Senior African officials Wednesday began an anti-poverty course,
laid on by China to help them address their nations' crippling
poverty.
Almost 20 senior officials started the half-month course, which
will be followed by another workshop on poverty reduction for
ministerial-level officials, later this year.
Organized 10 days after Premier Wen Jiabao's visit in the
continent, the course is part of the government's commitment to
help train 10,000 professionals and officials for African
countries.
The training includes a classroom workshop in Beijing and
on-site study in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said
organizer the International Poverty Reduction Center in China.
Vekondja H.A. Tjikuzu said his expectations for the training
were "high" as his country, which won independence in 1990, is
still struggling to become prosperous. "China's experiences are
valuable and I'm eager to know how the country has implemented
poverty-alleviation efforts," said Tjikuzu, deputy director for
Poverty Reduction and Human Resource Planning in the Namibia's
National Planning Commission.
"I came to China to discover how local governments help poor
people fish, instead of giving them fish directly," he said, adding
that poverty is so serious in Namibia that nearly 40 percent of
households spend up to 60 percent of their income on food.
Almost half the population of sub-Saharan Africa lives on less
than US$1 a day, and life expectancy is less than 50 years, mainly
due to armed conflicts, AIDS, and inadequate healthcare and social
services.
Joining Tjikuzu were 18 other senior officials from 12 African
countries.
Wang Guoliang, director of the State Council Leading Group
Office for Poverty Alleviation and Development, said China and
African countries could share experiences because China still faces
huge challenges, despite great progress in recent years.
"We have learnt some lessons and these countries have gathered
some useful experiences, so we can benefit each other," said
Wang.
Development-based poverty reduction work, exploiting government
and social resources and utilizing international aid and know-how,
are the most important experiences China can share with Africa,
said Wang.
But Wang warned that the pace at which China is lifting its
poorest citizens out of poverty has slowed down, despite the number
of people living in poverty decreasing from 218 million in 1980 to
about 23 million last year.
Zhang Lei, director of the International Poverty Reduction
Center in China, which is affiliated to Wang's office, said the
mutual exchange would deepen the long-lasting friendship between
China and Africa.
"We can offer them a helping hand to meet these challenges,"
said Zhang.
(China Daily July 6, 2006)
