UN Summit: Fill the Funding Gap

Overview

At the mid-point for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in September 2008, heads of state gathered at the United Nations in New York for the annual UN General Assembly. Key leaders used this critical moment to inject new momentum into achieving and recommitting to the MDGs; making important commitments in areas such as health and education, and improving engagement with new actors such as the Gulf States and the private sector.

In the run-up to this event, more than 50,000 European ONE members petitioned UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to take the lead in responding to the food crisis. Specifically, we asked him to rally the UN and leaders present to fill the worldwide US$1 billion funding gap for food and agriculture needs, and prevent future food crises by better enabling people to provide for themselves.

ONE advocates Bono and Bob Geldof joined a team of ONE staff and activists from around the world to campaign at the High Level Event on the MDGs. Armed with ONE's petition, they reminded leaders that taking decisive action against poverty has produced concrete, measurable results, but that more needs to be done to keep the 2005 Gleneagles G8 commitment and to fulfill the MDGs.

ONE's petition and advocacy efforts continued to raise awareness about the need for increased funding for agriculture in the wake of rising food prices. And while the pledges for which we hoped, on emergency aid for the food crisis, were delayed as the size and scope of the global credit crisis took precedent, our actions helped keep the food crisis on the agenda. By the end of the UN Summit, world leaders committed to $1.6 billion to bolster food security, more than $4.5 billion for education and $3 billion to combat malaria.