Opinion: Global Poverty Can Be Eradicated

“We already have the knowledge, technology, and wealth to end extreme poverty; all we need is the political will,” says Peter D. Bell, chief executive of CARE, in an opinion article in The Christian Science Monitor. Mr. Bell says members of the U.S. Congress hamstring efforts to fight poverty by blocking funds for reproductive-health services abroad. In addition, he says, too many Americans do not volunteer, donate money, or advocate for government-policy changes to help impoverished people in Africa and elsewhere.

Last year, Mr. Bell announced his resignation from CARE. Next month he will be replaced by Helene D. Gayle, who currently is the director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s HIV, tuberculosis, and reproductive-health program. Read The Chronicle’s profile of Dr. Gayle. (A paid subscription is required to view the Chronicle article.)