longs. Civil society should beincluded more consistently in the globalization processes. Humanitarian Agencies can - andshould - contribute to the strengthening of local civil society. For the Red Cross Red CrescentMovement the strengthening of local capacities and local civil society is a necessary andimportant feature of our operations. Here is another question which I would like us to examinetogether: How can we encourage a better balance between economic growth and social progress? Increased export income does not necessarily improve the situation of vulnerable people. Thedistribution of new wealth and opportunities is often less then equitable, and can create new vulnerability and exclusion. We need to seek an improved balance between economic efficiencyand economic equity. I am glad that global consensus has been reached on the internationallyagreed development targets. The UN Millennium Summit agreed to reduce by 50% theproportion of people who live in extreme poverty by 2015. The Humanitarian World shouldsupport governments in their fight against poverty through assistance programmes and throughstrengthening governments` poverty reduction strategies. Increased trade should assist in theoverall reduction of poverty. A deeper consultation with civil society can help adjust strategies tobetter meet the challenges of ensuring that poverty reduction becomes a reality. In the International Federation we are ready to be a partner in this process. Development concerns are addressed in all our programmes, even in the short term, and we focus on reducing vulnerability through disaster reduction, disaster preparedness and better disaster response as we have seen recently in El Salvador and India. Structural adjustment is often necessary forpoorer countries if they are to take advantage of globalization. There is, however, often a lack ofconsistency ...
