More resources needed to fight poverty in conflict areas, says Amina Mohamed

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has said that more resources need to be allocated to areas experiencing conflicts as a way of fighting the poverty trap that people living in such places find themselves in.

Speaking on Saturday when she attended a World Bank meeting in Washington DC, Ms Mohamed urged finance ministers, policy makers and financial institutions to prioritise conflict-prone areas in making financial decisions and allocations.

“Targeting resources to areas that can dismantle the drivers of conflict will greatly help in preventing conflict and building resilience,” said Ms Mohamed.

She called on rich countries to give resources to poor countries to support poverty eradication and conflict prevention.

“There are enough resources in the world economy to achieve the objectives of eradicating poverty and tackling fragility globally. Important decisions must now be made to employ these resources to achieve the goals of peace and development,” said Ms Mohamed.

The Cabinet Secretary noted that the transfer of resources through the European Union Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund has adequately demonstrated that resource transfers can help in ensuring balanced development and achieving peace.

IMPROVE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

“In the European Union, resource transfers was effected through the Regional Development Fund, which aimed to improve economic prosperity, social inclusion and development in areas that lagged behind relative to the rest of the Union,” she said.

She emphasised that instability and conflict are major challenges require effective and timely developmental solutions.

“It is today estimated that 125 million people are in need of humanitarian support – 80 per cent of whom are suffering because of wars and conflicts. Further estimates indicate that more than 60 per cent of the global poor will be living in fragile states by 2030, up from 43 per cent today,” said Ms Mohamed.

The Cabinet Secretary said Kenya has taken bold measures to prevent conflict.

These include implementing devolution, developing marginal areas, enhancing financial inclusion, among other measures to address poverty, inequalities and exclusion which are major drivers of conflict.

The meeting, hosted by World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim, was also attended by Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson.