On Sept. 24, 2009, world leaders from the G-20 countries will gather in Pittsburgh to continue a conversation from April in London. The G-20 is a collection of some of the most powerful industrial countries, as well as some of the leading emerging economies, such as China, Brazil and South Africa. They meet against a backdrop of the worst global economic crisis in half a century.

Clearly critical issues need to be addressed in terms of how the financial crisis is affecting the citizens of these nations through falling housing values, rising unemployment and diminishing incomes. Yet the 1.4 billion people living in extreme poverty around the world will likely suffer worst of all if not taken into consideration.

While social safety net programs and stimulus packages are implemented in the United States and other developed countries, poor countries don't have the same options. The International Monetary Fund has warned that falling trade, remittances and foreign investment are threatening livelihoods in Africa. As a strategy for recovery is determined and acted upon, it must not be done at the expense of the world's most vulnerable people.

During difficult times there is a temptation to look inward and ignore the needs of others. At the same time, providing for the poor remains central to the values that shape our ethics, our faith traditions, and our identity as citizens. This shared commitment to compassion and fairness is our best hope for finding a way forward in the midst of a struggling world economy.

The G-20 has already accomplished an important first step: an open and constructive conversation that realizes the importance of working together toward a healthy and vibrant world economy. As the leaders of the world's strongest industrial and emerging-market countries continue the conversation, there must also be a place at the table for the world's poorest people.

The advocacy organization ONE calls on the G-20 leaders to include the poorest countries in any global solution. Doing so is not only vital to offset the negative impacts of this crisis on the poor, but it will also offer dividends in the long term to the rest of the interconnected world that we live in today. The best solution for each of us is the solution that includes all of us.