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Responding to news of today’s High Level Panel report on the global plan that should follow the Millennium Development Goals when they expire in 2015, Helen Dennis, Christian Aid’s Senior Adviser on Poverty and Inequality, said:
‘The Panel has made an encouraging start on a new global master plan to tackle poverty. Its recommendations onpromoting women’s equality are especially strong.
‘Recommendations on protecting the environment, which include the phasing out of subsidies for fossil fuels, are also welcome.
‘We are also pleased to see a reference to tackling illicit finance flows and tax evasion, which will be especially important for long-term financing of sustainable development. Global action in both developed and developing countries will be needed to make sure that poor communities don’t lose out from tax-dodging.
‘Disappointingly, the Panel has shied away from suggesting action that could address increasing economic inequality in many countries. This is an awkward subject for some but sustainable development will only be achieved if we reduce the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
‘The Panel’s report is a good one. We hope that governments around the world will now build on this work as they negotiate a new global plan to replace the Millennium Development Goals.’
