MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Latam: 15 million risk falling back into poverty says Cepal

Almost fifteen million people from Latinamerica and the Caribbean will fall back into poverty in the coming years because of the increase in food prices and a slower economic growth in the region, forecasted the United Nations Latinamerica and Caribbean Economic Commission, Cepal.

In advance of tomorrow's International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Cepal pointed out in a release that poverty in the region between 2002 and 2007 had dropped from 44 to 35%. However the new global circumstances could reverse the situation and the advance accomplished in fighting poverty could fall back as much as a third which in numbers mean another 15 million people would suffer miserable conditions. Nevertheless Cepal insists that this scenario could be avoided if governments, social organizations and communities agree on innovative actions to address the coming situation. The idea stemmed from the program "Social innovation experiences", jointly sponsored and financed by Cepal and the Kellogg Foundation, which supports sustainable development projects. One of those experiences refers to an experiment in Haiti where peasants living in extreme poverty were helped to become dairy men in a country with annual milk imports totalling 40 million US dollars.