Poverty alleviation: Pakistani bishops demand world leaders to keep their promise

Bishops from the Church of Pakistan have joined the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, in urging the world leaders to keep their promises on aid and development as failure to do so will lead to further unnecessary starvation, disease and death in the world's poorest countries.
The call on behalf of the world-wide Anglican Communion and other faith groups came at a rally set in the courtyard of Lambeth Palace, South London, which followed a walk of witness through the centre of the city, where up to 1,500 faith leaders, diplomats, parliamentarians and NGO heads took to the streets to highlight the urgent need for more action on tackling poverty through sustainable solutions.
Around 650 Anglican bishops walked in support of the Archbishop's manifesto, which called for the world leaders to keep their promises on addressing poverty and inequality, particularly by working harder to meet their commitments to delivering the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, governments to invest in and strengthen their partnership with the Church world-wide, so that its extensive delivery network for education and health care, alongside other faiths, is fully utilised in the eradication of extreme poverty.
The Reverend Munawar Rumalshah, Bishop of Peshawar, said the walk was a practical way of showing that we are keeping our eyes on global leaders. It was a sign that we will continue to put pressure on those who have the power and resources to help end extreme poverty across the globe, but that the Church is also committed to playing its own part in delivering key services that can make a real difference to communities.
During the event, the Archbishop of Canterbury welcomed the efforts of the UK government, and the Prime Minister Gordon Brown in particular, in leading the community of nations in the EU and at the UN in tackling global poverty and inequality, and in raising awareness through the Call to Action to accelerate progress to deliver the goals.
He added that everyone, however, has to do more if the goals are to stand any chance of being delivered against their schedule. The walk and rally was organised in partnership with Micah Challenge, an international movement working to engage the Church world-wide in speaking out about global poverty and the MDGs. The event formed part of the international backdrop for the UN meeting on September 25 in New York when the UN Secretary General is hosting a review of progress towards the MDGs.