Senior African officials Wednesday began an anti-poverty course, laid on by China to help them address their nations' crippling poverty.

 

Almost 20 senior officials started the half-month course, which will be followed by another workshop on poverty reduction for ministerial-level officials, later this year.

 

Organized 10 days after Premier Wen Jiabao's visit in the continent, the course is part of the government's commitment to help train 10,000 professionals and officials for African countries.

 

The training includes a classroom workshop in Beijing and on-site study in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said organizer the International Poverty Reduction Center in China.

 

Vekondja H.A. Tjikuzu said his expectations for the training were "high" as his country, which won independence in 1990, is still struggling to become prosperous. "China's experiences are valuable and I'm eager to know how the country has implemented poverty-alleviation efforts," said Tjikuzu, deputy director for Poverty Reduction and Human Resource Planning in the Namibia's National Planning Commission.

 

"I came to China to discover how local governments help poor people fish, instead of giving them fish directly," he said, adding that poverty is so serious in Namibia that nearly 40 percent of households spend up to 60 percent of their income on food.

 

Almost half the population of sub-Saharan Africa lives on less than US$1 a day, and life expectancy is less than 50 years, mainly due to armed conflicts, AIDS, and inadequate healthcare and social services.

 

Joining Tjikuzu were 18 other senior officials from 12 African countries.

 

Wang Guoliang, director of the State Council Leading Group Office for Poverty Alleviation and Development, said China and African countries could share experiences because China still faces huge challenges, despite great progress in recent years.

 

"We have learnt some lessons and these countries have gathered some useful experiences, so we can benefit each other," said Wang.

 

Development-based poverty reduction work, exploiting government and social resources and utilizing international aid and know-how, are the most important experiences China can share with Africa, said Wang.

 

But Wang warned that the pace at which China is lifting its poorest citizens out of poverty has slowed down, despite the number of people living in poverty decreasing from 218 million in 1980 to about 23 million last year.

 

Zhang Lei, director of the International Poverty Reduction Center in China, which is affiliated to Wang's office, said the mutual exchange would deepen the long-lasting friendship between China and Africa.

 

"We can offer them a helping hand to meet these challenges," said Zhang.

 

(China Daily July 6, 2006)