The gap in wealth between the least developed countries and the rest of the world has been widening in recent decades and this trend will continue, unless the structural weaknesses that are the cause of this situation are dealt with, says the report published for the UN by a panel of nine eminent experts.
Most of the least developed countries in the world are recording some economic progress, but they simply generate less development than other countries in the world, experts point out, as reported by Reuters.
We are talking about 48 countries, of which over two thirds are African, which the UN has classified as least developed countries (LDC). There are several criteria for a country to be in this group, one of which is that the gross national income per capita is below $905 per year.
The panel, chaired by the former president of Mali, Alfa Umar Konare, and the former president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, reviewed the performance of the ten-year action program for LDC countries, which was launched at the Brussels UN conference in 2001.
The panel's recommendations will be discussed at a conference in Istanbul from May 9 to 13 this year, where a plan for LDCs for the next decade should be adopted.
The panel found that, despite certain economic and social progress, the gap between the least developed and other countries is increasing due to the shortcomings of the education and health systems, poor nutrition of the population, weak infrastructure, dependence on underdeveloped agriculture and limited export opportunities.
Foreign aid is essential
The average income per capita in the LDC countries fell from 18 percent of the world average four decades ago to 15 percent in 2008, the panel report said.
The panel attributes part of the responsibility to the countries in question, because they should negotiate better prices for the raw materials they export, fight corruption more successfully and demand the return of stolen goods.
It is emphasized, however, that foreign aid is essential for the faster progress of the least developed. By 2013, donor countries should increase allocations to countries from the LCD group to 0,15 percent, and by 2015 to 0,20 of gross domestic product.
In addition, LCD countries should be allowed to be exempted from customs duties and quotas when exporting, reduce their official bilateral and multilateral debts, double the productivity of their agriculture and enroll children in schools.
The UN previously announced that they intend to halve the number of countries from the LDC group by 2021, however, from 1970 until today, only three countries have managed to break out of that group - Botswana, Cape Verde and the Maldives.
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