Obama asks for global poverty combat

US President Barack Obama has called for new ways to tackle global poverty and urges developed countries to help the poor on promoting economic growth.

In a 20-minute address to the UN summit on Millennium Development Goals (MDG) on Wednesday, Obama said progress in fighting poverty had been measured by the money spent on short-term aid of food and medicine. However, he noted that the practice did not always help poor countries develop.

According to the US president, there is a need to switch to a results-based approach to aid, instead of simply throwing money at development problems.

“It’s a cycle we need to break,” Obama went on to say. “Instead of just managing poverty, we have to offer nations and people a path out of poverty.”

He further called for “broad-based economic growth,” which he described as a “powerful force the world has ever known for eradicating poverty and creating opportunity.”

Obama also urged wealthier nations to help developing countries despite the challenges posed by the global economic downturn.

Earlier, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao criticized rich countries for not doing enough to help the poor, saying the “assistance should be selfless and have no strings attached.”

The Chinese premier went on to outline his country’s plans to cancel more debt and increase assistance to African nations.

Countries at the three-day summit pledged more than 40 billion dollars in aid to reduce maternal and child mortality rates in poor countries.

According to Reuters, the summit ended by adopting a declaration agreed earlier this month, which promised intensified efforts by the 192 UN member states to achieve the world body’s so-called MDG by 2015.