US Global Development Strategy Put Forward; A First Long Time Coming

Sphere: Related Content Raymond C. Offenheiser, Board of Directors, Oxfam America Advocacy Fund tells us that President Obama announced a sweeping new effort called the US Global Development Strategy - at a big poverty summit in New York [one presumes they mean the UN MDGs Summit which goes to my previous point of too little and too much] delivering the message in person - a first for any president!
The White House's New Approach to Advancing Development goes beyond giving aid only in times of crisis, becoming proactive rather than reactive. It adopts a multifaceted approach to ending poverty - utilizing diplomacy, revamping trade and investment policies, reforming our foreign aid policies and partnering with governments, NGOs and the private sector.
Oxfam wants us to join in pushing Congress to make sure President Obama's new strategy on foreign aid stands for administrations to come - by emailing your House representative now!
The existing bill in the US House, H.R. 2139, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009, would reform US aid to other countries and make sure key parts of Obama's plan are safe for years to come. That's why more representatives are needed to co-sponsor this reform bill and show the White House, Congress and the world that they're serious about real solutions for global poverty.

http://act.oxfamamerica.org/site/R?i=qJKdbgxVWRWzSxHpDPOOrQ.
So, officially speaking, what is its purpose?

• Official: To direct the President to develop and implement a comprehensive national strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting global development, and for other purposes. as introduced.

Why do we need this? This video from 2009, featuring Sabina Dewan, Associate Director of International Economic Policy at American Progress, provides some insights.


We need a National Strategy for Global Development which outline the goals of our development programs and the methods to reach those goals. A recent GAO report identified the lack of such a strategy as a major challenge for our global development efforts.
The current law on US foreign aid has been on the books for 50 years. It's grossly out of date and doesn't address the needs of modern poverty. The bill now being considered by the House will reform the way the US handles foreign aid, turning a key element of the Global Development Strategy into law and preventing it from being changed with each new administration.
A more thorough examination of the issue is provided by Farha Tahir in the article Interagency Coordination, Aid Effectiveness, and Corruption: A Roadmap found in the blog Random Musings.
Susan B. Epstein, Specialist in Foreign Policy also provides an in depth look at the issue through her article on Foreign Aid Reform, National Strategy, and the Quadrennial Review at International Humanitarian Policy CRS Reports relating to International Humanitarian Crisis and Emergency Aid Efforts
I recently became convinced to stop focusing on the United Nations as the primary means of implementing the Millennium Development Goals and focus instead closer to home on the policies of the United States. This is one policy that will help to implement the MDGs in a pragmatic and work in the political realities of this world type of way.
We need to make sure that these new policies on global poverty stand the test of time - we need to email Congress today and urge our House representative to co-sponsor this crucial piece of legislation before the end of the year.

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• Financial Times Examines U.S. Foreign Aid Reform (medicalnewstoday.com)
• UN development summit: Obama brilliance can't hide poor performance on MDGs (leftfootforward.org)
• Aid groups cheer Obama development plan (sfgate.com)
• Awesome. (one.org)
• Pres. Obama Unveils New U.S. Global Development Policy At U.N. MDGs Summit (medicalnewstoday.com)
• President Obama is releasing the US's MDG strategy today...but where's the bigger plan? (one.org)

Let No Family Go Hungry But on What Terms

Sphere: Related Content The Stand Up Take Action and the UN MDG Summit are now both over and in my view it was all too little and too much at the same time, but more on that later.The events of the past week have induced me to change the focus with this blog to trying to go a bit deeper and include more relevant information on particular issues,with each post, especially those before Congress.
So while, I will still be responding when someone like Emily V. of Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team urges us to tell Congress to enact a global strategy to reduce world hunger, I will also be examining the issue more closely and raising questions.

Food.- It's one of our most basic needs. But the number of people suffering from chronic hunger is increasing every year. Today, one-sixth of the world's population goes hungry.The Global Food Security Act now before Congress would make it faster and cheaper to feed the more than 1 billion people facing chronic hunger. If passed, this bill would give more flexibility in food emergencies, like buying food locally and regionally, as well as providing social safety net programs for the world's poor. Plus, by developing long-term agricultural projects, it will help women farmers to increase their income and pull their families out of poverty. Tell Congress to pass the Global Food Security Act »

The overall sentiment behind the Care2 request is great but the details, as often is the case with these calls for action, are sparse. This involves a controversial bill S. 384: Global Food Security Act of 2009, which at least in its earlier form, was opposed by a number of organizations, some of which have been supported in this blog.
The Global Food Security Act has recently had a hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. A video of the hearing is provided below.xx
[Some technical information first part starts at 19:38 and second Part starts at 122:20]
Committee on Foreign Relations: concluded a hearing to examine promoting global food security, focusing on the next steps for Congress and the Administration, after receiving testimony from Jacob Lew, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources; Rajiv Shah, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development (USAID); and Global Agricultural Development Initiative Cochairs, Dan Glickman, Washington, DC, and Catherine Bertini, Cortland, New York, both of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

This blog has looked at the issue of Global Food Security before with the post Commitment to Global Food Security Sadly Lacking. All of the Millennium Development Goals, including Millennium Development Goal 1. End Hunger not only need to be attained by 2015, they also need to be sustained after that and that will not happen without a viable global food security program.
The level of disagreement, among those who would be assumed to be on the same side of an issue having to do with feeding the developing world, has a fairly wide range. The specific organizations opposing S.384 back in 2009 and perhaps still so today are a more numerous as well as a more varied crowd. One of the important concepts raised in this argument is balancing Food Security with Food Sovereignty. This is the sticking point with S. 384 from me. It seemingly places Millennium Development Goal 1. End Hunger in opposition with Millennium Development Goal 8. Global Partnership.

Some are opposed because they see the legislation as being in contrast with the principles of their organization. Whether this remains true for the final version of the bill remains to be seen.Many progressive organizations accuse the bill of being written in favor of large industrial agricultural firms, specifically in this case Monsanto.
Some organizations are basically opposed to genetic modification in any form as a means of feeding the world. At this point, I am not, but I will be studying this and the supposed negative effects of the so-called Green Revolution more closely.

Others see the failure of the Green Revolution being a result of political neglect not bad science.
Timothy Geithner and Bill Gates: A New Initiative to Feed the World

We should not be facing this challenge today. In the 1960s and '70s the world understood that agricultural development was an indispensable tool in alleviating hunger, reducing poverty, and driving economic growth. A combination of new, high-yielding crops developed by scientists such as Norman Borlaug and sustained investments from the U.S. and other countries helped save hundreds of millions of people from starvation in India, Mexico and elsewhere. Yet during the past three decades the world's interest in agriculture waned. Donor nations moved on to focus on other issues. The result is that there has been a sharp drop in aid for agriculture. In 1979, nearly 18% of all official development assistance world-wide went to agriculture. In 2008, about 5% did. Timothy Geithner and Bill Gates: A New Initiative to Feed the World - WSJ.com

The truth is that I am very likely relatively more conservative than many of those in the organizations opposing this bill. I do see technology as being an essential tool for meeting the Millennium Development Goals. I also remain an advocate of free enterprise and social enterprise as a means of facing these challenges. This can make for some strange political bedfellows on various issues (in this case Geithner), which means more thinking on my part on the subject.
Even though I may have some issues with Mr. Geithner, I still come down at this point with favoring the bill. My rationale is that CARE Urges Passage of Global Food Security Act; Commends Bipartisan Support in Both Senate and House. Besides the fact that they are making the request for support, their reasons for doing so seems not to be tied to the question of genetic engineering, rather they seem to have more on-the-ground pragmatic concerns related to their own efforts to get food to those most in need.

"Transporting food from the United States to hungry people in developing countries is expensive, slow and unpredictable -- it does not make sense to spend 65 cents of every dollar in food aid on processing and transportation," said Dr. Gayle.

CARE places special emphasis on investing in women and girls' empowerment. Passage of the Global Food Security Act could benefit families and move entire communities out of poverty by providing women farmers access to the necessary tools, skills and financial resources to feed their families and get their crops to local markets. ONE also seems to be supporting the bill as some of the articles cited below indicate.
I have been going back and forth on this issue. Here is some information on the Lugar­Casey
 Global
Food
 Security 
Act
 (S.
384)
 that lists organizations for and against the bill from 2009.
Below is some more information on the organizations that were opposing S.384 in 2009, though some of the links are old it appears until the language in the bill is changed most still do.

• Food First
• Policy Brief: Why the Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act will Fail to Curb Hunger
• New Food Sovereignty book released by Fernwood Press, Food First Books, and Fahamu

• Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
• Interfaith community response to Feed the Future, the U.S. Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative
• Read more about the MOGC's analysis of Feed the Future in the July-August 2010 issue of NewsNotes.

• National Family Farm Coalition
• Farmer to Farmer Campaign on Genetic Engineering
• U.S. WORKING GROUP ON THE FOOD CRISIS CRITICIZES GLOBAL HARVEST INITIATIVE’S FAILED IDEAS TO FEED THE WORLD

• Union of Concerned Scientists
• UCS calls on Congress to make the bill technology neutral by stripping a provision that appears to mandate research employing genetic engineering.

• Organic Consumers Association
  • US Senate, Bill Gates Give the Planet a Middle Finger for Earth Day

• WHY Hunger Organization
• Human Rights: Foundation for Progress on the MDGs
  

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• Interview with Phil Bereano: Part I (energybulletin.net)
• Recap: August recess meet 'n greets (one.org)
• ONE Chicago volunteers visit Sen. Durbin's office (one.org)
• A More Productive and Sustainable Agriculture is Needed to Halve Hunger by 2015 (prweb.com basically means press release consider accordingly)
  

Right food, Right Time, Right Now

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I am on Twitter now with this online persona and keep finding more people and groups working on the Millennium Development Goals with which to connect. The latest was with the World Food Programme (which I connected to through a fellow MAKE NOISE for the Millennium Development Goals BloggersUnite blogger from the Philippines).

The World Food Programme or WFP connected back with me and sent me a direct message.

WFP: Malnourished mothers give birth to malnourished children - we can break the cycle of hunger http://t.co/Mg8MxfR @WFP (pls share this)

The link goes to the video below.

This combines a number of the Millennium Development Goals together. MDG 1. End Hunger is an obvious one but as the cycle of malnutrition makes clear MDG 5. Maternal Health is an important aspect of the problem and if malnutrition impacts developmental health it is also a matter of MDG 4. Child Health. Finally, since most of this is handled by women MDG 3. Gender Equity should also be natural connection.

It can also be extended to include MDG 7. Environmental Sustainability because as the folks from Oxfam pointed out,

Poor women around the world are hardest hit by changes in the environment. When wells run dry, they may have to walk hours farther for water. Women are largely responsible for feeding their families, so when crops fail and food is scarce, they're the last to eat or they go without.

Oxfam is spearheading Sisters on the Planet, bringing women from poor countries together with powerful American women leaders to put pressure on Congress and bring the voices of these communities directly into the debate.

Committment to Global Food Security Sadly Lacking

Sphere: Related Content This post is made up from a number of sources provided by Avaaz, which sometime ago sent a request to join in the call urging world leaders to make good on their promises to tackle the world food crisis by delivering a strong agriculture and food security package for developing countries.

Zunia provided a link to E-Learning: Food Security Information for Action. The link leads to information on the work that the FAO and European Union are doing together on Food Security Information for Decision Making. The goal is the Linking Information and Decision Making to Improve Food Security. The program offers self-paced e-learning, developed by international experts to support capacity building and on-the-job Training and Workshops at national and local food security information systems and networks. You can try a sample lesson "What is Food Security?"

This is one of the times that the effort did not reach its goal either in numbers or in effect. World leaders who met in Rome in November of 2009 for the World Food Summit, backed out on a pledge to fund lifesaving food production. The countries of France, Germany, UK, Italy and Japan all backed out on a $20 billion promise made earlier this year. Only $3 billion or Only 15% of G8 pledge was new money, according to Reuters.

The BBC reports Global Hunger worsening, warns UN's annual report on global food security which confirms that more than one billion people - a sixth of the world's population - are undernourished. This is a scandal with literally millions facing life-threatening hunger especially when the economic crisis has only made the situation wors and billions were found to help out the banks. Although the world produces enough food to feed everyone, according to this report for World Food Day: There is enough food grown in the world for everyone (Op-ed), Oxfam International: chronic hunger across the planet has reached the record-high figure of 1 billion this year.

Change.org, even more recently shifted the focus back to the United States and President Obama with the message: Feed the Hungry Instead of Wall Street

Most of the time, broken promises from politicians barely raise an eyebrow.

But what if a broken promise condemned one sixth of the world's population to chronic hunger?

The world's most powerful leaders, including President Obama, did just that in November when they refused to even show up for the Food Security Summit in Rome.

And just four months after promising $22 billion to fight hunger, the G8 leaders still haven't spelled out how they will fund it.

Don't let world leaders get away with ignoring the problem of global hunger.

Ask President Obama to take the lead and demand world leaders make good on their promise >

- The Change.org Team in partnership with ActionAid

They are working with the anti-poverty organisation ActionAid, which brings over 30 years of knowledge and experience in fighting poverty by applying the following principles:

• Work together with poor people, local partners and organisations in combating poverty
• Focus on fighting against the causes of poverty, not just the results.

Their efforts are prioritized into five areas of work to make the most difference:

1. education,
2. hiv and aids,
3. food rights,
4. emergencies,
5. women and girls and
6. governance.
   

Here is ActionAid's HungerFREE Scorecard which sees small scale farming systems being critical in tackling hunger and poverty:

This is an in-depth investigation into what 50 governments (poor and rich) are doing to tackle the billion hungry. Giving them each scores based on their achievements and policies.

While some of the poorest countries in the world have been able to reduce the number of hungry people, many of the richest countries lag shockingly behind.

More information about ActionAid´s HungerFREE global campaign:

• # The ActionAid HungerFREE campaign aims to put the issue of hunger to the top of the political agenda. The right to food has been sidelined for too long!
• # We are a global campaign that lobbies governments to deliver on their commitment to halve world hunger by 2015.
• # We want to ensure that corporations are held accountable for abuses of the rights to food, water, land and seeds
• # We believe that low-impact farming by small-holder farmers is the best way to tackle hunger. A UN study found sustainable agriculture increased crop yields in Africa by an astonishing 116%.
• # We’re teaming up with hungry people and communities, individual farmers, farmers’ groups, supporters, celebrities, artists, influencers and sympathetic politicians – all with one thing in common – we are determined to end hunger.

There is growing evidence, like this article from Greenpeace, showing that intensive farming models are not only ineffectual in countering hunger, they have a highly damaging affect on our environment. However, as strange as it may sound to some, an argument could be made that it makes more sense to work with businesses than governments. UN meets with food businesses to discuss food security Reuters(11/12)

Private sector, governments, non-government organisations should work together to solve long-term problems in developing countries and eradicate hunger in the world, said Ertharin Cousin, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. food agencies in Rome.

A Coalition of Advocates (and me) Supporting the Presidential Study Directive on U.S. Global Development Policy

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ONE is joining forces with the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN)—including:

• Bread for the World
• Women Thrive Worldwide
• Mercy Corps
• Center for American Progress
• Oxfam America
• Publish What You Fund
• RESULTS
• Save the Children
• American Jewish World Service
• CARE
• Americans for Informed Democracy and
• International Women's Health Coalition

They are combining efforts across the Aid Advocacy community to help elevate the call for development and foreign assistance reform for President Obama and his key advisors through the Presidential Study Directive on U.S. Global Development Policy.

Tom Hart, Director of Government Relations at ONE.org advised in an email:

Right now, President Obama and his senior advisors, led by National Security Advisor James Jones and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers, are preparing a Presidential Study Directive that will shape the future of U.S. efforts to alleviate poverty, fight disease, and create economic opportunity for the world's poorest people.

The petition they want us to sign, with my two cents added, reads:

Please create a U.S. global development strategy giving development a strong voice in foreign policy decisions and coordinating efforts to alleviate global poverty, fight disease, and create economic opportunity.

This would be the strongest message that you could send to the rest of world supporting the vision you put forth when accepting your Nobel Peace Prize. It would also be one of the most significant actions the United States could take in supporting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals especially to end poverty.

MFAN will deliver the petition to key White House contacts on December 18. They are looking to get 25,000 signature and so far they have 23,989 with 3,999 from California. So this time I am getting this out about a week early giving anyone who reads this an opportunity to add their voice so that they reach their goal.

Enjoying Victories - Whether by Democrat or Republican - Whether by Activist or Slacktivist

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This blog endeavors to support the United Nations' Eight Goal Millennium Campaign by supporting the actions of a number of advocacy organizations including ONE. These actions often involve supporting the many different laws focused on the Millennium Development Goal to End Hunger.

Just before Thanksgiving, I sent in my comments urging my Congressional representative (Republican) to sign on to the Berman-Kirk letter requesting a robust International Affairs Budget. I was told that he would take it under advisement.

Well, whether he supported it or not (not), the overall Berman-Kirk FY2011 Budget Campaign was a Resounding Success and a bipartisan one.

A victory in the fight to "Upgrade Aid" occured when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 15-3 to pass the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act (S.1524) through their committee.

The bill we passed today…is the product of well over a year of research and analysis by Senators and their staffs. It has attracted the support of most development groups, led by the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network. It is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 19 Senators, twelve of whom are members of this Committee. This level of backing for a bill related to foreign assistance structure is extremely rare. It provides an opportunity to build something approaching a consensus on this issue.

Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN)
Committee Ranking Member

This legislation demonstrates Congress’s commitment to strengthening the capacity, accountability and effectiveness of our foreign aid programs. With the U.S. facing critical foreign policy and development priorities worldwide, it is vital that we update our foreign aid programs to reflect the new challenges of the 21st century.

Senator John Kerry (D-MA)
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman

I’ve been able to see our foreign assistance dollars in action and am proud of the role we are playing in producing positive change in the lives of millions around the world, but at the same time, I share the frustration of many Americans that our foreign assistance efforts have often lacked transparency, coordination, monitoring and evaluation. This bill begins to reinvigorate USAID to improve the coordination, execution and efficiency of U.S. assistance so we can make each dollar go farther.

Senator Bob Corker (R-TN)
Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on International Development
and Foreign Assistance

This is one of the most significant pieces of foreign assistance legislation that has passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in decades. I am proud that this is truly a bi-partisan bill, developed in a collaborative manner and that it includes input from a wide range of voices. These programs are critical to millions of people around the world, they contribute to our mutual economic health, and are in the direct national security interests of the United States.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance

Over 47,000 ONE members signed the petition
19 senators signed on—
9 of these since the campaign was first launched.

Sheila Nix, the U.S. Executive Director, ONE.org tells us that the next step for aid reform will be the White House Presidential Study Directive on U.S. global development, which General Jim Jones and Dr. Larry Summers are working on right now. Stay tuned to the ONE Blog and your email for updates and opportunities to take further action.

The need for this effort is made clear by the testimony of Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE.

In the video she testifies in defense of Global Hunger and Food Security legislation, specifically the Global Food Security Act (HR3077) and the Roadmap to End Global Hunger Act (HR2817).

However, it seems that these bills are still languishing so the work still needs to continue.

Today is the Day Stand Up and Be Counted to support World Food Day and End Poverty!

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The moment has finally arrived. The Stand Up Take Action global event has officially begun. So began the message that greeted me this morning. This blog is part of the Online Campaign of Stand Up Take Action Now! at BloggersUnite for Stand Up Take Action End Poverty Now! There are already two posts from the Philippines at the Bloggers Unite event created especially for this cause. You want to start there if you want to contribute a blog post to this effort. One post from Ang Sa Wari Ko Stand Up and Take Actions Now! Ang silbi ng 45 pesos at ang isyu ng kahirapan [English Translation] and the other from 2Rivers Can We End Poverty In Our Generation. I will post others as they come in.

The challenge has been stated by World Hunger Notes.

• The world produces enough food to feed everyone.
  
• Poverty is the principal cause of hunger.
• An estimated 982 million poor people in developing countries who live on $1 a day or less (World Bank, Understanding Poverty, Chen 2004).
  
• Conflict as a cause of hunger and poverty.
  
• Hunger is also a cause of poverty.

Today is also World Food Day, which is also being celebrated by BloggersUnite. The FAO or Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations is one of the primary global organizations addressing this issue.

The Objective: World Food Day is annually held on Oct. 16 to commemorate the founding of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

One concern of paramount importance today in order to achieve Millennium Development Goal 1. End Hunger is FAO Reform:

In November 2007, the Conference welcomed the report of the Independent External Evaluation of FAO (IEE) and passed a resolution on the Follow-up to the IEE. This included the establishment of a time-bound Committee of the Conference (CoC-IEE), open to all FAO Members, and tasked with preparing proposals for an immediate plan of action to be considered by a Special Session of the Conference in the latter part of 2008. Based on the work of the CoC-IEE, the Special Session of the Conference adopted Resolution 1/2008: the Immediate Plan of Action for FAO Renewal and extended the CoC-IEE to further develop outstanding aspects of follow-up and report to the FAO Conference in 2009.

Here are some ways of getting involved with FAO's mission. It is of particular concern to the UN MILLENNIUM CAMPAIGN's to get the G20 to address this need in the current economic crisis, despite the valiant $42.6 million, three-year immediate plan of action by the FAO in November of 2008. These two efforts seem to be different sides of the same coin. One appealing to primarily the emotions of others and their capacity for compassion and collaboration, the other appealing to science, technology, and management skill sets. My natural tendency is to discount "showboat" demonstrations and focus on "hard nose" numbers and demonstrable programs, but I now believe that there is an important role to be filled in getting others to be part of this effort on an emotional level as well. We can't all be experts, but if we can't get most of the people in the world to care at some basic level, no matter how many campaigns FAO tries to put together it won't End Poverty! Below are some past posts dealing with the FAO.

• Making Hope Last Longer Than Hunger
• FAO not Schwartz part 1 - Global Plan of Action Addresses a Global Challenge Hunger

The Ugly of the Good, the Bad and The Ugly of Climate Change

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The Ugly of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change is the impact that a lack of action is having on those least able to deal with the negative affects of global warming. This has been discussed before at No Leadership or Consensus Regarding Climate Change as Nations Meet, more from different perspectives along the economic and political continuum.

Christian Science Monitor, The/Bright Green Blog (9/30) cited a Study: Climate change will lead to increase in number of malnourished.

Climate change is likely to affect crop yields negatively by 2050, an International Food Policy Research Institute study found. And, as the price of wheat, rice and maize increases, the study predicts, 25 million more children will be malnourished.
“Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate changes,” notes a new study from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) that looks at how climate change will affect food production around the world by 2050.

“Developing countries are likely to be hardest hit by climate change and will suffer bigger declines in crop yields,” said Gerald Nelson, lead author of the study and an IFPRI research fellow, in a conference call with journalists on Tuesday.

The Economist also wrote that the Developing world bears brunt of climate change's effects

Developing countries account for more than half of carbon emissions, but climate change still hurts those countries in an outsized manner. The housing, health and health care problems that the poor face leave them more vulnerable to natural disasters, and poor countries are more prone to flooding.

There is not yet a real sense of urgency. One Hundred Months, a blog about the effects of climate change, has a clock ticking away and says that we are running out of time.

We have 100 months to save our climate. When the clock stops ticking, we could be beyond our climate's tipping point, the point of no return.

Related Posts:

• The Good of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change
• The Bad of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change
• The Better of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change

Take a Stand Against Poverty by Investing in Women to Save the World

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This year's actions taking a stand against poverty are also focusing on women's issues. According to the Stand Up and Take Action event on 16 taking place through 18 October 2009.

This year, Stand Up will once again provide an energetic, high impact platform for people to raise the profile of MDG- related issues relevant to their region, country or community. However, this year Stand Up will begin on October 16th, World Food Day, and on this one day the focus on food security and on hunger will be greater. As always, the policy demands will be determined at the national and local levels by participants. But in recognition of the fact that many of the MDGs directly linked to the status of women are not doing well, campaigners are encouraged to give this year’s Stand Up a clear focus on holding governments accountable for improving the status of women and their rights.

In honor of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17, CARE is encouraging us to stand in solidarity with poor and marginalized women around the world.

Two steps, first:

VOICE YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

In July, a large bipartisan group of senators introduced the GROWTH (Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive) Act; if passed, it will revolutionize the way U.S. foreign aid is directed.

The GROWTH Act promotes the economic empowerment of women and proposes concrete steps that the United States can take to play a positive role in improving the lives of the world's poorest women and their families. In short, this bill will create a chance to lift up the 1 billion people in the world who live on less than a $1.25 a day.

Please join by sending a personalized messageto your own senators.

Step two, learn more by reading:

"Half the Sky" shares poignant tales of women's struggles and triumphs in the face of poverty and discrimination. Through the compelling stories, the authors brilliantly illustrate the connections between women's empowerment and social and economic progress.

The work of Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn has been featured in the New York Times.

Investing in women to save the world

Half the work force of many developing nations is marginalized because of their gender, write Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Yet microfinance lenders and other nonprofits are hoping to change that by focusing their efforts on women, helping them start businesses and receive education that can transform their whole communities. The New York Times, (8/17)

Start a conversation with your book club, women's group, alumni chapter or family and friends about the challenges and opportunities women and girls face, or particpate in a blogging action with BloggersUnite with STAND UP and TAKE ACTION against Poverty and The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and take action together with CARE!

Other Blogging Efforts For the Same Cause Ending Poverty

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Now that the Millennium Milestones Wiki is finished, I am going to start to focus on another project related to this effort and that is working with

I have participated in their blogging events before, but this is the first time that I have tried to promote a BloggersUnite event myself in support of the Stand Up Take Action End Poverty Now! campaign. I have to admit that so far the participation is limited to only two other bloggers (who are greatly appreciated).

Part of the problem may be competition. Seems that October is the month of actions against poverty and hunger. Below are other BloggersUnite actions taking place in October of this year. I have decided to take "the-more-the-merry" approach to this, figuring we are all supporting the same basic cause and have joined up with each. I have also included them on the calendar at the Milestones for a New Millennium wiki. My hope is that people participating in each of the events will take the same approach.

• World Food Day

• World Food Day is annually held on Oct. 16 to commemorate the founding of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

• Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated.

• Up Against Corruption and Poverty

• To Support the Millennium Development Goals

Of course another part of the problem is that I have not done a good enough job of promoting the event on BloggersUnite or other venues. That will be one the the next things on my to-do list to support the Millennium Development Goals.

Related (Somewhat) Posts:

• Making Hope Last Longer Than Hunger
• Refugees Across the Globe - A Millennium Problem
• FAO not Schwartz part 1 - Global Plan of Action Addresses a Global Challenge Hunger
• FAO not Schwartz part 2- Opposing Pathways to Ending World Hunger and Malnutrition
• FAO not Schwartz part 3 - A World Tragedy Too Long

1st of 8 days 8 Goals Personal Stories behind the Millennium Development Goals

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I am a day late getting this up. The United Nations Millennium Campaign on Facebook is running a series of 8 videos highlighting the 8 Millennium Development Goals. I will get the second one up today to catch up.

United Nations Millennium Campaign Every day, for the next 8 days, we will share a video that introduces each of the Millennium Development Goals and the personal stories behind them. What are your thoughts on Goal 1 - to end hunger?

UN MDGs - End Hunger

Stand Up, Take Action 2008 will be held over a 3 day period from Oct 17th -19th worldwide. Follow me & be a part of the millennium campaign.
http://www.endpoverty2015.org
http://standagainstpoverty.org

Related Posts:

Making Hope Last Longer Than Hunger

FAO not Schwartz part 1 - Global Plan of Action Addresses a Global Challenge Hunger

FAO not Schwartz part 2- Opposing Pathways to Ending World Hunger and Malnutrition

FAO not Schwartz part 3 - A World Tragedy Too Long

Financial Fears * Global Challenges * Some Potential Answers

Blog Action Day Is Today The Struggle Continues

Taking the Measure of Chronic Poverty

The People of the United States Stand Up Speak Out

Finding the UN Chronicle | A magazine for the United Nations

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This blog is still more of a learning tool for me than anything else. I am constantly finding new resources. One recent one is UN Chronicle. Here is a recent issue dealing with hunger I ran across when working on the Making Hope Last Longer Than Hunger post. I plan on adding this as one of the ongoing resources for this blog.

• UN Chronicle | A magazine for the United Nations.

  Losing 25,000 to Hunger Every Day. From the UN Chronicles

  tags: mdg1, blogging, hunger

  • During the past two decades, population growth, improvement in incomes and diversification of diets have steadily increased the demand for food. Prior to 2000, food prices were in decline, largely through record harvests. At the same time, however, public and private investment in agriculture, especially in the production of staple food, decreased, which led to stagnant or declining crop yields in most developing countries.¹ Rapid urbanization has led to the conversion of farmland to non-agricultural uses, and low food prices have encouraged farmers to shift to alternative food and non-food crops. Long-term unstable land use has also caused land degradation, soil erosion, nutrient depletion, water scarcity and disruption of biological cycles.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Corn Ethanol Is Not Smart Bioenergy Period

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The Union of Concerned Scientists recently wrote me about an issue that has been discussed on these pages and at my other blog. Rushing to Expand Corn Ethanol Is Not Smart Bioenergy. I responded as requested. I am of the opinion that using food for energy is not smart regardless of the environmental issues. This just adds another level of concern. Although this to my mind seems obvious, it apparently needs to be addressed to prevent our governments from making a egregious mistake. I shortened both request and response to keep the post a reasonable size.

Contact the EPA today

Dear Brian,

The use of gasoline alternatives, such as ethanol, could play a key role in reducing pollution from fuels, but scientific findings show that biofuels can also increase pollution when done wrong.

The ethanol industry, however, does not want science to interfere with their expansion plans. Producers want immediate permission to increase the amount of ethanol they can blend into regular gasoline before government tests are complete to determine if this could be a public health risk. The EPA opened a public comment period on this issue through May 16.

Please tell EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to deny the producers' premature request and focus on a comprehensive plan that protects public health while ensuring biofuels contribute to fueling our clean energy future.

Scott Nathanson
National Field Organizer
UCS Clean Vehicles Program



Dear Administrator Jackson,

I urge you to deny the petition allowing blends of 15 percent ethanol (E15) to be permitted for use in traditional gasoline engines.

The The EPA has been coordinating with other agencies to obtain the data required by the Clean Air Act to determine the clean air risks of increased ethanol blending. But the testing will not be competed in time to review it for this request.

It would therefore be premature to approve a waiver for increased ethanol use before a thorough analysis of the public health and environmental impacts of ethanol are completed and brought to the public. With Obama administration committed to a regulatory system informed by science, I urge you to follow these principles and reject this request. I urge the EPA, instead, to focus on a comprehensive plan to protect public health and air quality, while reducing global warming pollution from biofuels.

Related Posts and Links:

• The Darker Side of Biofuel
  
• Good Intentions:Biofuels / Bad Consequences: Worse Than Gasoline And Better As Food?
• European Commission - External Trade - Trade Issues --- Add comment

- Tag: biofuel environment global - Shared By: Brian Dowling 2008-05-21 03:07:26

• Mandelson writes: "The issue is not biofuels or no biofuels, but the right biofuels. Europe's governments have signed a commitment ensuring that 10% of the petrol in Europe's vehicles in 2020 is made from renewable transport fuels, including biofuels. This will make an important contribution to the EU's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote security of energy supply. But there is an obvious caveat: biofuels must be an environmental policy in pursuit of an environmental outcome - the most sustainable policy is the only right policy".

• Food prices | The end of cheap food | Economist.com --- Add comment

- Tag: economics environment - Shared By: Brian Dowling 2008-05-21 03:07:25

• This year biofuels will take a third of America's (record) maize harvest. That affects food markets directly: fill up an SUV's fuel tank with ethanol and you have used enough maize to feed a person for a year. And it affects them indirectly, as farmers switch to maize from other crops. The 30m tonnes of extra maize going to ethanol this year amounts to half the fall in the world's overall grain stocks.

Making Hope Last Longer Than Hunger

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Tomorrow is the day to Unite For Hunger and Hope but I will be at work so I am writing tonight. This is a natural for this blog as it involves the first of the Millennium Development Goals 1. End Hunger and on a global level it will involve 8. Global Partnership. While I fully support charitable efforts such as that being put on here by Heifer International, it will be a collective, collaborative, sustained effort by governments, NGOs, change-agent organizations, of us to bring about a lasting change. It cannot be just through well meaning donations during particular times of the year, we have to change how we do things both locally and globally. Others will be able to write far more eloquently about the suffering wrought by hunger than I will. I look for change that can be made manifest.

It is of particular concern to the UN MILLENNIUM CAMPAIGN's to get the G20 to address this need in the current economic crisis, despite the valiant $42.6 million, three-year immediate plan of action by the FAO last year. The FAO or Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, is one of the primary global organizations addressing this issue.

I have written about World Hunger Notes before and will provide a link to the post below, so here are some bullet points.

• The world produces enough food to feed everyone.
  
• Poverty is the principal cause of hunger.
• An estimated 982 million poor people in developing countries who live on $1 a day or less (World Bank, Understanding Poverty, Chen 2004).
  
• Conflict as a cause of hunger and poverty.
  
• Hunger is also a cause of poverty.
  

Another global agency address hunger is the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), which provided a plan of actionable objectives in its Challenge of Hunger 2008

Combating the food crisis will require

1. More food aid for poor people;
2. Much greater investments in agriculture - especially the small farm sector;
3. More investment in social protection programs and social sectors - education & health;
4. Reforms to create a fair world trading system;
5. Changes to biofuel policies;
6. Measures to calm global food markets;
7. Better data collection and improved monitoring of the food and nutrition situation;
8. More support for nongovernmental organizations that work on behalf of poor people in developing countries.

All of this has been talked of before and will be talked about again and again. Often repetitive actions are necessary to bring about change. Each time we talk or write maybe one more person listens, but if a thousand small voices speak up that is a thousand more added to the effort to change the world.

What more can be done in the future? Starting on October 16, which is also World Food Day, people will once again be Standing Up To End Poverty. You can join that effort now and start organizing now to make a difference to bring real hope and stamp out hunger for the next millennium and beyond. The growth of the Stand Up Campaign is exponential. From 2006 to 2007 it achieve 46% growth, from 2007 to 2008 62% growth, and now 2008 to 2009 depends upon what happens in 2009. Could we hope for even greater growth of 75% or 80%? That could be 170,000,000 or 190,000,000 or even break 200,000,000. Maybe it is a bit unfair to use this forum to promote another event, but those are inconsequential details of who and when, the important thing is the what - ending hunger.

Related Posts:
FAO not Schwartz part 1 - Global Plan of Action Addresses a Global Challenge Hunger
FAO not Schwartz part 2- Opposing Pathways to Ending World Hunger and Malnutrition
FAO not Schwartz part 3 - A World Tragedy Too Long
Financial Fears * Global Challenges * Some Potential Answers
Blog Action Day Is Today The Struggle Continues
Taking the Measure of Chronic Poverty

The People of the United States Stand Up Speak Out

Fwd: Bloggers Unite for Hunger & Hope on April 29, 2009

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I am making a quick and easy posting to this blog by simply inserting what BloggersUnited sent me. Other things have kept me busy and this was one of the more important things to come across my desktop. The fight against hunger has been one of the primary focuses of this blog. There is small bit of philosophical apprehension with Heifer International, but the truth is that I am not a vegetarian myself and their program has limited impacted compared to McDonald's.

Dear Your Name Here, We have great news! BlogCatalog is launching its first coordinated campaign Bloggers Unite For Hunger And Hope on April 29. BlogCatalog and Heifer International are partnering to call for the end of world hunger and start of hope on April 29. All we ask is that you join thousands of other bloggers and write a post about world hunger on April 29. You Can Make a Difference. Right now, more than 500 million people are living in "absolute poverty" and more than 15 million children die of hunger every year. World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the population is underfed and another third is starving. Even in the United States, 46 percent of African-American children and 49 percent of Latino children are considered chronically hungry. Organizations like Heifer International are the solution. Every day in April, Heifer International is lifting people out of poverty by providing communities with livestock and agricultural training to improve lives and inspire hope. What can you do for Bloggers Unite For Hunger And Hope? Join this event by visiting Bloggers Unite and adding a badge to your blog before April 29. http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/unite-for-hunger-and-hope Watch for upcoming news releases and topic backgrounders. Visit Heifer International to learn more about Pass On The Gift. http://www.heifer.org/site/c.slI3IdNVJuE/b.4861851/k.39B8/30_Days_in_April.htm Make a small donation or take some other action to end world hunger. Blog about world hunger on April 29 with links to solutions all over the world. "Heifer International is thrilled to be a part of Bloggers Unite for Hunger and Hope," said Tom Peterson, senior director of Heifer International. "Bloggers Unite for Hunger and Hope is a great way to harness the power of the Internet, and it coincides with our Pass on the Gift campaign." Thanks so much for your continued support! More and more people are taking notice of your efforts. On behalf of the entire BlogCatalog team, we thank you and look forward to reading your posts on April 29! Select posts will be featured by BlogCatalog; Heifer International; Copywrite, Ink.; and on the Bloggers Unite blog. Thanks, The BlogCatalog Team
BlogCatalog.com · 7162 Eckhert Road · San Antonio, TX · 78238 Unsubscribe from our emails.

Once Again Stand Up and Take Action - October 16-18, 2009

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Another quick "slap-it-in" post, this is the reason why this blog got started in the first place. When I get a chance to learn more I will post it.

In 2006, 23 million people stood up, in 2007 47 million people, last year 116 million people Stood Up and Took Action. Let's break the record again this year and send a louder message than ever - achieve the Millennium Developments

Why Stand Up and Take Action in 2009?
For the fourth year in a row, millions of people around the world will Stand Up and Take Action to show their support for the fight against poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This year Stand Up will take place against the backdrop of a deepening financial crisis and a slowing global economy. It is a time of great challenge for development in general and the MDGs in particular. Already we are seeing the potentially devastating impact of this on the world's poorest and most vulnerable. We know that the current economic climate threatens to undo and possibly even reverse the very significant gains that have been made towards achieving the MDGs. With just six years left to the 2015 deadline for the achievement of the Goals, we cannot afford to let this happen. The achievement of the MDGs must remain a priority on the global political and public agenda. In this environment, Stand Up is a vital opportunity to send a clear and urgent message to world leaders and decision makers and raise the political stakes. Our policy messages and actions must reflect the urgency of the situation and must be an instrument to convey the sense of our growing impatience and intolerance of excuses for and distractions from the implementation of policies and programmes that address the poorest and most vulnerable.

When
October 16th, 17th, 18th, 2009: From 12 a.m. GMT (relevant local time) on the 16th October to 11.39 p.m. GMT (relevant local time) on the 18th October

Where
Wherever people who want to be involved in the fight against poverty and support the achievement of the MDGs are.

What
Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now! A three day mobilization to send a loud and clear message from citizens to leaders of rich and poor countries to take urgent action to achieve the MDGs. And once again break the Guinness World Record. Participants will need to register their event at www.standagainstpoverty.org before the start of the mobilization and then to report their numbers after they have taken part. Numbers will be counted and verified by Guinness World Records.

Umbrella Logo and Slogan
The Stand Up, Take Action component of the logo will remain the same as last year. The second line slogan will be replaced with a more urgent and demanding call to "end poverty now!"

Thematic Focus
This year Stand Up will once again provide an energetic, high impact platform for people to raise the profile of MDG- related issues relevant to their region, country or community. However, this year Stand Up will begin on October 16th, World Food Day, and on this one day the focus on food security and on hunger will be greater. As always, the policy demands will be determined at the national and local levels by participants. But in recognition of the fact that many of the MDGs directly linked to the status of women are not doing well, campaigners are encouraged to give this year's Stand Up a clear focus on holding governments accountable for improving the status of women and their rights. This might range from a focus on improving maternal mortality or hunger and nutritional status for women and girls in poor countries. In rich countries this could be adapted to demanding urgent reform of trade-distorting agricultural subsidies.

Stand Up: Wherever you are. Alone, in a group or as part of an organization, choose a moment in these three days to physically and intentionally Stand Up and Take Action.

Take Action: Standing Up is the first step in any process of action. It is the signal of intent to actively engage.

Strengthening Actions to Achieve Maximum Policy Impact
This year the intention is to significantly strengthen the action component of the mobilization. It is for the participants and partners in each context to determine the actions that will be most effective to hold governments accountable for the realisation of the MDGs. It is essential that there is a direct link between the actions and the MDG-related policy demands that are being made. A major focus of this year's Stand Up will be to target Parliamentarians/legislators at the Federal (and where appropriate) at the provincial level. This could include early planning to persuade Parliamentarians to Stand Up in the house, to organize a Parliamentary debate and to pass necessary laws and policies for the achievement of the MDGs. Writing to Parliamentarians through letters, emails or text messages in large numbers can make a difference.

Top line Messages to leaders and policy makers
• Time is running out, urgent and decisive implementation of MDG-related policies, budgets and programmes cannot wait any longer
• Do not use the financial crisis as an excuse for ignoring and reneging on your commitments to the MDGs, we, the citizens of your own countries will not stand for it. The poor didn't cause this crisis; they can't be allowed to suffer for it.
• Do not believe that internal domestic challenges such as job losses, financial instability and insecurity will drive societies inwards. Despite these domestic challenges, it is clear now more than ever, that we live in an interdependent world and that we need to find global solutions to revert the current scenario. This is why we are even more ready to Stand Up and demand that promises made to end poverty and inequality are kept, for us and for everyone.

The Pledge
This year r the pledge will be a more integral and central part of Stand UP. We will encourage everyone who takes part to include the reading of the pledge. A copy of the pledge with two sections, one which will be determined globally, which can be read out at all levels, will be made available online and through direct dissemination. The other will be adapted in each context. Participants are encouraged to adapt, revise and translate the second part of the pledge to serve their needs.
Read the Stand Up pledge when you stand up. Wherever possible record the reading of the pledge on video, audio tape recorder or with a photograph and send these to us. Send us your updated pledge so we can post it online.

Materials and advertising campaigns
Materials for Stand Up, Take Action will be designed and disseminated by regional and national Campaigns within their own relevant design parameters. The prescribed components of the materials will be:
Stand Up, Take Action Logo
Red, black and white color theme
A set of global materials will also and made available for adaptation should anyone wish to utilize these.
Partners and campaigners at the national and local levels will also generate their own appropriate advertising and promotional campaigns for Stand Up. An online promotional campaign will be generated at the global level.
Useful materials to consider include:
1. Promotional brochure: Outlining exactly how to take part in Stand Up, how to register beforehand and how to record your numbers. This will be designed and produced by national Campaigns
2. Event in a Box: This will be generated globally and will include logo designs and translations, collateral designs, banners, a template press release and messaging, designs for T-shirts, caps and banners and the pledge. Any other suggestions of materials or collateral for inclusion in the Event in a Box are welcome.
3. National policy demands outlined and disseminated as a one pager to be generated at national level
4. An internal resource for UN Millennium Campaign, GCAP and other key partners involved in counting will be produced with guidelines for counting, spread sheeting and submitting numbers
All of these materials and collateral will also be available for download at: www.standagainstpoverty.org

High Visibility Events
Recognizing the need for a reinforced approach to Stand Up events which will further increase press and media interest, it has been decided that a number of solid, high-visibility events should be organized in each of the regions this year. These events will form the entry points and anchors for promoting Stand Up as a whole and attracting the attention of a wider spectrum of press and media coverage.

More information on www.standagainstpoverty.org

UN Millennium Campaign
April 2009

http://www.StandAgainstPoverty.org

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FAO not Schwartz part 3 - A World Tragedy Too Long

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This post is the third on the work of the FAO and the challenges that they are addressing - hunger and malnutrition. The questions are raised by everyday people who see the tragedy of the affliction and the immorality of inadequate response from the developed world.

The images are cut from the heart: men and women depleted, the frazzle clothes, their bodies reduced to skin and bone. Even more painful is watching the children deformed by malnutrition, left to die in the dust.

Watch this video - the words are in Portuguese but the pictures are universal.

963 million people hungry, says FAO reports the Monitor Online News , According to the Guardian Newspaper Nearly a billion people worldwide are starving, UN agency warns, and Food prices add 40 million people to ranks of malnournished.

The problem of hunger is most acute in Africa were people are starving. Malnutrition is more widespread and actually affects more children in Asia according to World Hunger Notes.

According to the most recent estimate that Hunger Notes could find, malnutrition, as measured by stunting, affects 32.5 percent of children in developing countries--one of three(de Onis 2000). Geographically, more than 70 percent of nourished children live in Asia, 26 percent in Africa and 4 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Africa though has multiple afflictions that combined together present a daunting challenge. People speak of an African Scourge, but scourge in Africa has many faces.

• Incontinence African Scourge; Lack of Medical Care Turns Girls into pariahs.
• Confronting Africa's scourge: AIDS
• Short draws attention to Africa's scourge of river blindness
• Central Africa: Scourge of Africa examined Genocide

Near the top of the list, the affliction of hunger and malnutrition seems to strike again and again.

• 14 Million at Risk of Starvation in Africa August 2008
• Starvation in Southern Africa October 2005
• Africa: millions threatened with starvation September, 2002
• Africa Death by Starvation - TIME January 1990

Sudan is dying of hunger again. The question is why, why anywhere?

World Hunger Notes provides some insights into the problems, a few of which are summarized below.

• The world produces enough food to feed everyone. The principal problem is that many people in the world do not have sufficient land to grow, or income to purchase, enough food.
• Poverty is the principal cause of hunger. The causes of poverty include poor people's lack of resources, an extremely unequal income distribution in the world and within specific countries, conflict, and hunger itself, an estimated 982 million poor people in developing countries who live on $1 a day or less (World Bank, Understanding Poverty, Chen 2004).
  
• Conflict as a cause of hunger and poverty. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)reports that as of December 2006, there were at least 22.7 million displaced, including 9.9 million refugees and 12.8 million internally displaced persons (UNHCR 2007).
• Hunger is also a cause of poverty. By causing poor health, low levels of energy, and even mental impairment, hunger can lead to even greater poverty by reducing people's ability to work and learn.
  

Two resources featured in this blog can also help to provide some understanding. Both are under Millennium Bloggers with Minds of Their Own below this post. Anup Shah writes about, World Hunger and Poverty, at GlobalIssues.org, Last updated: Sunday, July 06, 2008. Rav Casley Gera provides an informative chart in African history in ten seconds: New and improved! in his blog African Development for the Completely Bloody Ignorant posted under Useful sources. The recently discovered, The Profits of Famine: Southern Africa's Long Decade of Hunger is an older article from back in 2002, but it still provides some good insights into how we were brought to the present circumstances.

It is hoped though that the article will become even more out of date as people continue to endeavor to change the world for the better. As many of the stories in the TED Talks Africa, The Next Chapter tell us, Africa has unrealized potential and does not wish to be seen as either the charity case for the world or as the stepping stone for the world. One of my past posts Accession of African Activists. A DIY approach to the MDGs has a number of videos taken from the series.

Another worthwhile site, Goal One: Eradicate Hunger and Extreme Poverty.

It is still possible to continue making the needed changes to create a better world.

Related Posts -

FAO not Schwartz part 2- Opposing Pathways to Ending World Hunger and Malnutrition

FAO not Schwartz part 1 - Global Plan of Action Addresses a Global Challenge Hunger