GCAP Korea representative, Hykungung Kim was one of a group of international NGOs to meet Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda in Tokyo on Wednesday June 18th. She also tied a white and, the symbol of the campaign, around the wrist of the Prime Minister who stood for a photograph beside the campaign symbol, a Tanabata bamboo tree.

Representing the massive GCAP anti-poverty alliance, Hykungung explained to the Prime Minister how last year we mobilized over 1.2 million Voices Against Poverty which were presented to Chancellor Merkel just prior to the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm.

Despite the impressive progress made by Asia-Pacific nations over the past decade in economic growth, 1.5 billion people in the region still live on less than two U.S. dollars a day, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday.

The statement was made as ADB representatives are highlighting the continuing prevalence of poverty in the region during discussions over the replenishment of the Asian Development Fund, an endowment used to provide grants and low-interest loans to some of Asia and the Pacific’s poorest nations.