and increase their efforts in the fight against poverty. The PANA Correspondent in New York, quoted Mr. Kagame as saying that "world leaders must take an honest look at the universally-accepted anti-poverty goals and [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN will on Wednesday,17 October, mark the 2012 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a UN statement said here on Tuesday. It stated that the Day, which will also be observed around the world, focuses on the theme: “Ending the Violence of Extreme Poverty: [...] Full text...