Amid the global economic crisis, the rise of terrorism in parts of the planet and the death throes of armed conflict between Russia and Georgia, the media around the world are called to make room on their pages to poverty. That day, the leaders of more than 190 countries around the world have been invited to assess the progress made since 2000 in the signature of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with the aim of halving poverty in the world by 2015. Despite the progress in various fields and regions, world leaders will have to rethink their policies in the fight against poverty, according to the complaint misdirected Assessment Report 2008 Millennium Goals. Latin American leaders will show satisfaction with the progress in education, childcare, access to drinking water, gender equality and maternal health in the region. However, it maintains the number of people living in poverty. These countries have virtually achieved universal schooling, and that 95% of school-age children are enrolled in primary education.

This improvement also affects directly and positively to gender equity, because almost all girls attend primary school because the secondary level there are more girls than boys enrolled. Furthermore, 92% of its population has access to improved water sources, representing an increase of 84% compared to 1990, infant mortality has also fallen in the region. The number of deaths of children under five years of age has risen from 72 per thousand in 1990 to 55 per thousand in 2006. The health conditions of Latin American mothers, especially during childbirth, are safer. The percentage of women attending delivery rooms and are attended by qualified medical personnel has risen dramatically. Despite these improvements, if Latin America has the same policies in the fight against poverty, the region can not halving the number of people living in poverty by 2015, something that many Latin American leaders attributed the recorded population growth.

The biggest issue of concern to the UN, both in this region and the rest of the world, hunger due to poor distribution of resources of the planet and rising food prices. While in Latin America and the Caribbean produce enough food to meet the needs of 550 million people living in the region, malnutrition affects 10% of the population. Figure that in some mountainous areas of Guatemala over 70%. The liberal economic system that now survives thanks to the intervention of bodies such as the European Central Bank (ECB) or the U.S. Federal Reserve has increased hunger and poverty. Civil society can not allow politicians to come to their rescue while they neglect the poor. According to FAO, the world needs 30,000 million dollars to end hunger, half of what the ECB “injected” to banks the same day the U.S. Senate approved a bill to allocate 612 000 billion for defense spending in 2009. The summit in New York is presented as an opportunity to remind the world leaders that poverty eradication continues at your fingertips.