Poverty, climate change and terrorism affecting us most: Shanu SP Hinduja

A proposal for a unique public-private partnership in association with the UN aimed at taking stock of global efforts to combat and provide solutions to the three major challenges of terrorism, climate change and poverty has been made at a high-level conference here.

Participating in the high-level meeting on 'Disability- inclusive Development Agenda towards 2015 and beyond' held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Chairperson of the Hinduja Foundation US Shanu S P Hinduja highlighted the urgency for a 'Global Challenges Day' for stock-taking of government efforts in areas to combat these challenges.

"Poverty, climate change and terrorism - these are the three things that are affecting us the most. Once you handle that, it opens up doors and makes the planet a better place to live in. These are the major three issues that we are facing today. These are the three main issues and challenges we feel today are a problem for the world." she told PTI.

Brainchild of Hinduja Group Chairman S P Hinduja, the 'Global Challenges Day' aims to be an annual stock-taking where heads of governments and the private sector can share solutions for the critical problems plaguing the world, she said.

Outlining the vision proposed by her father, Hinduja earlier told the meeting "the concept is for there to be an annual stock-taking were representatives of governments, businesses, academics, non-governmental organisations, educationists and media could work together on interlocking questions of global poverty, economic growth, sustainability and security issues that cannot be left out of the equation." The concept, harboured by the Hinduja chief for almost a decade, is for a "public private partnership called Global Challenges Day in association with the UN General Assembly," she added.

"Disability inclusive development is part of a broader development agenda. My father has been for years promoting a solution to this problem in discussions with world leaders and believes this can be the contribution of the Hinduja Group for achieving equality in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda," she said at the meeting on September 23.

The meeting brought together several heads of state and foreign ministers from 130 nations, including US Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterparts from South Africa, Spain, Greece, Chile, Norway, Iran, UK, Israel and Japan.