Obama, in Google+ ‘Hangout,’ Defends Drone Use, Foreign Aid – During one of the questions in last night’s Google+ hangout, President Obama was asked about the justification for foreign aid, when so many Americans are struggling at home. He explained that “we only spend about 1 percent of our budget on foreign aid . . . but it pays off in a lot of ways,” including playing a critical role in our “overall security strategy.” (National Journal, George E. Condon Jr.)
New Chief Unveils Plan to Revive Disease-Fighting Fund – “There is nothing broken that can’t be fixed,” Gabriel Jamarillo, the new general manager of the Global Fund, said on Monday. Mr. Jaramillo has announced that he will focus on ‘establishing a disciplined private-sector governance process’ for managing grants, improve risk management from country to country, and try to raise new money.” (WSJ, Betsy McKay)
Malaria’s Defeat, Africa’s Future – As a part of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), 41 African presidents have signed on to end deaths from malaria in their respective countries. Each nation will publish their progress in this fight in the ALMA Scorecard for Accountability and Action, to better ensure that foreign aid dollars are being used effectively. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the new Chairman of ALMA, argues that if you care about the health of mothers and children, education, and peace, than you must care about malaria as well. (The Huffington Post, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf)
Trade barriers imperil African food security – While Mozambique has the fertile soil to produce plentiful harvests, many people in the small town of Namiranga, on the Mozambique-Tanzania border, are struggling to pay for food. A bag of maize that sells for $60 in Mozambique costs only $46 across the border in Tanzania. It is “barriers to intraregional trade [that] are preventing food from reaching the poor,” as Tanzania’s minister of agriculture, food security and cooperatives banned the export of food stocks in an effort to avert hunger at home. (Trust, Fidelis Zvomuya)
African leaders say continent ready to lead world growth – African leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos declared that they are ready to “play a new role in the global economy as a powerful driver of growth.” While much still needs to be done to improve Africa’s infrastructure and education system, Africa’s economy is already expanding rapidly. According to Guinea’s President Alpha Conde, “the fastest growing continent in the world is determined to keep reforming and innovating.” (AFP, Dave Clark)
Business, social media to prevent babies with HIV – Business and social media leaders united on Friday to “tackle the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies, saying the medicine and the money are largely in place, and with the right organizational skills they can eliminated HIV-infected births by 2015.” Randi Zuckerberg, the sister of Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, “will lend the power of social media to increase awareness about the issue, by pulling in 1,000 influential Twitter and Facebook users” for the cause. (AP)
Why the GOP Presidential Candidates Are Wrong to Bash Foreign Aid – The “public opposition to providing foreign aid is one of the hoariest misconceptions in US foreign policy.” In fact, 81% of the U.S. population believes that “developed countries have a ‘moral responsibility to work to reduce hunger and severe poverty in poor countries.” Thus far, all of the GOP candidates, except Santorum, have failed to recognize the overwhelming majority of Americans in favor of preserving foreign aid. (Atlantic, Stewart M. Patrick)
U.S. fears serious famine in troubled Sudan region – As the possibility of a large-scale famine in Sudan becomes a possibility, the US is “boosting pressure in Khartoum to accept aid or face a unilateral assistance operation,” according to a senior US official. Without granted access, the US could be forced to carry assistance across the Sudanese border without their approval, a very risky decision. This famine could leave “more than a quarter of a million people on the brink of famine by March.” (Reuters, Andrew Quinn)
Editorial: Wealthy nations must step up to the challenge of world hunger – In the US, the cost of food amounts to just 6% of the average household budget, while in a country like Kenya, 45% of the household budget is spent on food. Funding is required to help “poor farm families increase their land’s productivity while preserving the land for future generations.” These investments would create sustainable, higher-yielding crops, and help to ensure food security and social and economic stability everywhere. (Seattle Times, Bill Gates)
Cardin fumes over oil transparency rule delay –Senator Cardin (D-MD) has expressed frustration with the SEC for failing to complete the financial reform rules that require SEC-listed oil and mining companies to disclose payments to foreign governments. The “rule is aimed at creating more transparency to help end the “resource curse” that has seen oil- and mineral-rich nations in Africa and elsewhere afflicted with high levels of corruption, poverty and conflict.” (The Hill, Andrew Restuccia and Ben Geman)
As Africa’s consumers rise, so does inequality – Although the wealthier countries in Africa have faced an economic slowdown recently, sub-Saharan African economies are forecasted to grow by almost 6% in 2012 according to the IMF. The rapid growth in consumption in these countries has a downside, however, as it has been fueled by fast-growing credit. Inflation is most detrimental to the poorest, and tends to exacerbate inequality. (Reuters, Duncan Miriri)
Red Cross hopes to boost aid effort in Sudan – Despite restrictions by the Sudanese government against foreign relief agencies, the Red Cross hopes to expand their aid efforts. The UN estimates that “500,000 people have been displaced or severely affected” in the conflict areas, and the ICRC in Sudan will cooperate with the Sudanese Red Crescent Society to “ensure that people affected by . . . violence receive emergency aid and protection under international humanitarian law.” (AFP)
Sudan rejects aid ‘corridor’ for war zone – The Sudanese government has rejected the plan for a secure aid corridor to “war-torn southern states after the United States warned of a possible ‘horrific’ famine affecting civilians in the area.” The government sites security concerns and the risk of aid reaching rebel fighters in their justification for refusing the aid corridor. (AFP)
Growth is no answer to poverty – report – A recent report titled ‘Left behind by the G20,’ shows that inequality has increased since 1990 in 14 of the countries in the G20, with South Africa showcasing the highest level of income inequality. The report suggests that “access to education and health care, progressive taxation and the removal of barriers to equal rights and opportunities for women” are key to reducing inequality. (Independent Online, Sungula Nkabinde)
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.
