President Meets with UN Secretary-General

Earlier this week, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had a meeting with President Obama to discuss international solutions for the current economic crisis. They both agreed that aid for developing countries should remain a priority. "The leaders of industrialized countries should keep their commitment on Millennium Development Goals and official development assistance, and help developing countries overcome food security and also help them to adapt and mitigate climate change," said Ban. Unfortunately, "the global economy is likely to shrink this year for the first time since World War II," according to a World Bank study. However, the US President and the UN Secretary-General are not about to let that get in the way of helping the poor.
Source: End Poverty

Swaziland HIV rates jump

According to a government report released February 20th, about 42 percent of pregnant women in Swaziland are infected with the virus that causes AIDS. This is a 3 percent jump in a single year, giving the African nation the highest AIDS rate in the world and an average life expectancy of just 37 years. The report blames the increase partly on more women taking life-prolonging antiretroviral medication. However, the nation is also making big strides in the fight against AIDS. In 2003, only 5 percent of women infected with HIV got drugs to protect their unborn babies. This increased to 67 percent in 2007.

Source: Newsday

IKEA Donates to Help India's Poor

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has announced recently that they will be receiving $48 million donation from the popular Swedish furniture chain IKEA. UNICEF, IKEA, and the government of India have created a partnership in 2000 to address poverty, health, debt, and education issues. According to Karin Hulshof, UNICEF India Country Representative, “The resources being provided will allow us to implement critical long-term programmes that seek to improve child survival, development and protection." Currently UNICEF's biggest corporate partner, IKEA has committed to a total of more than $180 million from 2000 to 2015, setting a high standard for other corporations.
Source: UN News Centre

US Increases Donation to Health Fund

The US Congress announced yesterday that they will donate $900 million to the United Nations-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This $60 million increase from last year's donation is the US' biggest pledge yet to the fund, sending a message to other countries about the importance of investing in people's health globally even in times of financial instability.
Source: UN News Centre

Effective Aid

Last month, an online article outlining Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo's argument against foreign aid received a lot of feedback from readers. A few weeks later, Savio Carvalho, Uganda country director for aid agency Oxfam GB, wrote a response with his opposing point of view. According to Carvalho, foreign aid can help Africa escape poverty, if done correctly. Governments, aid agencies, and the United Nations need to ensure that all aid is well thought-out and pre-planned. A major argument against aid is that governments of impoverished countries are often corrupt, and the money does not go where it is most needed. Ceasing aid, however, will not improve governance. Instead, Carvahlo says, civil society should be nourished and aid should be used to help fight the corruption.

"Having lived and worked in east Africa, I have witnessed the positive effects of aid. But done badly, it can be very limiting and even has the potential to create more harm. To avoid this, it must be provided within an enabling environment in which it is used as a catalyst for change and not as an end in itself. Governments must show leadership through an accountable system," says Carvahlo.
Source: Reuters

A Step Backwards from the MDGs?

According to international development secretary Douglas Alexander, the current financial crisis could push back by three years the global advancement towards the Millennium Development Goals. Research from the Department for International Development also gives a grim forecast, predicting that another 90 million people will be pushed under the poverty line by the end of next year. Alexander's proposed solutions include the creation of a "rapid response fund" to help the world's most vulnerable people and a "global poverty alert" to update people about the effects of the crisis on poverty. Alexander also believes that the World Bank should increase and speed up foreign aid payments.
Source: The Guardian

Triple Win from One Financial Package

Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University has written an article for Nature online journal, concerning his view of the current economic crisis. In his opinion, the G20 meeting in April could be a critical turning point. He suggests that they set aside $25 billion for funding African sustainable investments, and another $25 billion for low-income countries in other regions. Compared to the trillions of dollars to be discussed for bailing out wealthier countries, this request seems reasonable.

"A financial package from the G20 — a forum of cooperation among 20 large economies — to support sustainable energy, land and water use in the poorest countries could provide a 'triple win'. It could lead to stimulus for richer countries, development for poorer countries and environmental sustainability for all," says Sachs.
Source: Nature

Gordon Brown Speaks to Congress

Addressing the US Congress last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke about our responsibility to help the helpless. He challenged the wealthy to change their priorities, aiding those in poverty before addressing their own needs.

"At their best, our values tell us that we cannot be wholly content while others go without, cannot be fully comfortable while millions go without comfort, cannot be truly happy while others grieve alone. And this too is true. All of us know that in a recession the wealthiest, the ten most powerful and the most privileged can find a way through for themselves.

So we do not value the wealthy less when we say that our first duty is to help the not so wealthy. We do not value the powerful less when we say that our first responsibility is to help the powerless. And we do not value those who are secure less when we say that our first priority must be to help the insecure."

Full text of the speech here.

Improvement in Zimbabwe's Cholera Crisis

According to recent reports, the epidemic that started just a few months ago and affected 90% of the country's population, taking 4,000 lives, is finally getting under control. Awareness of the disease has improved and tablets for cleaning contaminated water have become more easily accessible. The hospitals and clinics are no longer overflowing with patients suffering from cholera. Those that are in hospitals are quickly getting effective treatment, and very few are in need of intensive care. Medical staff throughout the country is finally feeling more confident that they will be able to handle this situation successfully.
Source: Financial Times

Billion-Dollar Bonuses to Those Who Need it Least

John W. McArthur, Chief Executive of The Millennium Promise, published a letter in the Financial Times last month comparing the $4 billion bonuses for Merryl Lynch employees to the $5 billion total aid budget for sub-Saharan Africa in 2008. Emphasizing his stance on the issue of foreign aid, he commented;

"Let us not forget these numbers the next time we are told there is no money left to support the poorest people on the planet. In a time of trillion-dollar deficits and $900bn stimulus packages, $4bn may seem like rounding error. But when considered against the money we spend to support the world's poorest people, it simply makes no sense."
Source: Financial Times

A Promise to Provide Easier Access to Medicine

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (Aquafresh, Nicorette, Tums) has recently pledged to make medicines more accessible to the world's poorest countries. The company's new chief executive, Andrew Witty, plans to make drastic cuts on medicine prices in poor countries and give back profits to hospitals and clinics. In an even more drastic change, he plans to give up the company's intellectual property rights of certain chemicals or processes to a "patent pool," allowing other researchers to study them and potentially make big advancements in important treatments. Witty's decision has stunned experts, and he hopes that it will encourage other drug companies to provide easier access to medical care around the world.
Source: The Guardian

Senate Proposes a New Bill

Last month, the Senate introduced bill S.384, "Global Food Security Act of 2009". This legislation proposes an increase in financial aid to developing foreign countries to improve agriculture, food security, rural economies, emergency response to food crises, and ultimately poverty alleviation. The proposed budget changes would take place throughout fiscal years 2010-2014. Read more about this bill and keep up with its status here. Make sure to call your congressional leaders and voice your support!