Charity must not become a casualty of the recession
In the grip of the downturn, we need to move from donor and receiver to true partnerships, writes Richard Branson. He emphasizes that we need to revolutionize the way businesses and the social sector work together.

Foreign Aid and Bad Government
America should stop pouring billions into bureaucracies to buy short-term alliances and focus its efforts on bottom-up entrepreneurship, according to this op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. The author, Iqbal Z. Quadir, founder and director of MIT’s Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, sets forth an approach that President Obama should adopt. In this plan, America should: a) remove trade barriers on exports from the poorest countries; b) bolster small entrepreneurs with seed money in the range of $25,000; c) give $1 million to match any grass-roots group capable of raising $1 million to establish a health clinic.

New York Times: Poverty, Climate Change … and Recession (Blog)
A look at the links between policies aimed at curbing climate change and those designed to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest. As poverty campaigners make climate change as a priority issue and as international institutions propose solutions, it is important to remember that many nations are too poor to invest in cleaner energy systems, or to curb deforestation, which releases greenhouse gases.

AFP: AIDS fund chief appeals for US leadership
The head of the global fund against AIDS and other diseases in poor countries on Thursday urged the Obama administration to take the lead in overcoming a multi-billion dollar funding gap despite the economic crisis.

Reuters: U.N. urges African economies to diversify
Africa must boost food production and diversify its economies into manufacturing and services to cut the impact of future shocks like the current financial crisis, the United Nations said Thursday.

-Chandler Smith