By Shannon Yong
The scourge of poverty has always been a source of great concern among ASEAN, a political and economic organisation comprising the nations of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Countries divided in ideology and interest now unite in the collective pursuit of income equality, as they gather today to discuss measures against discrimination and healthcare inaccessibility.
Currently, ASEAN has an average Gini coefficient of 0.723, greatly surpassing the ideal coefficient of 0. This poses a significant barrier to many conventional measures involving technology and state-of-the-art infrastructure, which remain unaffordable for these developing countries struggling with meeting the basic needs of their people. Deadly diseases are rampant in ASEAN nations, as a result of the unsatisfactory living conditions present in many cities and living areas. Economic difficulties aside, socio-political issues such as corruption and racial discrimination also hinder efforts towards poverty alleviation.
These challenges have been recognised by both member and non-member states. Delegates of Laos and the Philippines have highlighted the importance of tackling the income gap within the nations. Instead of bringing prosperity to these underdeveloped economies, urbanisation has widened the vast disparity between the rich and poor, where the privileged enjoy lives of luxury, while those in poverty are deprived of basic necessities like housing, food and healthcare. The delegate of China has also emphasised the urgency of providing accessible quality education, claiming that “it is the only way to end the vicious cycle of poverty”.
While differing perspectives have been offered, all measures revolve around the search for funding. This key point has split the Association into two blocs, one that seeks funding through tax, trade and trust funds, and one that prefers more secrecy and opacity in their fundings’ sources and output. Uniquely, Germany has offered financial aid and support to ASEAN nations in infrastructure construction and poverty eradication, on the condition that Germany will be granted membership to the organisation which only contains Asian countries as of present. This has generated heated debate within the council, many of whom are hesitant to introduce Western powers into the association.
The morning session ends with enthusiastic dialogue among nations regarding resolution terms, signalling the steps taken towards collaborative cooperation towards solving this ubiquitous issue at hand.
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