United Nations, Sep 13 (IANS): UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Friday called for commitment to South-South cooperation to ensure shared prosperity and sustainable development.

"Extreme poverty, rampant inequality, malnutrition and vulnerability to climate and weather-related shocks persist," Ban said in his message to mark the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation which is observed Sep 12, Xinhua reported.

Despite remarkable advances in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, Ban said, progress across the South has been uneven.

"I encourage countries of the South and all development partners to come together to share, disseminate and scale up successful development solutions and technologies," he said.

According to the UN Multidimensional Poverty Index, 2.2 billion people still live in abject poverty. About 1.4 billion people, the majority in the South, still have no reliable electricity, 900 million lack access to clean water and 2.6 billion do not have adequate sanitation.

"On this United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, let us reaffirm our commitment to pioneering South-South approaches that will ensure shared prosperity, sustainable development and a life of dignity for all," Ban said.

In 2011, the General Assembly decided that, beginning in 2012, the observance of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation would be Sep 12, with the aim of mobilising global awareness of, and support for, South-South cooperation for development.