Tony Blair: “If inequality is the problem, governance is the answer”

The international community needs to place much more emphasis on supporting able leadership and government around the world, said Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister and founder of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

“Poverty is a problem with a solution. Inequality can be eliminated and the way to do that is through good governance,” he said, adding that “real change happens when nations are strong enough to stand on their feet and take destiny into their own hands.”

Blair pointed out that leaders need effective office structures that can tackle multiple problems – from poor infrastructure to access to technology – complemented by carefully coordinated support and pooled financing from the international community.

“The consequence of inadequate coordination is crisis. Deterioration can have a devastating impact for those countries and us in Europe.”

Tony Blair was speaking at the tenth anniversary of the Kapuscinski Lectures, a joint initiative of the European Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that has organized 100 lectures for 30,000 participants over the last ten years.

Original source: UNDP
Published on 18 June 2019