Introduction Up to the early millennium, poverty remains to be the biggest problem of the world.

One-sixth of the global population or about one billion people live in an extreme poverty. They struggle daily for survival. They suffered from lack of nutrition, health, water and sanitation, shelter and other basic needs for survival. In order to end the poverty, the 191 UN members signed the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000. The first goal of the MDGs is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. To achieve this goal, a target has been has to be set that is, to reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day by 2015. If the target can be realized, there will be an opportunity to end the extreme poverty by 2025 (Sach, 2005: 25). It means that poverty is the greatest challenge of global society. The greatest challenge to alleviate poverty can be reflected through the contemporary poverty situation in Indonesia and India where a huge number of people lives below the poverty line. Before the economic crisis hit Indonesia in 1997, the number of poor people had significantly decreased. There was clearly a sharp reduction in both urban and rural poverty from 1984 to 1996. The total poverty rate dropped from 56.7% in 1984 to 17.4% in 1996, a reduction of 39.3 percentage points in a twelve-year period. However, the economic crisis has evidently reversed the achievement of poverty reduction. Poverty in both urban and rural areas increased again from 1996 to 1999. The total poverty rate in 1999 was 27.0%, while urban and rural poverty rates were 16.3% and 33.9% respectively (Suryahadi et al., 2006). Definition of Poverty There have been different definitions to the concept of poverty but all definitions are of the opinion that it includes major type of deprivation, whether material or intangible. Martins (1969) defined poverty as existing when the resources of the families or individual are inadequate to provide a socially acceptable standard of living. Mabogunje (1975), was of the opinion that a poor person is one who either receives no spendable income or receives an amount too small to cover his current basic needs. He also defined a poor man as someone whose rights to command scarce resources is limited Service oriented NGOS that provide different kinds of services to people and no other organizations. There are the professional NGOS who have different l in e s o f p r o fe s s io n e.g. Education, health, environment. There are the s NGOS as well as the Network NGOS who deal with association of other NGOS(DFIDs Consultative Report; 1998). Non-Governmental Organizations Non-governmental Organisation(NGOs) can be distinguished by sectors. For example there are NGOs in sectors like: Agriculture, Community development.,Microcredit/ Enterprise Institutions, Health /Population., Human Settlement/Environment, Women, Education and Development, Social Development and Youth organisations . Service oriented NGOs are those that provide different kinds of services to people and to other organizations. There are the professional NGOs who have different l in e s o f p r o fe s s io n e.g. Education, health and

environment. There are the s NGOs as well as the Network NGOs who deal with association of other NGOs (DFIDs Consultative Report; 1998). Many of these NGOs have contributed substantially in eradicating poverty in Nigeria. The Micro-credit or Micro-finance NGOs are many in the country and they are mainly established to help the poor people to obtain loans with little interest, to give education on how to use the loans and on some income generating activities, and to establish cottage industries for the poor In the last decade, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have gained increased attention among scholars and practitioners of development. They have become increasingly important agents of the development process in the countries of the South, in all of their main areas of work such as humanitarian relief, long-term development, policy formation and political advocacy (Attack 1999). On the other hand, there is a current view that NGOs constitute a viable alternative to government as channels of development assistance, particularly in developing countries. Some of the NGOs functions and advantages, according to Streeten (1997) are (1) they are good at reaching and mobilizing the poor and remote communities; (2) they help empower poor people to gain control of their lives, and they work with and strengthen local institutions; (3) they carry out projects at lower costs and more efficiently than the government agencies and (4) they promote sustainable development. NGOs are professionally-staffed organizations aiming at contributing to the reduction of human suffering and to the development of poor countries (Streeten 1997). They do this in various ways, e.g. by funding projects, engaging in service provision and capacity building, contri-buting to awareness, and promoting the self-organization of various groups (Baccaro 2001). Meanwhile, Desai (2005) has mentioned that NGOs have an important role to play in supporting women, men and households, and expected that they can meet the welfare. She accounted some role and functions for NGOs, such as counseling and support service, awareness raising and advocacy, legal aid and microfinance. These ser-vices help the people to achieve their ability, skill and knowledge, and take control over their own lives and finally become empowered. On the other hand, Stromquist (2002) has noted three major functions for NGOs such as (1) service delivery (e.g. relief, welfare, basic skills); (2) educational provision (e.g. basic skills and often critical analysis of social environments); and (3) public policy advocacy.

Through the following NGOs have been a channel for ending absolute poverty and under development; Microfinance and Sustainable Community Development During the 1990s, scholars have increasingly referred to microfinance as an effective means of poverty reduction (Rekha 1995; Cerven and Ghazanfar 1999; Pankhurst and Johnston 1999). Oxaal and Baden (1997). Mayoux (2000) and Cheston and Khan (2002) have pointed out the importance of microfinance in empowerment, particularly women empowerment. Microfinance is defined as efforts to improve the access to loans and to saving services for poor people (Shreiner 2001). It is currently being promoted as a key development strategy for promoting poverty eradication and economic empowerment. It has the potential to effectively address material poverty, the physical deprivation of goods and services and the income to attain them by granting financial services to households who are not supported by the formal banking sector (Sheraton 2004). Microcredit programs provide small loans and savings opportunities to those who have traditionally been excluded from commercial financial services. As a development inclusion strategy, microfinance programs emphasize womens economic contribution as a way to increase overall financial efficiency within national economies. According to Cheston and Khan (2002) In order to gain economic sustainability, NGOs through microfinance help the communities to reduce poverty, create jobs, and promote income generation. In the developing countries, sustainability is linked more closely to issues of poverty and the gross inequalities of power and resources (Hamnett and Hassan 2003). This is due to the fact that in the Third World countries, the ecological system sometimes conflicts with the socioeconomic needs of local people who depend on a local ecosystem for their survival Capacity Building and Sustainable Community Development As mentioned earlier, capacity building is another NGOs strategy that helps to bring about sustainable community development. Capacity building is an approach to development that builds independence. It can be: i. A means to an end, where the purpose is for others to take on programs. ii. An end in itself, where the intent is to enable others, from individuals through to government departments, to have greater capacity to work together to solve problems

iii. A process, where capacity building strategies are routinely incorporated as an important element of effective practice (NSW Health 2001). Before beginning to build capacity within programs, practitioners need to identify pre-existing capacities such as skills, structures, partnerships and resources. Frankish (2003) has counted a number of dimensions for community capacity including financial capacity (resources, opportunities and knowledge), human resources (skills, motivations, confidence, and relational abilities and trust) and social resources (networks, participation structures, shared trust and bonding). UNDP (1997) has introduced capacity building as the process by which individuals, groups, and organizations increase their abilities to (1) perform core functions, solve problems, define and achieve objectives; and (2) understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner. Furthermore, in terms of NGOs functions, Langran (2002) has defined capacity building as the ability of one group (NGOs) to strengthen the development abilities of another group (local communities) through education, skill training and organi-zational support Self-reliance and Sustainable Community Development According to Kelly (1992), self-reliance means that the people rely on their own resources and are independent of funds sourced outside the community. Self-reliant strategy relies on the willingness and ability of the local people to depend on their own available resources and technology which they can control and manage. A self-reliant strategy requires the optional use of all available human, natural and technological resources (Agere 1982). Motivating and mobilizing people to be selfreliant and to participate in development activities become an important objective of the NGOs. According to Korten (1990), the second strategy of the NGOs focuses on developing the capacities of the people to better meet their own needs through self-reliant local action. In the second generation strategy, Korten (1990), mentioned that the local inertia is the heart of problem in a village or community. There is a potential energy in a community but remains inactive because of the inertia of tradition, isolation and lack of education.

But this inertia can be broken through the intervention of an outside change agent (NGOs and other agents) who helps the community realize its potentials through education, organization, consciousness raising, small loans and the introduction of simple new technologies. It is the stress on local self-reliance, with the intent that benefits will be sustained by community selfhelp action beyond the period of NGO assistance (Korten 1990). Therefore, NGOs, through the strategy of self-reliance, can facilitate sustainable development of the community. Infrastructure Development Several NGOs have been involved in the construction of schools and health units, as in the case of Action AID Buwekula (Mubende) and Walanga (Church of Uganda Dispensary, Mbale). These NGOs provide some construction materials (especially corrugated iron sheets, cement and transport for materials), while the communities provide sand and labor. In some situations, the community also provides the land on which the buildings are erected. Community members in Mbale said that these infrastructure projects have sometimes been the seed for further development, citing the mushrooming of small trading centres around NGO dispensaries, e.g., Namaitsu where permanent commercial buildings have been erected. NGOs are also involved in several other areas of construction, such as provision of construction materials for housing. Action AID Buwekula (Mubende) and ADRAA (Mbale) are using this approach in providing improved low cost housing to the rural communities and urban poor (for example, in municipal slum areas of Namatala, Mbale). NGOs are also involved in the improvement of water and sanitation through spring protection, construction of drainage systems, and provision of hygiene education to communities. Roads have also been constructed or repaired through the efforts of Action AID Buwekula in Mubende and Uganda Red Cross in Mbale, thus improving access to markets, health units and other services.

General Health Services NGOs are involved in the provision of general health services, including the provision of drugs and sundries, training health workers, and health education of communities on domestic hygiene, water and sanitation.

Often, the presence of NGOs improves access to health care through construction of NGO health units and stocking these with drugs. Some NGOs have further enhanced physical access through the construction or repair of roads, as one citizen said:

We appreciate because the services have been brought nearer to us the community. Instead of going to far Hospital in the city, we are saved the expense of transporting ourselves. For example patients receive treatment at subsidized rates, have credit facilities exits and they no longer have to travel all the way to city Hospital for simple ailments. Some respondents further observed that there were now fewer patients attending the clinic, which was attributed to a reduction of preventable disease episodes following health education activities by NGO staff. Water and Sanitation Activities There were two main forms of assistance for water and sanitation construction and health education. In Mubende, Action AID Buwekula is assisting communities with spring protection. The NGO is providing external resources (corrugated iron sheets and money), while communities provide other locally available resources, such as sand, bricks and labor. In Mbale, Water AID has worked with Bubulo on community water improvements by providing water storage tanks, water pumps and pipes. Members of the communities then provide labor to set up these tanks. MADZI, another Mbale NGO, has constructed a gravity water scheme and some VIP latrines at health centres that are used for demonstration purposes. As an example of health education, the Ntungamo Womens Club in Mubende is involved in sanitation and hygiene education to mothers, e.g., boiling drinking water and domestic hygiene. Economic Activities Although the sampled NGOs were chosen principally for their work in health, many of them were involved in various activities to assist communities with improving their economic status. Some economic benefits have been direct, for example, Salem Brotherhood has provided employment to community members (clinical officers, nurses, teachers and watchmen are employed at the NGOs health units and schools).

Another relatively common approach favored by NGOs and communities is the use of small loan schemes. Community members, especially women, are sensitized on possible income generating ventures, provided with information on costing and savings, and then given small loans. NGOs are promoting venture involvement in handicrafts, poultry and livestock farming and running of retail shops. Some women have been involved in planting and selling agricultural products including timber after receiving loans through NGOs (FOCCAS and Salem Brotherhood). There are women in Masaka who have received heifers under the Uganda Women Concern Ministry (UWCM) and Christian Children Fund (CCF). OTHER WAYS OF OVERCOMING UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND ABSOLUTE POVERTY The following measures can be taken for the eradication of poverty Control of Population Growth: Any number of employment programme cannot provide work for all if our population grows at an alarming rate of 1.9% per year. Six Million persons are added to the labour force every year. The family planning programme has not been very effective in rural areas for reasons unavoidable. Growth of national income is approximately 3.7% per year. Per capital income grows around 1% per year unless population growth is reduced to around 1%, we cannot make any significant dent on poverty. Hence population growth is to be controlled lock stock and barrel. Immediate check on rapid growth of population is absolutely essential for economic progress in India. Economic planning without family planning will not bear fruit. If man does not check population, population growth will check man's progress. If population is not checked, our progress would be like writing on sand with waves of population growth washing away all that we have written. Higher Economic Growth: Higher economic growth is a necessary condition for poverty alleviation. Population growth remaining constant, higher economic growth will lead to higher per capita income. This will lead to higher standard of living. Hence production has to be increased and economic growth has to be maximized. Adam Smith pointed out the importance of productivity as the key element of economic growth. Hence the pace of economic development must be speeded up. Higher rate of growth necessarily involves fuller and more productive employment of the working force. Hence employment creation is one aspect of the antipoverty policy. Income Redistribution: Increase in national income cannot merely alleviate poverty. The gap between the rich and the poor has widened despite fifty years of planning. The fruits of economic development has

reached nearly 20% of our people. The rich have become richer and the poor have become poorer: According to the world Bank, the total 20% of the house holds share 50% of the national income in India whereas the bottom 20% share only 7% of the national income, This implies heavy concentration of income in the hands of a microscopic minority. The glaring inequality must be reduced if poverty is to be removed. All possible steps should be taken to see that inequality is kept to the minimum. Inequalities are ethically undesirable, morally ignoble socially undependable, economically wasteful, unjust and inefficient and politically explosive. A two pronged attack on inequality is indispensable i.e. leveling down the economic position of the rich and leveling up the economic position of the poor. This will pave the way for removal of poverty INCREASING PUBLIC ATTENTION/AWARENESS ON POVERTY

Increase public attention on poverty and effects and causes of poverty; Conduct public campaigns to ensure governments address the issue of poverty and speed up the implementation of MDGS. Focus on developing and updating information on the extent and effects of poverty in selected countries and Africa as a whole. Through original research, compilation of data from publicly available sources, and special projects, generate useful information on poverty. Additionally, endeavor to bring exposure to critical issues on poverty, including the impacts of poverty on people's lives.

ENGAGE IN RESOURCE MOBILIZATION TO COMBAT HIV/AIDS

The fight against Aids remains the great challenge of our age. HIV/Aids is expanding at an accelerating rate and prevention and treatment efforts are nowhere enough. International Center for Alleviation of poverty recognizes that there are strong linkages between poverty and HIV/AIDS Pandemic. Therefore, in order to combat the pandemic there is need to generate more resources to developing countries. Poverty is a major impediment to the war against HIV/Aids scourge in Africa. If the war against the scourge is to be won, there must be an increase in resources and funding Latest research shows that the goal of containing the world Aids epidemic by 2015 will not be achieved without a quantum leap in funding and education. The more we delay making a proper investment in the AIDS fight, the more the eventual costs will escalate. ICAP is engaging in mobilizing resources to fight the pandemic, including obtaining affordable drugs and testing kits and partnering with other existing organizations fighting the pandemic.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT:

Women are increasingly the ones that suffer the most poverty. In most African countries women disproportionately bear the burden of poverty. ICAP believes that in order to alleviate poverty and change the poverty landscape we must empower women. Women comprise more than half of the world's population. Women do two thirds of the world's work, receive ten percent of the world's income and own one percent of the means of production.

Although women weld little economic or political power, women remain the dynamo behind the wheels of society. Investment in women offers multiple rewards that can accelerate social and economic progress, with a lasting impact. Women are the primary guardians of future generations. Women play a pivotal role not only in the reproduction but also in rural economies especially in food production. Invariably, women tend to reinvest any gains in the welfare of their children and families, multiplying their contributions to national development Women are the backbone of the rural community, the initiators of social change and the hub around which the spokes of society turn. However numerous obstacles have ensured that women continue to lag behind. ICAP will be undertaking innovative programs that will empower and improve the status of the women.

GOOD GOVERNANCE, TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY:

Good Governance, transparency and accountability are key components towards efforts to alleviate poverty. Poverty is often a result of poor government policies. Corruption and poor management of the economy is also a major factor in promoting poverty. To eradicate poverty from its roots there is need to fight against corruption, improve governance and ensure transparent use of funds. ICAP will engage in programs and activities that promote Good Governance. Support initiatives that fight culture of corruption and promote transparency and accountability. REFERNCES

Finger M 1994. NGOs and Transformation: Beyond Social Movement Theory. In: Princen T, Finger M (Eds.): Environmental NGOs in World Politics: Linking the Local and the Global. London: Routledge, pp. 48-66.

Rural Poverty in Developing Countries Implications for Public Policy BY Mahmood Hasan Khan
UNDP 1994, Human Development Report, 1994, Oxford: Oxford University Press for UNDP, New York. UNDP. 1997. Maldives Country Co-operation Framework. www.mv.undp.org