Riyadh: The Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB Group) is holding its annual meetings here, from April 27 to 30, 2024, with a focus on multidimensional poverty as a critical challenge facing member countries.
The issue was addressed today, in the first day of the meetings, at a dialogue session titled “A Pathway to Prosperity: Multidimensional Poverty in IsDB Member Countries”.
Participants included IsDB Institute Acting Director General Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, OECD Development Cooperation Director Maria del Pilar Gonzalo Gonzalo, UNDP Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator Haoliang Xu, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative Director Professor Sabina Alkire, and Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean Resource Mobility and Global Alliances Manager Ignacio Hughes, who all emphasized the multifaceted nature of poverty.
Discussions highlighted poverty in education, health, income, and economic empowerment, and emphasized the need for comprehensive and integrated development
strategies. Discussants deemed collaboration among IsDB member states governments, international institutions, and civil society crucial to achieving sustainable development and prosperity.
Also stressed was the importance of well-coordinated policies and strategies, and participants advocated for effective resource allocation to address poverty in its many dimensions. They also saw community participation and empowering local structures to develop region-specific solutions essential to tackling poverty.
Also explored was the potential of individuals to provide solutions.
At the same time, participants deemed local data analysis, identification of needs through accurate information, and encouraging local participation as key tools in the fight against poverty.
For-profit Islamic finance as a means of sustainable financing to combat poverty and stimulate economic growth in member states was also discussed.
The session concluded by acknowledging the link between poverty and societal stability, with sp
eakers stressing that in order to achieve peace, poverty and its root causes need to be tackled and eliminated, development promoted, jobs created, education and healthcare improved, and human rights respected, since all this is critical to achieving peace, improving livelihoods, and fostering economic growth.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
