LUANDA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Angolan government officials and representatives of the civil society organizations in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) discussed alleviating poverty in the African country at a meeting here Thursday.
At the opening of the meeting, Minister of Economy and Planning, Sergio Santos, reaffirmed the Angolan government's commitment to creating projects and programs aimed at reducing extreme poverty in the country on the west coast of Southern Africa.
The minister stressed that there are many challenges that need to be tackled, citing the destruction of social and economic infrastructures in the country's long civil war, which has worsened the poverty situation.
Among the measures adopted by the government, he highlighted the redistribution of social wealth through active employment policies, promotion of entrepreneurship and reform of the social security system.
Social integration and financial education support for family farming in rural areas were also part of the government's efforts to combat poverty, he said.
The UNDP representative in Angola, Mamisoa Rangers, said that extreme poverty stands in the way of reaching human potential, peace, security and prosperity for countries and that each country faces specific challenges in their completing the UN 2030 agenda of sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Leticia Bartolio, an official of the International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth, a forum guided by a partnership agreement between UNDP and the Brazilian government, stressed the need to reinforce the mechanisms for monitoring, evaluating and inspecting anti-poverty projects to ensure their success.
