On the eve of the G20 summit, hundreds of ONE members, along with celebrities Yann Arthus Bertrand and Friedreric Diefenthal, gathered on the steps of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris to tell world leaders that though drought is an act of nature, famine is man-made.
Supporting Africa is “not just a moral imperative, but a strategic imperative” said Bono this week in Paris, reminding the French people of the importance of the upcoming G20 Summit in Cannes and the impact it could have on people living in some of the poorest parts of the planet. The co-founder of ONE was in France for two days last week working to raise awareness about the issues at the upcoming Summit that will no doubt have significant implications for the continent of Africa as a whole.
The second edition of the G(irls)20 Summit opened today in Paris, and will run until October 21. Because girls and women are half of humanity and that they are always the first affected by the different global challenges, this international summit is dedicated to women and to solutions they can provide to major global economic issues. The G(irls)20 is an integral part of the international campaign “3.3 Billion Ways,” based on the assumption that the planet has 3.3 billion women and therefore, there are 3.3 billion ways to change the world!
Please welcome Malulie Tongprasert to the ONE Blog. She is ONE’s new policy intern and will be focusing on agricultural development and innovative finance.
For the first time ever, Development and Finance Ministers from the G20 congregated last Friday September 23 in Washington, DC. The objective: underlining the need to address development challenges as part of the global economic agenda. Since the beginning of the G20 presidency by France, President Nicolas Sarkozy committed to making development one of his top priorities, and this G20 Development meeting is a strong sign for it. The G20’s pledge to work together to find solutions to key development issues demonstrates their willingness to meet this challenge head-on, but does this really mark the beginning of successful joint efforts?
Please welcome Sarah El-Yafi to the ONE Blog. She is our summer intern at our ONE France office in Paris and we’re very excited to have her on board.
“One billion people eat too much, and one billion, not enough.” This clear observation, recently established by Ibrahim Mayaki, executive secretary of The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), an African development agency that works with the African Union, should have been running through the heads of ministers of agriculture at the G20 Summit this week in Paris.
Sara Kianpour from our ONE France office reports on the G20 Agriculture meeting in Paris.
G20 ministers of agriculture are in Paris this week to decide the fate of the entire world’s small holder farmers. These small farmers spend between 50 and 80 percent of their income on food, and in the 21st century, this fact is alarming.
At ONE, we hope that this data will give the G20 ministers of agriculture a good reason to find sustainable solutions to stop excessive speculation on commodities that affects the poorest.
Therefore, we recommend some concrete measures for the G20 Agriculture to be a success:
Fulfill L’Aquila commitments: Almost two years after the G8 Summit of L’Aquila in 2009, donors still have yet to declare precise when and how they are going to deliver their promises. Donors must urgently and rapidly fulfill their L’Aquila commitments on aid quality and quantity for agricultural development and food security. G8 and other L’Aquila Food Security Initiative contributors, including G20 members that endorsed the statement on the AFSI and had pledged to provide technical assistance, must clarify and deliver on these commitments.
Infrastructure and efficient construction may not be the first thing that comes to mind for development campaigners. However, well-built schools, hospitals and roads can give a country the backbone they need for economic growth and poverty alleviation. The scale of Africa’s infrastructure needs make this a vital sector to get right.
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.
Photo courtesy of GirlsandWomen.com.
