ABSTRACT

Since the last edition of this chapter in 2002, a number of critical developments relating to rural poverty have taken place. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), sponsored by the United Nations, to which the member countries of the UN have committed themselves, have become an article of faith in relation to poverty reduction, particularly among the extreme poor. International attention has focused on poverty reduction, through ‘making poverty history’ campaigns, celebrity events and the G8. More importantly, there has been widespread involvement of civil society and non-state actors in establishing ownership over the process. Discussions of poverty reduction meet with a much more informed audience than was the case at the dawn of the millennium. However, we have to ask ourselves constantly, is it a matter of spin or politically correct rhetoric, rather than having a transformative effect on citizens in poor rural environments in the least developed countries?