Nepal meeting to focus on extreme poverty in South Asia

MANILA - More than 100 delegates from eight different South Asian countries meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal, next week are expected to develop a ‘road map’ to eradicate extreme poverty in South Asia by 2015, the ADB said.

High-ranking government ministers, policymakers, representatives of civil society, business leaders, academics and the media will gather at the South Asian MDG Forum, scheduled for 11-12 October 2006 at the Soaltee Crown Plaza Kathmandu Hotel, to discuss how South Asia can put an end to development problems and work toward meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Participants will include Kim Hak-Su, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UNESCAP Executive Secretary; Matthew Kahane, UN Resident Coordinator & UNDP Resident representative in Nepal; and Sultan Hafeez Rahman, ADB Deputy Director General of its South Asia Department.

As part of the Forum, the MDG Media Awards will be launched at a press conference on October 11. Open to broadcast producers and journalists in print, radio and television media in the Asia-Pacific region, the Awards carry a US$7,000 winning prize and US$2,000 runners-up prize.

The Awards aim to recognize the important role that the media play in creating public awareness of the MDGs and encourage increased reporting on the ‘human’ story behind the MDGs.

According to the UN, none of the countries in South Asia is on track to meet all the goals by 2015.