By Dennis Otim

17^th Oct 2011: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the international community to give rural women the same access to productive resources as men as a means of slashing world poverty and hunger.

“…Despite the heavy responsibility rural women shoulder, they lack equal access to opportunities and resources.  This hampers their advancement and holds all people back,” Ban said ahead of the October 15^th celebration of the International Day of Rural Women.

He cited UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) studies showing that over 100 million people could be lifted out of poverty if rural women had the same access to productive resources as men. Productivity on women’s farms would increase up to 30 per cent and the number of hungry people would drop by as much as 17 per cent, which translates into improvements for up to 150 million individuals.  Currently the number of hungry people worldwide is estimated at around 1 billion.

“…The benefits would reverberate even further as these women’s children gain better access to health services, education and nutrition.  We know how to achieve these gains: invest in rural women; eliminate discrimination against them in law and in practice; ensure that policies respond to their needs; give them equal access to resources; and provide rural women with a role in decision-making.”, Mr. Ban counselled.

He said these measures will help drive sustainable development – one of the great imperatives of the twenty-first century.  “…As we prepare for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development to be held next year in Rio, let us remember that rural women have enormous untapped potential to generate results.”, the UN Chief said

He also pointed to other studies which showed that as farmers and nurturers, rural women are pivotal to addressing hunger, malnutrition and poverty.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.