An important step in the Race Against Hunger
Yesterday, as the London 2012 Olympics drew to a close, I was at 10 Downing Street to take part in a summit of leaders, experts and campaigners to launch a race against hunger and malnutrition. I wanted to tell you how it went – and to let you know that you have helped create a real chance for 25 million children to avoid stunting and fulfil their potential.
David Cameron decided to hold this event after thousands of ONE members and others called on him to do so. Ahead of the event, your voice was delivered with over 600,000 others to the British Prime Minister, calling on world leaders to tackle malnutrition and allowing millions more children to thrive.
I was really proud of our team at ONE, who brought an amazing line-up of sporting greats to Downing Street for the event. British double Olympic gold medal winner Mo Farah, Brazilian football legend Pelé, and Ethiopian Olympic and World Champion Haile Gebrselassie got things off to an exciting start as five children ran down a specially-created race track up to the door of Number 10 and handed a baton to the British Prime Minister and the Brazilian Vice President, urging them to launch a race against hunger.
Inside, we heard a number of strong commitments. The European Commission, through its aid, pledged to reduce the number of stunted children by 7 million by 2025. Ireland’s leader promised to make hunger and malnutrition a priority of their EU presidency next year. India promised to double its investment in nutrition. David Cameron also committed to using Britain’s G8 presidency in 2013 to lead on this vital issue. Meanwhile private companies like Unilever and Vodafone pledged to play their part.
The summit concluded with a push to make significant progress on hunger and nutrition by the time of the next Olympics in 2016. This was one of the key things we had called for. If leaders keep their promises and stay on track, by the time athletes meet again in Rio, 25 million children could have avoided stunting. And that will be just the beginning.
These are real strides forward in the race against hunger, and wouldn’t have been taken if it wasn’t for you. ONE members called for this event to take place and called for concrete commitments to be made at it. Both have happened.
There will be much more to do in the race against hunger, but from what I’ve seen of the passion and dedication of ONE members over the last few weeks I know that we can get there. In Mo Farah’s own words yesterday, this is perhaps the most important race of all.
Thank you very much!
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About the Blog
The International ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with guest contributions from ONE volunteers, members and allies.
The content of each post and each comment represents the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ONE. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any post expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
14/08/2012 at 12:01 am
Good progress that nobody can argue with! Having lived in rural Africa and seen chronic malnutrition I am not complacent about its terrible effects. So many health problems are magnified by this blight we must make tackling it a priority.
However let’s make sure that we use it to move from structures and modes of thinking that deal just with the problems, real as they are, to dealing with the causes of the problems. We need to move beyond charity to justice.
Techno fixes can go wrong and don’t necessarily allow those effected by our actions and lifestyle to take ownership of(or responsibility for) actions which will make poverty history. We in the North need to stop imposing our demands and arm-twisting. We need to take profound, real and sacrificial actions to put our house in order.
One example of this is getting serious about tax dodging- as Christian Aid’s Trace the Tax campaign advocates. I’m not thinking of the likes of Jimmy Carr; I’m thinking of corporations that hide money off-shore and shuffle it around. This deprives people in the UK of hospitals and public servants, in the developing world it deprives people of life. Let’s start banging crooks up. Sweet words from politicians cut no ice when they are seen to take no action.
A second cause is radically tackling Climate Change- that means the US President needs to stop being mealy-mouthed about coal fired electricity generation and the UK needs to stop wimping out to NIMBYism over wind farms. We need to tell people that they will have to be less comfortable and make sacrifices. Our parents managed it to fight Nazism- we should be no less sacrificial.
A third topic is getting a grip of the banks and financial speculators. That should mean a Tobin tax and prison and confiscation of property to deal with individual and corporate wrongdoing.
A fourth area of concern is our continued complacency and conniving with the debt-extortions which see people in states this laudable initiative seeks to benefit deprived of resources whilst their governments continue to pay interest to bankers and those who irresponsibly leant the money years ago. As the Jubilee Debt Campaign’s Jubilee for Justice campaign argues, we should cancel odious debts, actively help governments to raise taxes (to avoid the necessity of borrowing), and stop lending irresponsibly.
When we take these beams out of our own eyes, perhaps we will see better to help take the motes out of the eyes of others.
So a good start, but the staff of ONE, Save the Children, Oxfam et al. should be expecting to take a salary cut if their businesses don’t achieve their goals!
14/08/2012 at 12:06 am
I am so proud to be part of the ONE movement and firmly believe that we can end poverty ! Thank you for keeping me informed.
14/08/2012 at 12:31 am
Would love to see an end to poverty but at my age, cynicism is a constant partner. So many promises, so few actions. That doesn’t mean that we quit the fight. I watched none of the Olympics (yet again). “Patriotism” comes so far in front of the plight of so many it makes me sick.
14/08/2012 at 12:42 am
Agree, in principle if not tone, with your four points of concern Stephen. however we can do without the preaching and threats at the end of your message. Well done to the ONE team for seizing the moment – and Mo – to get this initiative off the starting block, and good luck with all future plans.
14/08/2012 at 2:12 am
I’m glad that I am part of this group. …Mabuhay sa inyong lahat!
14/08/2012 at 3:24 am
it is a great effort for hunger, all of us has to become ONE, and do what we can, our one minute to give this cause bring a big difference in peaple’s life and it calls humanity. I am proud of beeing a member of the ONE. I know it is very hard to understand for those who are in power. I hope they stop spending mony on war and use this against hunger, but they are smart they have same cause to kill peaple but in different ways ( war and hungder) thair cause is to kill peaple and our cause is to safe from hunger. It is a small word , but it takes a life of love ones .be ONE
14/08/2012 at 3:49 am
Proud of taking part in such a great and important campain to stop hunger across the planet. Hopefuly politicians keep their promises but what is important that there is a willining to do something and not become complacent and indifferent. What’s important it to keep the dream alive and make it happen!
Great work
14/08/2012 at 4:38 am
I read somewhere and I don’t know how accurate these figures are but that if the World didn’t spend money on arms for eight days that money not spent, would feed the entire World for a year. I don’t know how accurate those figures are but it sure makes you think.
Good on you ONE for making a difference. “If good people do nothing, evil persists.” May this begin a wave of compassion that will create not just hope but real solutions for those in need. Thank you.
14/08/2012 at 4:51 am
I’m with you all the way.
14/08/2012 at 7:45 am
I’m glad that I am part of this group. I believe that we can end poverty..!!!!
14/08/2012 at 8:15 am
Je soutiens de fond de mon coeur! Je rejoinds!
14/08/2012 at 8:50 am
Thank you ONE.org. I’m glad to be a part of this very important campain. Keep up the great work.
14/08/2012 at 9:06 am
Thank you ONE.org for keeping me informed. Proud to be associated with your campaign. More power to you!
14/08/2012 at 9:06 am
It’s a beginning, we need to make sure it doesn’t slip onto the back burner.
Politicians tend to see things short term, so they will need reminding!
thanks eveyone.
14/08/2012 at 9:47 am
A mi me tiene un poco mosca que no se den cuenta los capitalistas de estos y otros temas, sera que ya tienen las arcas llenas y no les cabe mas dinero que no saben que hacer con el…
14/08/2012 at 10:56 am
I am honored to be part of ONE organization. If my voice, by twitts and informatic way, has contributed, also for little, to combat hunger and poverty, I am the man the more happy of world, as I had been of utility for others. It is like a olimpic prize. Kind regards claudio alpaca
14/08/2012 at 11:29 am
Great job. Thanks for all you do.
14/08/2012 at 11:34 am
Thanks for keeping me informed! I’m proud to be a part of this campaign. More power to you.
14/08/2012 at 11:41 am
Congratulations for your important work!!!
Todas las iniciativas por un mundo más justo son bienvenidas y necesarias.
Endavant contra la fam i la pobresa!!!
14/08/2012 at 12:07 pm
Of course I’m proud of taking part in such a great and important campain to stop hunger across the planet and this resulting in politicians keep their promises. This means that what is important is to do something and not become complacent or indifferent with unjustices to keep alive the dream of transforming the world.
14/08/2012 at 12:31 pm
All together we are great !!!!
14/08/2012 at 1:17 pm
Well done ONE. I’m just delighted with the news of the success of our voice against hunger.
14/08/2012 at 2:22 pm
Great thing! Although I’m only a drop in the ocean, I’m proud of being one…in ONE! Thanks for all the things you do, I’ll always support you.
14/08/2012 at 3:43 pm
great achievement at London2012…thanks for the efforts…may God bless you all for the heavenly work…race against Hunger…
14/08/2012 at 5:56 pm
I try my best -not always I admit- to help someone in need, because I was taught to do so. Now that my country deals with a lot of issues, I feel so incompetent to act. Sometimes I feel guilty for not doing something drastic and I wonder if only my signature was good enough to stop famine, poverty, conflicts or any other injustices. But I can see now that I am not the only dreamer in this world and I want to thank you all from the bottoms of my heart. So congratulations One for your great work.
14/08/2012 at 9:25 pm
Congratulation for successful attempt… Dear Adrian Lovett and all members of One!!!
14/08/2012 at 10:21 pm
I’m so glad to see that a change can be done if all the people put their force on it.
Children must live!!!
GOD bless you from Chile
14/08/2012 at 11:21 pm
I am so proud to be part of the ONE movement…… con poquito podemos hacer mucho!!!!
15/08/2012 at 2:05 am
I am happy to be part of this cause.
15/08/2012 at 3:20 am
I read all your comments and feel so proud of you all. This made my day! Thanks for keeping us informed!
15/08/2012 at 5:34 am
Splendid!
15/08/2012 at 7:09 am
Thank you ONE for your strong initiatives.
Thank to you Stephen Pennells for your insightful comments which need to be addressed if hunger in the first, second and third world is to be dealt with in the long term.
15/08/2012 at 10:35 am
GREAT RESULT!!!!! Lets keep this going until we achieve our aim!!!
15/08/2012 at 10:54 am
I’m very happy to realise that world governments are quite touched by this cause and taking steps to help deprived people. As for me, i also feel very good to be able to help with my words or just helping support this cause.
God helps everybody devoted to the poverty cause!
15/08/2012 at 1:52 pm
Stephen Pennells, in his comment at 12.01 on August 14th, is right on the money. We need the four changes he advocates:
1) an end to tax dodging
2) tackling of climate change, with urgency and scale
3) getting control of the banks and the global financial system so it serves people not money
4) final solution to the debt problem
And implicit in what he writes is that there will be LOOKS LIKE a cost to us. our CONSUMPTION will go down. It must go down. If others are to have more, then we will have to have less. There are qualifications to this, but the big picture is that this is true.
However this drop in our CONSUMPTION will be accompanied by a feel-good factor which is priceless, and also our QUALITY OF LIFE need not go down at all, quite the reverse.
Many aspects of our lives are extraordinarily wasteful. examples frange from ludicrous packaging to needless and confusing choice (60? kinds of breakfast cereal) to needless transporting of goods around the world (Britain exports chewing gum, potatoes, ice cream, etc etc. in almost exactly the same quantities each year as it imports see for example http://www.neweconomics.org/press-releases/world-enters-%E2%80%98ecological-debt%E2%80%99-250909 ) to our amazingly wasteful transport system – people commuting miles by car when many of these trips cojuld and should be replaced by public transport or bike or walking.
Plenty of room for reducing consumption and still having the same standard of living, and in fact a better quality of life – less fumes, less stress, etc.
The other thing is that politicians find it easy to make promises and say they will do things, but they forget incredibly easily! I have sat in the Jersey Parliament, and have seen it happen. ONE will have to get these pledges “in writing” – exactly what the pledges are, and how they will be implemented, and then monitor their implementation.
15/08/2012 at 5:28 pm
Every generation gets a chance to change the world. This is our chance. Don’t let it go away. As ONE
15/08/2012 at 9:48 pm
Wow, thanks for the good news! Is there a strategy to keep the promises on the right path? I’m thinking social media would be a great tool for this vital part of ongoing progress, I really, really want to win this race!
16/08/2012 at 4:37 pm
This meeting was extraordinary and it is so good to find world
leaders become more and hopefully more involved in the
immense scandal of the gap between rich and poor which
results in the malnutrition and suffering of so many of our children.
Thank you!
16/08/2012 at 5:39 pm
Thanks for all the constructive and thoughtful comments here, and the wonderful encouragement. We would be nothing without all of you! Let’s keep pushing forward together – we have a lot of work ahead of us but we are making a difference!
17/08/2012 at 2:28 pm
The catholic church should stop interfering and furthermore, their should as in China be a mandatory one child per family policy BUT, with safeguards to protect girls too.Only by steming the exponential rise in the human’kinds’ populous, safeguarding the ecology and environment upon which we too depend is their any hope of saving us all!
20/08/2012 at 8:54 am
Plenty of food in this world to go round, sadly some get too much while others starve.