DATE=03/27/2002

TYPE=EDITORIAL

NUMBER=0-09786

TITLE=EDITORIAL: BUSH ON WORLD POVERTY

INTERNET=Yes

CONTENT=THIS EDITORIAL IS BEING RELEASED FOR USE BY ALL SERVICES.

Anncr: Next, an editorial expressing the policies of the United States Government:

Voice: The United States is the world's leading contributor of humanitarian assistance. The U.S., said President George W. Bush, fights "against poverty because faith requires it and conscience demands it." Economic opportunity is fundamental to human dignity.

Unfortunately, for decades, the success of development aid was measured only by the resources spent, not in the results achieved. That must change. As President Bush put it, "Pouring money into a failed status quo does little to help the poor, and can actually delay the progress of reform."

Developed nations have a duty not only to share wealth, but also to encourage conditions that enable people to produce it -- economic freedom, political liberty, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. When countries respect their citizens, open their markets, and invest in better health and education, every dollar of aid, like every dollar of trade revenue or domestic capital, is used more effectively. When nations adopt reforms, a dollar of aid can attract two dollars of private investment.

But aid is not the main factor in economic success. The vast majority of financing for development comes not from aid, but from trade and capital. All told, developing countries receive approximately fifty-billion dollars every year in aid, but almost two-hundred billion in foreign investment.

As President Bush said, "To be serious about fighting poverty, we must be serious about expanding trade." Greater access to the markets of wealthy countries has "an immediate impact on the economies of developing nations. Trade has helped nations as diverse as South Korea, Chile, and China to expand opportunity. Trade brings new technology and new ideas.

The U-S is committed to linking foreign aid to political, legal, and economic reform. That's why President Bush intends to establish what he calls the Millennium Challenge Account. It will be used to fund projects in nations that govern justly, invest in their people, and encourage economic freedom. "We will," said President Bush, "promote development from the bottom up, helping citizens find the tools and training and technologies to seize the opportunities of the global economy."

Anncr: That was an editorial expressing the policies of the United States Government. If you have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A, Washington, D-C, 20237, U-S-A. You may also comment at www-dot-ibb-dot-gov-slash-editorials, or fax us at (202) 619-1043.