Brown asks Micah Challenge leader to help achieve poverty targets

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on church leaders, including the head of Micah Challenge International, to help the Government achieve its poverty targets.

|PIC1|Brown made the call as he met the Black Christian Leaders Forum (BCLF) at Downing Street last week.

Joel Edwards, international chairman of Micah Challenge and general director of the Evangelical Alliance, was among the leaders at the round table discussion.

The Prime Minister arranged for the BCLF to meet the Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander, to take developments forward.

Micah Challenge is a global movement of Christians taking action in the fight against poverty. Its members include churches, Christians and Christian organisations united in their aim of campaigning for the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - a set of eight targets, agreed on by world leaders in the year 2000, to alleviate poverty by 2015.

Rev Edwards said: "This meeting with Gordon Brown was an exciting experience which leaves me very positive for the future.

"Mr Brown has shown commitment to the MDGs in the past, but it was wonderful to have a face-to-face invitation asking us to work with him on this. And the fact that he has already arranged further meetings with the Government on this issue shows how serious he is.

"The Prime Minister's support, a week after a similar endorsement from the UN Secretary-General, should be an inspiration for Christians around the world to get involved with Micah Challenge. Campaigning does work - world leaders are taking notice."

Brown said: "What we have in common is not only what we do here in the UK but also our responsibility, because of our shared moral sense, to the rest of the world."