At a summit dominated by the eurozone crisis G20 leaders failed to recognise that investing in Africa is a big part of the solution to the global economic crisis. Bill Gates’ report on financing development does however provide a new opportunity for leaders to make good on their promises in the years ahead.
ONE co-founder Bono said:
I heard what President Calderon said in France this afternoon about the priorities for his G20 presidency in 2012. It’s great to hear that hunger and food security will be high on the agenda. And I’m glad he wants to retain the services of Bill Gates for a little longer too. Bill has started a quiet revolution with his smart proposals for financing development.
On the two-year anniversary of the L’Aquila commitments, which saw leaders promise to invest $22 billion in agriculture development, ONE’s new report ‘Agriculture Accountability‘ finds that donors have only delivered a fifth of the money promised with just one year to go until the deadline. As well as neglecting their financial commitments the report found countries are not demonstrating the political will needed to prevent future food crises.
The report’s key findings include:
Overall donors have met only 22% of the financial pledges made at L’Aquila in 2009.
Canada and Italy have delivered more than two-thirds of their pledges. France, the UK, Germany and the US need to substantial increase the funds they distribute in order to meet their commitments.
Donors are not taking on the challenges of ensuring effective agriculture aid is delivered with the political will and momentum needed to tackle poverty and chronic hunger.
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and romantics around the globe are busy thinking about how to celebrate.
Many choose to express their love for each other by giving flowers, chocolates and gifts. But whatever we do on this day, just like the other 364 in the year, we can also have a real impact on the lives of millions of other people around the world.
So how can you celebrate love and romance on February 14, and help fight extreme poverty at the same time?
Flowers
What can be more romantic than a bouquet of beautiful red roses for that special person in your life? Thankfully you can make sure that the flowers you buy also bring joy to more than just your loved one.
One of the best ways is to look for flowers with the Fairtrade Mark. Fairtrade offers you a powerful way to reduce poverty through your every day shopping. It provides a better deal and improved terms of trade for producers, which in turn allows them the opportunity to improve their lives and plan for their future.
You can also order flowers with ONE’s sister organization (RED). (RED) has so far generated over $160 million for the Global Fund to help eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015. All arrangements from Flowe(RED) are composed of ethically-sourced flowers and profits go to helping those living with HIV in Africa so that they can continue caring for their families and contribute socially and economically to their communities. The bouquets are stunning too!
The football World Cup continues in South Africa and to coincide with the tournament our friends at United Against Malaria have produced a special World Cup edition of their magazine ‘Goal!’
Every 40 seconds, a child in sub-Saharan Africa dies from a mosquito bite. Yet malaria is an entirely preventable and treatable disease with affordable solutions.
United Against Malaria is a partnership of football teams, celebrities, health and advocacy organizations, governments, corporations, and individuals who have united ahead of the World Cup to win the fight against the disease. It’s goal is to galvanize partners throughout the world to reach the United Nations target of universal access to mosquito nets and malaria medicine in Africa by the end of 2010, a crucial first step to reaching the international target of reducing deaths to near zero by 2015.
As well as lots of useful information about malaria GOAL! Also includes an interview with Kolo Toure, member of the Ivory Coast football team and UAM Champion.
In the run up to the football World Cup, which kicks off next month in South Africa, some of Africa’s most renowned musicians have joined the United Nations to call for a commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – a set of 8 internationally-agreed goals designed to reduce poverty, hunger, disease, and maternal and child deaths by 2015.
Watch the video here:
The ‘8 Goals for Africa’ song features 8 of Africa’s best known musicians: Yvonne Chaka Chaka from South Africa, Angelique Kidjo from Benin, Oliver Mtukudzi from Zimbabwe, Eric Wainaina from Kenya, Baaba Maal from Senegal, and the Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa. World renowned jazz musicians Hugh Masekela and Jimmy Dludlu from South Africa are also instrumentalists on the track.
Ending extreme poverty by 2015 was the historic promise made by world leaders at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 when they signed up to the Millennium Declaration and agreed to meet the MDGs by 2015. The MDGs are an 8-point road map with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world’s poorest people. 10 years on, world leaders are meeting again this September in New York to review the progress made and renew their commitment to achieving the goals.
It’s up to all of us to make sure they keep their promise.
While guest editing The Globe and Mail this weekend, ONE co-founder Bob Geldof took a moment to record this message for ONE members in Canada:
Bob talks about why he and Bono guest edited the paper, the importance of the forthcoming G8/G20 summits, and why we need your help to put pressure on the politicians to agree action on maternal and child health, an essential issue in the fight against poverty.
On Tuesday morning the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, went to Buckingham Palace in London to ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament formally kicking off the UK General Election campaign.
The election will take place on 6 May and promises to be one of the closest races in years. Regardless of who wins, we want to be sure the British government continues the UK’s tradition of global leadership on international development.
Prior to the election being called ONE launched ONE Vote 2010 to make sure the fight against extreme poverty gets the attention it deserves during the election campaign.
ONE Vote 2010 follows in the footsteps of the ONE Vote ’08 campaign in the US, which both President Obama and Senator McCain supported, along with much of the Senate and Congress. One Vote 08 helped make a real difference in US development policy and we hope ONE Vote 2010 will have a similar impact here in the UK.
Our first step was to get the major UK political parties to go “On the Record” about their plans for fighting extreme poverty. We asked them 6 questions to clarify their intentions, and to try and get the philosophy behind their policies.
On Wednesday afternoon, we delivered our On the Record petition to Downing Street. And the great news is that we’ve now received responses from the 3 parties that are most likely to form the next government, together with other parties across the country.
But that’s just the beginning. In the coming weeks the ONE team in London, together with ONE members around the country will be urging parties and candidates across the political spectrum to join us and vote against extreme poverty.
We’ll update you soon as election day draws nearer!
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, 
