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Davos gathering turns to threat of global poverty

Irish rock star Bono answers questions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday. PHOTO: AFP

The annual Davos gathering of corporate wealth and political power turned its lofty gaze on the world's poor on Friday, with delegates chided over failures to deliver on development goals.

Rock star activist Bono, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon steered the conversation in the Swiss ski resort away from the global economy and geopolitics, towards issues such as infant mortality, poverty alleviation and climate change.

Ban challenged delegates to renew a commitment to the UN Millennium Development Goals, aimed at halving extreme poverty, boosting health and education and further empowering women across the developing world by 2015.

"Too many nations have fallen behind," he said. "We need new ideas and fresh approaches."

The Davos event has long prided itself on showing the caring side of capitalism, although participants have often been criticized for trumpeting big ideas on big issues in public, while actually expending most of their energy on corridor schmoozing and backroom deals.

Bono, decrying the international community's failure to live up to its promises on development, said it was time to go beyond purely "moral" statements of intent.

"I would like to turn our moral compact into legally binding contracts. Then my advice to the developing world? Get a good lawyer and haul our asses into court," the U2 frontman said.

This year's Davos event has drawn nearly 30 heads of state or government, more than 110 Cabinet ministers and several hundred leaders of industry who, while applauding the cause of corporate responsibility, stressed the inherent constraints they worked under.

"If we lose sight of our core function of serving our customers and creating shareholder value ... we'll be out of our jobs," said Peter Sands, chief executive of international bank Standard Chartered.

Gates, a perennial Davos participant, announced US$306 million in grants to develop farming in poor countries, marking a major push into agriculture by his charitable foundation which has previously focused on improving public health.

"If we are serious about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about transforming agriculture for small farmers, most of whom are women," he said.
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