What We’re Reading 9/9/09

Sep 9th, 2009 6:16 PM UTC
By Chandler.Smith

UK Press Association: Bono and Ashley back malaria drive (UKPA)
Bono and Ashley Judd are among the stars who have pledged their support for a new campaign to tackle malaria. David Beckham’s football team LA Galaxy, Spanish club FC Barcelona and Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates’s wife Melinda are also backing the United Against Malaria initiative, formed by charities Comic Relief, One and Malaria No More UK.

Reuters: Europe, UK press Sudan to return seized aid
Britain and the European Commission have urged Sudan to return hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets they funded that were seized by Khartoum during a mass expulsion of humanitarian agencies.

The Guardian: A green deal for rich and poor nations
A few months ago, Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, stated explicitly that the continent’s future depends on what comes out of the Copenhagen climate change negotiations. He argued that Africa needs a strong climate deal, and quickly, so that global emissions can be brought under control as soon as possible. He also called for strong mechanisms to help the continent move towards a low carbon growth path and to strengthen its resilience to unavoidable impacts. President Kagame hit the nail on the head. We know that the effects of climate change will hit the poorest and most vulnerable first and hardest. That is why the new climate change deal so many are working so hard for must also be a deal for development.

Financial Times: EU sets out €15bn climate aid plan
The European Union is to offer a modest €15bn a year to help poor countries cope with the effects of climate change, setting the stage for a fight before an international conference in Copenhagen in December.

National Post: Severe hunger threatens 20M in East Africa
With war-ravaged Somalia engulfed in a fresh round of fighting, leading Canadian aid agencies predict East Africa is plunging into its worst humanitarian crisis in decades. The Humanitarian Coalition, which includes CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Quebec and Save the Children Canada, warns East Africa faces “a perfect storm of crop failures, a multi-year lack of rain, conflicts and political turmoil,” which now threatens 20 million people with severe hunger.

-Chandler Smith

TAGS: What We're Reading