As the Copenhagen climate change summit draws closer, the question of how to support developing countries in adapting to climate change, and to enable them to access clean technology, is becoming a make or break issue.

On 30 October, the European Union put its numbers on the table, becoming the first climate negotiation partner to do so. The EU estimates that developing countries will need € 100 billion for adaptation and mitigation by 2020. A large part of that sum would be mobilized by the private sector and developing countries’ own resources. The EU says the remaining € 22-50 billion needs to be covered by donors, and the EU is prepared to contribute its share (presumably around 30%). In addition, the EU agrees that so called ‘fast-start’ international public support (of around € 5-7 billion annually) is needed in the 3 years before any climate agreement comes into force.

This is well below the Worldbank estimate that 75 – 100 billion USD is needed annually between 2010 and 2050 for adaptation alone (20% of which is for Africa), whilst African countries are themselves calling for 67 billion USD for adaptation for the continent.

Yet, the EU proposal is the only financing option with concrete figures on the table of climate negotiators at the moment, and ONE has welcomed it as a first step to unlock the negotiations. But much more work is needed.

The final round of pre Copenhagen negotiations concluded in Barcelona on 6 November with very limited progress and hardened positions. So much so that the African delegation – who for the first time in international negotiations are represented through a unified negotiating team and mandate – walked out of the room on the second day in protest.

Elsewhere the G20 finance ministers, meeting on 7 November in St. Andrews, Scotland, focused on climate financing but could not agree on tangible outcomes. The key question remains whether these funds will be additional to both existing and promised overseas development aid levels. The British government is the most progressive saying that not more than 10% of existing or promised aid levels should be spent on climate related activities. But the fact that the UK is the only major economy with such a proposal, shows that the financing figures currently being discussed could be taken from existing programmes to fight poverty.

With less than a month now to go before Copenhagen, time is running out on achieving an agreement that will provide that best possible deal for the world’s poorest people. If Copenhagen is to be successful is critical that policymakers take special consideration of these people, especially in Africa – both to address their disproportionate need to adapt to impending climate change, but also to work with the continent as a mitigation partner going forward.

Today we have the distinct honor of bringing to you a very special series from men and women who have served in our Armed Services. This piece comes from Jake Harriman, founder and CEO of Nuru International. Jake served over 7 years in the Marine Corps as an Infantry Platoon Commander and a Special Operations Platoon Commander for an elite unit called Force Recon:

On this Veteran’s Day 2009, the United States once again finds itself engaged in conflict. As you read these words, the brave men and women of our armed forces are battling Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and splinter terrorist organizations in half a dozen other countries around the world.

But on this Veteran’s Day I want to speak to you from the frontlines of a different war – a war against a senseless, unnecessary evil that daily takes thousands more lives than are lost in Baghdad, Gaza, Kandahar, Mogadishu, and Jaffna combined. It is the war against extreme poverty.
I have had the unique experience of fighting in both of these battles.

I spent 7-and-a-half years as a Marine Corps Infantry and Special Operations Platoon Commander – serving four operational tours in Iraq, the Horn of Africa, and other areas of southwest Asia. During combat operations in Iraq, I had several very profound experiences that awakened me to the fact that the only way to see the end of terrorism is to end extreme poverty.

The End (Jake’s Story) from Nuru International on Vimeo.

My men and I saw the desperation in the eyes of poor farmers who were coerced by Jihadists into fighting the Americans. Why? Is it out of some misplaced/ignorant sense of hatred for the West and all it stands for? No. It is because the farmers’ children were starving and the Jihadists promised food, education and money if they fought the Americans.

Extreme poverty strips a person of real choices. A life without choices leads to desperation, and desperate people do desperate things.

When my commitment was up, I left my career in the Marines and set out to create an organization to fight extreme poverty. Nuru International partners with the rural poor in the developing world and other nonprofit and for profit organizations to end extreme poverty one community at a time. We don’t give handouts, but instead through training and empowerment we actually equip the poor to become the answers to their own problems.

There is hope for those without choices. We can end extreme poverty in our lifetimes, and in so doing, answer the cry of the desperate, give a voice to the voiceless, and provide choices to impoverished men and women who have been struggling for so long.

A revolution has begun…a revolution to wake up and mobilize a generation to end this fight once and for all. There is no room in this fight for egos, partisan politics, or ideological differences. One sixth of humanity cries out to us today – asking you and me to simply put our differences aside and use our talent, skills and resources to empower them with choices. This Veteran’s Day, I ask you to step forward and get in the fight with us. In so doing, you will ensure that thousands of brave veterans and countless global citizens have not sacrificed their lives in this war in vain. Join the revolution. Be hope. Be light. Be Nuru.

All images copyright Nuru International 2009

Check out this post from our partner organization Save the Children, the first partner post in our Food Security in Focus series. This post focuses on how proper nutrition, particularly for children, is an essential component to achieving food security. Stay tuned to the blog for more entries over the coming month.

-Kara Arsenault

Today is my first day back at my office in Mozambique’s capitol city, Maputo. For the past week, I have been visiting our programs in the northern province of Nampula, where Save the Children is working to address high rates of childhood malnutrition.

In one rural community, I joined mothers and grandmothers who gathered to learn about nutrition from a trained community volunteer. The mood was animated and lively, with the women anxious to learn how to prepare food in a way that would make their children stronger. The women were a little shy when it came to asking me questions, but they were quick to smile.

During this gathering, the mothers learned how to cook enriched porridge. They had fun while preparing the food—there was a camaraderie among them that allowed them to let their guard down and just enjoy being together. They frequently sang while working.

Their children are part-and-parcel of who they are. They would never, for example, eat alone while their children played. When it came time to try the meal, each mother made sure her child got his or her fill before eating herself.

I am proud of the programs that Save the Children supports, like working with health centers and communities to prevent and treat malnutrition, helping farmers grow more nutritious food that they can sell on the market, encouraging exclusive breastfeeding, and helping caretakers feed their families well. And I’m proud of our emphasis on building community and government capacity to achieve these goals.

Together, these components ensure that families are food secure and that their well-nourished children thrive in economically-viable households. Here in northern Mozambique, we expect our USAID-funded work to significantly reduce the prevalence of malnutrition by 2011, the end of the three year program.

Malnutrition takes a big toll on children’s health. I’ve been working in this field for more than 10 years and I’m still humbled by the tireless efforts of health workers helping many dozens of people a day and parents walking hours to bring their sick children to clinics. To me, the workloads appear daunting and the conditions challenging. I learn a lot from my field visits, not only on the technical level of “what are we doing out there” and “how many results have we achieved,” but more importantly, on a human level, how people feel about their lives and their work. I come away feeling like our work is making a difference on both small and large scales. I always return to my desk with a renewed spirit of work.

-Tina Lloren, Regional Food Security and Nutrition Advisor, Africa Area Programs, Save the Children

Last week we alerted you to a new endeavor by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation called the Living Proof Project. Living Proof’s mission is to underscore all the great progress being made thanks to U.S. investments in global health.

Today I want to share with you two more videos produced for the Living Proof Project: one set in Egypt, and the other in Nicaragua. You can check out all of the videos here, and please share them with your friends and family! Our continued commitments to developing nations really do make a profound and positive impact.

Read more about the Living Proof Project here.

In an effort to highlight the richness and beauty of African arts and culture, ONE is turning to its community of artists and friends and asking them to give us their top picks on the latest trends coming out of the continent. Our first guest contributor is Vusi Mahlasela – a South African singer-songwriter, poet-Activist and guitarist, who simply known as “The Voice” in his home country.

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I first met Nigerian author Chris Abani at a conference in Tanzania and was immediately captured by his amazing ability to tell a story and by his gift for finding a balance between good and evil– for finding the silver lining in bad situations. Abani has a lot of insight from his own experiences growing up as a refugee in exile and this insight is evident in his writing. He is one of the greatest authors from Africa and his voice should be heard throughout the world. I really recommend all of his novels, especially Graceland which I read last month.

http://www.chrisabani.com/

-Vusi Mahlasela

TheStar.com: Canada to double aid to Africa
Canada will meet its commitment to doubling aid to Africa next week even as it shifts its focus away from the continent, International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda said today. The Canadian International Development Agency announced last month it would focus 80 per cent of its bilateral funding to 20 countries and regions. At a speech to the National Press Club yesterday Oda said the countries were chosen based on their real needs and their capacity to use aid effectively but also taking into consideration the priorities of Canadian foreign policy, which for the Conservative government means a focus on the Americas.

Financial Times: Brown’s Europe speech to build support
Gordon Brown will today make his first speech as prime minister to the European parliament at the start of a round-the-world trip designed to build consensus before next week’s G20 meeting. Mr. Brown, who gained a reputation as chancellor for his reluctance to attend Brussels meetings, will use today’s set-piece event to show his new willingness to engage fully with Europe.

New York Times: Vaccination: Vaccine Delays in Poorer Nations Raise Health Risks for Infants
Many infants in poor and middle-income countries get their vaccines weeks later than doctors recommend and therefore face increased risks of sickness and death, according to a new study in The Lancet Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Researchers studied health surveys from 45 countries, mostly in Africa and Latin America
Reuters: Malaria map shows where to target the disease
Eliminating malaria in many parts of the world where risk of the disease is high may be less difficult than previously thought, international researchers said on Tuesday. Using data collected from nearly 8,000 local surveys of infection rates, the team found that in many areas transmission rates are below the level at which controlling the disease with things such as bed nets is a real possibility, Simon Hay of Oxford University in Britain, who led the study, said.

Bloomberg: Deadly Tuberculosis Faces New Weapon as Vaccine Enters Tests
Scientists will start the largest study in almost a century on a new vaccine against tuberculosis, attempting to improve on an existing immunization that only partially protects against the deadliest bacterial illness. The study is a collaborative effort with the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative and is funded by Aeras and the Wellcome Trust, the U.K.’s largest charity.

-Chandler Smith