MICROFINANCE AND INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

That this House recognises the important link between access to microfinance and women's empowerment; welcomes International Women's Day on 8th March; notes that women represent 86 per cent. of microfinance clients worldwide and that poor women in particular benefit from microfinance services; acknowledges that poor women are proven to be reliable credit risks and, with access to finance, invest in their families, resulting in improved health and education and stronger local economies; further notes that less than five per cent. of women who require a microloan are currently being reached by official microfinance institutions; and calls on the Government to increase its emphasis on microfinance within its international development portfolio and prioritise access to financial services for very disadvantaged groups of women and the poorest sectors of society in working towards the achievement of the millennium development goals.