NAIROBI — China’s triumph over poverty is an example for Africa, a Kenyan scholar said on Sunday.
Peter Kagwanja, CEO of the Africa Policy Institute, a regional think tank, said in a commentary published on the Sunday Nation that China stands at the threshold of completely eradicating extreme poverty. “In Africa, lessons from the Chinese experience in defeating poverty are vital to the realization of African Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” Kagwanja wrote.
The scholar revealed that in Africa, poverty is intertwined with instability in a vicious cycle that hampers long term development and impoverishes communities.He said that the Asian nation’s success in combating poverty is a direct result of China’s reform and opening up policy adopted in 1978.According to Kagwanja, China’s experience of eradicating poverty shows that there is a need for clarity of thought, strategy and political will as exhibited by China’s contemporary leadership in fighting the scourge. “China is a civilized state. Its poverty reduction approach is firmly anchored in the ancient philosophy on governance,” Kagwanja said. He noted that in 2013, China leadership committed to defeat extreme poverty by 2020, and put in place stringent measures to beat the deadline and as a result China has lifted more than 850 million people out of extreme poverty, a historic contribution to humanity’s poverty reduction efforts.
According to the scholar, China becomes the first country to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of poverty reduction 10 years ahead of the 2030 target. “Lessons of experience in poverty reduction are key to ensuring humanity’s collective progress,” Kagwanja noted. He observed that China and Africa need to step up the fight on COVID-19 to defend the gains made in poverty reduction.
