US Citizens Concerned about Terrorism, not Humanitarian: Survey

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, August 31, 2002

US Citizens Concerned about Terrorism, not Humanitarian: Survey

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The United States citizens are most concerned about terrorism and least about humanitarian, the United Nations Foundation (UNF) said here Friday, presenting arecent US national survey on sustainable development.

At a press conference, UNF President Tim Wirth told reporters that although concern about terrorism has decreased in priority since October 2001, it is still the number one world issue for Americans with 36 percent.

Since 2000, concern about the humanitarian issue among Americans has sharply slipped from 14 percent to 3 percent currently, Wirth said, but argued that a plurality of Americans supported increasing the amount of money the United States spends on international assistance.

The UNF was founded in 1998 through a major financial commitment from US businessman R. E. Turner to support and strengthen the work of the United Nations. Wirth was ever a US senator chairing on global environmental issues and joined the UNFwhen it was founded.

Wirth reiterated that Americans want their government to be more involved internationally.

"Americans by a clear margin favor the United States becoming more involved internationally," Wirth explained, "and with this new information from survey, Washington should be less apprehensive to support the important work the UN and its agenciesare conducting throughout the developing world."

He stressed that Americans especially want the government to promote access to clean water, universal primary education and combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

"Access to clean water and a basic primary education are not controversial goals, which the United States can and should do more," he added.

In September 2000, at the UN Millennium Summit, world leaders agreed to set of time-bound and measurable goals and targets for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.

According to the survey conducted by UNF sister organization, the Better World Campaign, the voters remain skeptical that the Millennium Development Goals will be achieved by 2015.

Asked which one is the least likely to happen by 2015, 26 percent voters considered that it is to cut in half the number of people in the world who live in extreme poverty while 24 percent voted the trend reverse of new HIV infections.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has asked the UN Development Program to help lead the UN system's effort to meet these goals through building of strong partnerships between the UN, civil society, developing and donor countries, the private sector, foundations and religious groups.

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