Although the phrase "eradication of poverty" has become popular among non-government organisations (NGOs), international organisations and world leaders, the initiatives against poverty in the least developed countries (LDCs) still need to be targeted more specifically.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the poorest 40 per cent of the world's population - the 2.5 billion people living on less than US$2 (Bt75) a day - account for 5 per cent of global income, while the richest 10 per cent account for 54 per cent. The fact is that 50 countries have been left behind in the first decade dedicated to the eradication of poverty.

Four Southeast Asian countries are on the UN's list of LDCs - Burma, Cambodia, Laos and East Timor.

For example, labourers in Burma earn just $1.50 for a day's toil. The minimum daily wage for their counterparts in Thailand is more than double this - about $3.50.

According to Burma's ruling junta, the country's development efforts have gained momentum and GDP grew by a high 10.9 per cent in 1999-2000.

"When you turn on the Burmese government-run radio or television, you will hear news that the country has become more prosperous in 18 years [since the junta took power]. But when you go to the suburbs of Rangoon, you can see that the real situation is completely opposite to what the government says officially," said Maung Lay Lwin (not his real name), a Burmese student at Chiang Mai University.

Burma, which is ranked 32nd on the UN list of 50 least developed countries, does not get much international assistance for its poor, about 70 per cent of whom are farmers.

In Thailand, even though it is not on the LDC list and the government claims that the country has already achieved a 50-per-cent reduction in the poverty rate, the gap is still too big, said Marie Claire Droz, regional delegate for the anti-poverty NGO ATD Fourth World-Terre Et Homme De Demain.

"I tell you the lives of some people have not changed at all. Some people have benefited from the economic policy, but not the very poor," said Droz, who has been working with the poor in Thailand for nearly two decades.

ATD Fourth World's mission in Thailand is to bridge the poverty gap and foster closer ties between the poorest families and mainstream society to break down chronic poverty and social exclusion, she said.

The group has volunteers working in 26 countries, unfortunately she has not met a volunteer who is ready to work in Burma.

"If a person wants to go, they go," she said.

Compared with the other Southeast Asian countries on the LDC list - Laos, Cambodia and East Timor - Burma gets the least humanitarian aid from international organisations due to its political and economic crisis since 1988. The relationship between the Burmese government and the international community is an uneasy one.

"People do not get full support and other aid because the government is still reluctant to ease the political tension with opposition parties," said Maung Lay Lwin.

Some Burmese observers have said that to fight poverty in Burma, the decision-makers at international organisations should be more concerned about the ordinary people, not only about political factors and economic sanctions.

"If they really want to fight poverty, they should not think about other reasons that leave ordinary people who are already poor even poorer," she said, adding that the Burmese people have been fighting poverty alone for several decades.

"Our country has three different levels of people. The upper level of people is rich and easily makes money. The middle level are civil servants and lower level are daily workers," said Aung Tun Linn, who has been working to promote education for poor children in Burma.

The children of the third group become child labourers as their parents cannot earn enough to support the family, he said.

According to the UNDP, while many countries in Asia have made steady progress in reducing poverty rates by the end of the First UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, Burma is an exception as several million families still live on just $1.50 a day.

The observance of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty will be held in Room 3 at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok today, from 10am to 11am.

Pe Khin,

Yan Lwint

The Nation