Ian Gary, senior policy manager for extractive industries at Oxfam America, takes a look at the facts and figures of corruption in Africa. This piece was originally published on the Politics of Poverty blog. This is a part of a larger blog series on transparency in the extractives industry. Stay tuned for more updates on this topic.
1504 : Section in Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act requiring companies to disclose taxes, royalties, and other payments made to the US and foreign governments
1.5 billion: People living on less than $2 a day in “resource-rich” countries
$30 million: Value of Malibu mansion owned by Teodoro Nguema Obiang, son of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s dictator
1: Number of white crystal-covered “Bad Tour” gloves in Teodoro’s Michael Jackson memorabilia collection valued at $3 million (See “US vs. One Crystal-Covered ‘Bad Tour’ Glove” court filing.)
This piece by Gregory Adams was originally published on Oxfam America’s Politics of Poverty blog.
Most people probably weren’t paying attention to the Washington Post business page on Dec 25. (Myself, I was trying to corral two toddlers and navigate a sea of Legos and torn paper). But for people in poor countries who are trying to lead their societies out of poverty, Christmas day brought good news: USAID is changing the way it works to get closer to the people it’s trying to help.
Dy Yong keeps the books for the rice Bank Committee so that everybody can see how it run and maintained at the Rice cooperative in Takom village, Battambang. The rice store committee has many members and they introduce villagers to the principles of trading rice to give them security at a much reduced rate than the market offers. Photo by Jim Holmes/Oxfam.
So, how do you pull together a full-length album featuring a team of 11 producers and 50 local performers that highlights the diversity of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s music scene while relating to listeners around the world?
Today’s guest blog is written by Vicky Rateau, the manager for Oxfam America’s new GROW campaign. It originally appeared at Civil Eats here and Oxfam.
The movement for reform to our flawed food system is growing stronger every day. Cooks, consumers, and campaigners alike are waking up in increasing numbers to the dangerous and unsustainable impacts of the way much of our food is grown, sold, and consumed.
This progress could not come at a more important moment. Our global food system works only for the few–for most of us it is broken. It leaves consumers lacking sufficient power and knowledge about what we buy and eat, and almost a billion people hungry worldwide, millions of whom live here in the U.S.
Here’s a guest post from our friends at Oxfam America:
One percent. That’s the amount that the ONE campaign is looking to go to foreign aid programs throughout the world – one percent from the US budget.
But let me throw out some other percentages about aid.
Forty two percent – the percent of Americans who believe that cutting aid programs would result in a very large reduction to the US deficit.
Seventy two percent – the number of Americans who favor significant cuts in assistance to other countries.
Twenty five percent – the amount that most Americans believe goes to foreign aid right now.
Here is one more percentage. Forty percent of the world’s population – that’s more than 2.5 billion people – live in poverty, struggling to survive on less than $2 per day. That’s 40 percent of the entire world’s population who can barely feed their families – who can’t educate their children – and who have no access to lifesaving medicines when they are sick.
Yet, right now in Congress, proposals to make absolutely draconian cuts – cuts that would cost lives – to foreign aid are very real possibilities.
And here is the thing – our math is really, really off.
Gregory Adams from Oxfam America encourages Congress to “keep an eye” on reforms to the US aid system as they consider the budget.
Women farmers work in Malawi, a country affected by the MCC, Feed the Future and the Global Health Initiative. Credit: Abbie Trayler-Smith, Oxfam GB/International.
This week, President Obama sent his budget blueprint to Congress for Fiscal Year 2012. There are two ways to measure this budget: how brawny is it, and how brainy is it?
On brawn, the budget clearly falls short. Obama proposes spending about $27 billion on development and humanitarian assistance — less than the amount Americans spent on candy in 2009. Right now, more than forty percent of the world’s population – 2.7 billion people – live in poverty, struggling to survive on less than $2 per day. That $27 billion essentially adds up to $10 for every poor person around the world; this clearly falls short of a “game-changing” investment.
But of course the question isn’t just about how much we’re spending. The most important question is about how and where we’re investing that money. And here—on the test of brains—Obama’s budget holds much more promise.
Porter McConnell of Oxfam America shares a letter published in Politico this week that urges Congress to support the budget for global health.
What do doctors, Republicans and nonprofits that fight poverty and global disease all have in common?
They all support the global health reforms that are happening right now. As Congress heads into budget deliberations, these folks are urging Congress to support the budget for global health. Check out this letter running in Politico this week:
The US Global Health Initiative (GHI) continues President Bush’s legacy by:
Building on the foundation of PEPFAR’s life-saving programs
Reversing the tide of HIV and AIDS and other diseases by helping countries build health systems to tackle their health challenges for themselves.
Starting from the premise that poor countries can and must be partners in managing complicated health delivery.
Coordinating US government agencies on the ground so patients get the care they need.
To learn more, check out a recent article by Oxfam CEO Ray Offenheiser about the US helping people tackle their health challenges, instead of tackling those challenges for them.
To add your voice to these doctors, Republicans and nonprofits, just type the message “I support global health” in the comments section below.
-Porter McConnell, Aid Effectiveness Team, Oxfam America
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.
