Wiping Out Poverty
Millions of people in the world are living a
life of misery because of poverty. South Asia houses the most number of people who are
poor. Situated in the same region, Nepal too has been burdened with poverty and a majority
of its people are deprived of the basic necessities which others take for granted.
Therefore, it is no surprise that His Majesty’s Government has given top priority to
its poverty alleviation programme. The other day, while meeting the president of the World
Bank, one of the major donor agencies for Nepal, at Prague, the capital of the Czech
Republic, Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya, rightly re-emphasised this policy of the
Nepalese government by telling him that wiping out poverty was the main challenge for the
Himalayan Kingdom. Even in its present economic reforms programme, which the international
lending agency fully backs, the present government has made poverty alleviation the focal
point. The government has given so much emphasis in battling poverty because, it is this
factor which has come as an obstacle in the progress of other sectors too. Only if the
people can be well off economically, then will the nation see progress in vital sectors
like education, health and hygiene among others.
Meanwhile, as the majority of the Nepalese
people, specially those living in the rural areas, are poor, it is these people who have
to be targetted in the government’s poverty alleviation programme. In this regard,
the authorities must also be very careful that the very economic reforms programme, which
is being so much encouraged by institutions like the World Bank, does not hurt the
populace who need the government’s support so much. However, it is encouraging that
the World Bank feels Nepal is doing enough in the economic reforms side and the pledge by
World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn, that his bank is willing to increase investment
here, is also a welcome one. The confidence of an international financial institution like
the World Bank, is very important for the socio-economic progress of this country, which
has to rely a lot on outside support. It can be hoped this cooperation between the World
Bank and Nepal will be further enhanced by the meeting between Finance Minister Acharya
and the top executive of the funding agency and this will in turn lead to effective
poverty alleviation programmes which will help the Nepalese poor.
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