India, Brazil and South Africa get UN award
By Arun Kumar, IANSTuesday, September 21, 2010
UNITED NATIONS - The India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Fund) has received the 2010 UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Award for South-South Cooperation.
The award recognises the work of the three countries in using innovative approaches to share, replicate and scale up successful development experiences for combating poverty and hunger in other parts of the world through the IBSA Trust Fund.
The annual MDG Awards support and raise awareness for the Millennium Development Goals.
The award for IBSA was received by representatives of the three countries and the special unit for South-South Cooperation in the UN Development Programme at a prestigious gala at the Waldorf Astoria in New York Saturday.
The IBSA Trust Fund brings together three emerging economies and vibrant democracies that span three different continents in the quest to combat poverty in other developing countries.
Each country contributes $1 million annually to this fund which is managed by the UNDP special unit for South-South Cooperation. Projects are executed by various UN Agencies and partners on the ground with a strong emphasis on national ownership.
IBSA projects focus on the sharing of best practices and proven experiences and include initiatives as diverse as improving agricultural techniques in remote villages, reducing urban violence in slums, or delivering safe drinking water.
Current IBSA initiatives include projects in Haiti, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Burundi, Palestine and Cambodia.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
