JEDDAH, 9 September 2003 — It will take thirty years to bring poverty down to internationally acceptable levels in the Kingdom, according to Dr. Abdul Ilah Al-Moayyed, chairman of the working team set up to prepare a national strategy to deal with the issue.
“It is impossible to eradicate poverty 100 percent. What we are trying to do is to bring it down to internationally accepted level of 2.5 percent of the population within a period of 30 years,” he told Al-Madinah daily.
The team will visit all cities and villages to determine the level of poverty in various parts of the country and record the actual needs of people living there.
The team will also draw lessons from poverty-eradication campaigns in Malaysia, Argentina, Ireland, Tunisia and Yemen in fighting poverty.
Al-Moayyed said unemployment was the main reason for poverty in the Kingdom, adding that poor men and women would be given training so they can earn a salary.
Labor and Social Affairs Minister Dr. Ali Al-Namlah has said that the national plan was aimed at eliminating poverty from Saudi society “by unconventional means.”
The move came after Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, made an unprecedented visit in November last year to a number of Riyadh’s impoverished neighborhoods.
While talking to Saudi Television, Namlah provided no figures on the number of the poor in the Kingdom, but conceded that there were Saudi families living below the poverty line. He said the working team was given two years to complete the plan and create a comprehensive database on poverty.
The team comprises representatives from the ministries of finance, interior, planning and social affairs in addition to charity organizations and the private sector.
The government has sanctioned SR100 million to implement the national strategy to fight poverty and set up a special fund to assist the poor.
Charitable organizations in various parts of the Kingdom are expected to play an active role in the fight against poverty, as they provide assistance to the poor through donations and free facilities.
