Ban Ki-moon: Crisis could last for years

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Play VideoUN summit to discuss financial reform

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that the impact of the global financial crisis could last for years with millions more families pushed into poverty.

He made the remarks at the opening of a three-day U.N. financial summit in New York on Wednesday.

Addressing delegates from the 142 UN member states, the UN chief urged rich nations to mobilize money to help hard-hit developing countries.

The UN announced that rich and poor nations had reached tentative agreement on a blueprint for a global response to the crisis.

The agreement calls for the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other lenders to be flexible in imposing conditions on developing countries. It also calls for measures to avoid a new debt crisis and new approaches to restructuring debt.

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, said, "The current crisis cannot be an excuse to abandon pledges. Here is an example, by some estimates annual aid to Africa is at least 20 billion dollars below the promises made in Gleneagles in 2005. Surely, if the world can mobilize more than 18 trillion dollars to keep the financial sector afloat, it can find more than 18 billion dollars to keep commitments to Africa."

President of the General Assembly of the United Nations Miguel d'Escoto Brockman (R) listens as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (L) opens the United Nations conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis at the United Nations in New York  City.(AFP/Getty Images/Chris Mcgrath)