The elimination of poverty ranks among the greatest challenges in the world

today. At every turn, we attempt to secure for our citizens opportunities to

pursue further studies, either within the Caribbean or further afield. At home,
we are ensuring that our own primary and secondary education systems
reflect the needs of the region through teh careful review of curricula
nationally and in collaboration with our Caribbean partners.
It is critical to generate economic growth in order to create employment
opportunities because it is through private investment and strong economic
activity that the potential to reduce poverty has the greatest impact.
Diversification of the economy is crucial to poverty reduction efforts in terms
of creating new flows for foreign exchange earnings, for job creation and
personal income generation.
The role of education, in close association with other social and economic
factors, is important in poverty reduction. No country begins to have success
without the education of its people and it is even more evident that breaking
the cycle of poverty requires sustained, targeted and well-executed
educational policies and programmes.
One should immediately recognise that the issue of poverty reduction is
complex, involving national and international elements, and an inter-relation
of issues, all of which must be tackled at the same time to get the best
results.
But let us not for a moment believe that the issue of poverty is of concern
only for developing countries. Economic giants such as the United States of
America and developed countries in Europe also struggle with the issue of
poverty. I believe that, now more than ever, serious programmes ae being
undertaken to address the issue of poverty worldwide.
While governments must take the lead role in creating the framework to fight
poverty, it must be understood that there are critical roles for all sectors of
the society to play. From the outset, therefore, one must understand that
achieving a significant reduction in poverty takes a substantial combination of
approaches.
A well-known study has indicated that there is a high percentage of poor
people in the work-force. The 'working poor' are characterised by
elementary, low-level occupations that attract low wages, and low skills and
educational achievement. The same study points to or identifies the lack of
education and functional literacy as among the major causes of poverty.
Adapted from"St Kitts and Nevis continues to fight against poverty "