On October 17, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, gave an intervention during the Second Committee deliberations of the Seventy-third Session of the General Assembly on Agenda Item 24, dedicated to the theme of the “Eradication of Poverty.”  
 
In his statement, Archbishop Auza said that the scourge of poverty is one of the greatest global challenges of our time, with poverty rates still high in many African and least developed countries. The number of those suffering from hunger has increased to 815 million, 844 million lack basic water services, 4.5 billion lack safe sanitation, one billion live without electricity and 1.46 billion children living in poverty in 104 countries. He focused on what UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called the “Trust Deficit Disorder” with regard to national political establishments and international cooperation. He said that to rebuild trust, leave no one behind and defeat extreme poverty, the poor must be dignified agents of their own destiny. The family, he said, must be supported as the primary agent of sustainable and integral human development, and each country must be the pro-active architect of its own development. To keep trust, he added, international economic assistance cannot undermine the ethical and cultural foundations of developing countries and societies.

The statement can be found here.