From UNICEF: Haiti: Earthquake Situation Report, 15 January 2010 (OCHA)

Sphere: Related Content

As a follow up of yesterday's post, I am forwarding a message to those who donated to UNICEF received from Caryl M. Stern, President & CEO of U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Ms Stern told us that:

... we've decided to take the unprecedented step of sharing UN internal situation reports so you have the latest information from the ground. These reports provide extraordinary, first-hand detail to show you some of the work being done to save the 2 million children at risk. Already the U.S. Fund for UNICEF has committed over $11 MILLION in relief to Haiti.

One Web 2.0 based factor I am going to make special note of is Tracing Family Members in Haiti through ICRC Website ICRC has activated a website [http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/familylinks] for tracing family members within Haiti.

She also asked us:

P.S. Remind those you know that if they would like to help, the U.S. Fund has waived all administrative fees for anyone donating to Haiti relief efforts, so that 100% of every dollar donated will go directly to save the children of Haiti. http://www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake

-----------------------------------------------------------

The following report from the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has been edited to remove internal contact information and to clarify abbreviations and subject headlines.

The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.

Haiti – Earthquake
Situation Report #4
15 January 2010

This report was issued by the Office of Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), New York. The next report will be issued on or around 16 January 2010.

I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES
-- Logistics and the lack of transport remain the key constraints to the delivery of aid. Needs are still being identified as access becomes possible and as assessments begin to take place.
-- Displaced populations are currently scattered across multiple locations where there is open space. Temporary shelters urgently need to be established.
-- Fifteen sites have been identified for distribution of relief items. World Food Program reached 13,000 people today with food, jerry cans and water purification tablets (provided by International Office for Migration (IOM)).
-- 26 search-and-rescue teams are on the ground and deployed to priority sites. No additional urban search-and-rescue teams should be deployed at this stage.
-- A Flash Appeal for US$562 million was launched in New York today to cover 3 million people for six months.

II. SITUATION OVERVIEW

180 Tons Delivered
Flights carrying humanitarian aid are arriving in Port-au-Prince with medical supplies, medical teams, search-and-rescue teams, food and non-food items. A total of 180 tons of relief supplies have arrived in-country so far. Operations are heavily constrained due to the lack of fuel, transport, communications and handling capacity at the airport. Some flights are being re-routed through Santo Domingo airport, which is also becoming congested.

Focus: Search and Rescue
Response efforts are focused on search and rescue, medical assistance, the disposal of dead bodies and providing temporary shelter. There is also a need for food and water purification tablets. Fifteen distribution centres have been identified in Port-au-Prince for the distribution of relief aid, including high-energy biscuits and ready-to-eat meals.

Field Hospitals Coming Online
Twenty-six search-and-rescue teams are on the ground and deployed to priority sites. No further teams are required. It was also announced there are sufficient offers of field hospitals. Two field hospitals arrived in-country yesterday. Three more were expected to arrive today from Colombia, Jordan and Brazil. Two US field hospitals will arrive in the coming days one on Saturday that will be deployed next to the Coast Guard clinic at Killick and the other will arrive on 19 January with a 25 bed, two operating room unit with surgical teams.

Identification of bodies remains a problem, in conjunction with assigning responsibility for the recovery of bodies. The Government is identifying various grave sites. No reliable figures are available on the extent of fatalities.

Lack of Clean Water and Sanitation
World Health Organization considers water and sanitation a priority, given that only 50 percent of Haiti's population normally has access to clean water. There are 13 trucks of bottled water, courtesy of a Brazilian private company, arriving from the Dominican Republic today. Hospitals have been badly affected by water shortages, according to ICRC.

An unidentified number of hospitals are still functioning, but structural damage assessments need to be conducted to establish if the constructions are safe. ICRC workers in Port-au-Prince distributed medical assistance to five major hospitals and clinics, and to smaller facilities set up by local doctors in areas with a high concentration of earthquake survivors.

Makeshift camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are scattered throughout the affected areas. UNICEF is collaborating with World Food Programme to share cargo space on a flight that will leave on 16 January from Dubai,

All Schools In Port-au-Prince Have Collapsed
The Government reported that all schools in Port-au-Prince have collapsed, so a 15-day school closure has been announced. Re-establishing radio transmission capacity is a priority to reach approximately 80 percent of the Port-au-Prince population.

Tracing Family Members in Haiti through ICRC Website
ICRC has activated a website [http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/familylinks] for tracing family members within Haiti. The aim is to accelerate the process of restoring contact between separated family members. It is managed by ICRC, in cooperation with the tracing services of the Haitian Red Cross Society and of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies throughout the world.

Haiti is currently at UN Security Phase 3. This will implicate ongoing operations in terms of limiting the ability to move around the city and work at night (which is also hindered by the lack of electricity). Patrols reported that the situation is calm in general, but there are reports of stone throwing at passing vehicles, looting and acts of vandalism. ICRC has inspected several prisons. The central prison was completely destroyed, meaning up to 4,000 prisoners have escaped.

International Office for Migration (IOM) staff at Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic report that although the situation is calm, traffic is increasing. International Office for Migration (IOM) reports a 10 percent increase in the number of Haitians trying to cross the border at the Jimaní border. A similar influx of people has been witnessed in the northern Haitian cities of St Marc, Gonaives and Cap Haitien, which were less affected by the earthquake.

A Flash Appeal was launched today in New York for $562 million to assist an estimated 3 million severely affected people over the next six months. It presents a rapidly developed initial response plan and funding requests, based on available information, estimates and inference. Twelve NGOs, 16 UN organizations and the International Organization for Migration are included in the appeal.

Acting Special Representative Edmond Mulet has arrived in-country and has assumed full control over MINUSTAH. Assistant Secretary General Tony Banbury will serve as the deputy SRSG. MINUSTAH and the humanitarian community will begin joint daily media briefings at the logistics base starting on 16 January.

III. HUMANITARIAN NEEDS AND RESPONSE
The country team in Haiti has already mobilized five clusters: Logistics (Lead: World Food Program); Camp Coordination and Camp Management (Lead: International Office for Migration (IOM)); WASH (Lead: UNICEF); Health (Lead: World Health Organization); Food (Lead: World Food Program). In addition, it is planned to mobilize the following clusters: Agriculture (Lead: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)) [it is expected that Food and Agriculture will merge in-country to form the 'Food Security Cluster']; Protection (Lead: OHCHR); Nutrition (Lead: UNICEF); Education (Lead: UNICEF); Emergency Telecoms: (Lead: World Food Program); Early Recovery (Lead: UNDP).

Global clusters are in the process of deploying dedicated coordination capacity to Haiti. All clusters have been requested to coordinate the movement of goods through the Logistics Cluster to avoid a backlog of goods at the airport. It is also critical to ensure harmonization of needs assessment, within and between clusters.

LOGISTICS
The US military is dispatching a Navy aircraft carrier and large-deck amphibious ship, as well as military transport aircraft and assessment teams to Haiti. The ship is expected to arrive today carrying, among other items, 12 helicopters. It will assume control of air traffic.

The Logistics Cluster recommends that Santo Domingo is used as the primary entry point for humanitarian relief destined for Haiti due to Port-au-Prince airport operating at diminished capacity. Some flights have been diverted to the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos Islands. There is no fuel available. Aircraft should plan at least one hour of holding fuel and enough extra fuel to get to a secondary airport after departing.

1) Health (World Health Organization), Logistics (World Food Program) and Telecomms (World Food Program) have already deployed large teams which are scheduled to arrive with equipment in Port-au-Prince in the next 24-48 hours, access permitted; WASH (UNICEF) and Emergency Shelter (International Office for Migration (IOM)/Red Cross Red Crescent (IFRC)) are deploying smaller teams and have stand-by teams ready; Protection (OHCHR) will send a cluster-coordinator, while Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) is dispatching a three-person team to support protection activities; Camp Coordination and Camp Management (International Office for Migration (IOM)) has deployed a specialist to look into Camp Coordination and Camp Management issues given the likelihood of this sector to be established.

The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.

2) Three hangers of warehouse space have been identified at the Port-au-Prince airport for storage and inventory of relief items.

The port remains non operational. The seaport in the Dominican Republic is being assessed for its suitability for receiving relief supplies. Panama is also likely to be used as a logistics hub.

Main urban roads in Port-au-Prince (including the airport road) are being cleared by MINUSTAH and the Brazilian battalion. Major axes are open. The road from Jacmel to Port-au-Prince is passable for "all terrain" vehicles (i.e. 4WD). The road from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince is becoming congested with the movement of personnel and cargo.

The World Food Program, United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) is launching a project to provide air support to the humanitarian community (proposal for 2 helicopters, 2 passenger fixed-wing aircraft and 1 cargo aircraft).

At the request of the Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator, World Food Program has submitted a formal request to MSB (former SRSA) for base-camp modules to support UN humanitarian workers due to the destruction of the UN compound. MSB is arranging for the equipment and support staff to run a 200-person camp. It is scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince on 16 and 17 January.

The Logistics Cluster will co-locate a liaison officer within the MINUSTAH EJOC for the duration of the emergency to facilitate coordination.

FOOD
World Food Program distributions today included high-energy biscuits, jerry cans and water purification tablets (provided by International Office for Migration (IOM)) to 13,000 people in the following areas: Place Boyer, Champs de mars, Delmas 33 and Hospital de la Paix. There remains an urgent need for ready-to-eat foods (Meals-Ready-to-Eat and High-Energy Biscuits). World Food Program aims to assist 1 million people in the next 15 days.

World Food Program national staff have done assessments in the areas where they live, providing reliable information on people in need and distribution locations.

HEALTH
World Health Organization has deployed specialists to establish supply chains, and water and sanitation engineers to help restore shattered water and sanitation networks, communicable disease specialists, experts in trauma care, and public-health officers World Health Organization can advise on the management of dead bodies. At least 13 countries in the Americas have confirmed the deployment of medical teams.

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization is establishing a field office in Jimaní (Dominican Republic) to serve as a permanent bridge between this border city and to Port-au-Prince (approximately a 90-minute journey). The office will be a staging/transfer point for emergency humanitarian supplies and personnel needed in the Haiti response operation.

Warehouses in the Dominican Republic lack space for supplies, and new donations are coming in rapidly. Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization has been collaborating with USAID and Management Sciences for Health (MSH) to exchange logistics information regarding medicines and medical supplies. The LSS/SUMA humanitarian supply management system will be installed in Jimaní to handle the management and distribution of resources.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) participated in a joint UN mission to hospitals along the border on 13 and 14 January. Patients are crossing the border to get treatment, but services are insufficient. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is concerned with the lack of supplies, especially for pregnant and delivering women. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is working to strengthen the capacity of these overstretched facilities with health kits and support staff, including midwives, nurses and doctors.

It is estimated that one quarter of the impacted population are women of child-bearing age, with thousands of pregnant women among them. Haiti has the highest rate of maternal death in the region: 670 deaths per 100,000 live births. With limited or no access to health facilities, pregnant women are at an even greater risk for complications and death related to pregnancy and childbirth.

The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH)
WASH coordination has been established in Port-au-Prince. Meetings are taking place every day at 3 p.m. local time at the DINEPA (Direction Nationale de l'Eau Potable et Assainissement) office in Port-au-Prince. One WASH Cluster response team member has arrived in Port-au-Prince. One WASH specialist from UNICEF is in the Dominican Republic. No further information about WASH activities is available at this time due to communications constraints.

SHELTER
International Organization for Migration (International Office for Migration (IOM)) reports that the urgent needs for shelter are tents, jerry cans, aquatabs, kitchen and hygiene kits, mosquito nets, plastic sheeting, water bladders and tools, which should allow for the quick establishment of temporary settlements for the displaced.

EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Phone communication remains difficult in most of the capital. However, text messages are getting through. Internet connections are possible in some areas, but constant access remains difficult.

Ericsson Response is planning to repair the mobile network system, with the support of DFS/DPKO and World Food Program. Ericsson Response volunteers will deploy shortly to ensure proper installation and service delivery for approximately 1,000 subscribers to be connected. OCHA will take the coordination role for service allocation for the humanitarian community.

PROTECTION
At the global Protection Cluster meeting, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC)) was asked to support the OHCHR in its role as leader of the Protection Cluster in Haiti. The OHCHR is planning to send a protection team of three to four Human Rights Officers. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) will contribute with three additional protection staff. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC)'s role will focus on protection, including border monitoring.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says that it is crucial to put mechanisms in place to prevent and address gender-based violence. In Haiti, 27 percent of women are reported to be victims of some type of physical violence. Sexual and gender-based violence are often exacerbated in these extreme situations, posing a serious concern for women and young girls affected by the earthquake.

AGRICULTURE
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) office remains intact. Ten cars are available in Les Cayes, Fort Liberté, Gonaïves, Hinches and Jimani. Two experienced staff will arrive in Port-au-Prince on 18 January to begin Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s agriculture sector assessment activities and contribute to coordination activities. In the coming week, more emergency personnel will arrive in Haiti to support the current Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) team.

IV. COORIDINATION
The Humanitarian Country Team, under the United Nations Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General /Humanitarian Coordinator, holds primary responsibility for the coordination and provision of humanitarian assistance by the UN and partners. In the context of the integrated mission, MINUSTAH's operational capacity may be drawn upon in order to support the UN's operational response to natural disasters and other major humanitarian emergencies. The level of casualties sustained by Government civil servants and the damage to public buildings has significantly reduced the capacity of national authorities to lead and coordinate the response.

Concerns are raised that a large incidence of unsolicited and uncoordinated influx of humanitarian personnel and supplies entering into the country could stretch limited, critical logistical resources and impact the delivery of assistance. NGO consortia have been asked to play a role in monitoring and assessing the capabilities of voluntary organizations wishing to help.

The United Nations Disaster Assessment & Coordination (UNDAC) team continues to coordinate the On-Site Operations and Coordination Center (OSOCC) that has been established near the MINUSTAH logbase. A Senior OCHA Civil-Military Coordination Officer has been dispatched to Washington to discuss coordination efforts with USAID and the U.S. military.

The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.

V. FUNDING
The Haiti Flash Appeal for US$562 million was launched today in New York. The appeal was prepared in coordination with Haitian authorities. It represents 12 NGOs, 16 UN organizations and the International Organization for Migration, and is based on their need to assist an estimated 3 million severely affected people over an initial period of six months.

If this message was forwarded to you, please join us! Subscribe to U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

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.

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

Sphere: Related Content

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.

Tell President Obama the World Needs U.S. Action on Climate Change

Sphere: Related Content

The folks from Change.org, who are leading the Blog Action Day effort 2009 Climate Change tomorrow, tells us that the United States produces more than twenty percent of all greenhouse gas emissions with just five percent of the world's population. The United States, it would seem logical to conclude, needs to limit greenhouse gases and build a clean energy economy in order to achieve a sustainable solution to our global climate crisis. This is an essential step in not only achieving Millennium Development Goal 7. Environmental Sustainability, but all of the Millennium Goals and especially 1. End Hunger.

World leaders are about to gather in Copenhagen to negotiate a response to global climate change. It is essential that the United States takes action, both at home with current legislation (Boxer-Kerry climate bill) and at Copenhagen or the efforts to curb emissions will be severely hampered. David Adam warns in CommonDreams.org that Key differences between the US and Europe could undermine a new worldwide treaty on global warming to replace Kyoto.

Back in September of this year President Obama made a Climate Change Speech at at the United Nations.

President Obama recognized that climate change is an urgent global threat. Tell President Obama that to make good on this promise to restore America's responsible leadership in the world, and that the world needs him to lead Congress in taking bold and significant action to reduce greenhouse gasses.

Click here to encourage Obama to show bold leadership on the climate now >

Dear President Obama,

This December world leaders will gather in Copenhagen to negotiate a global response to climate change. As a world leader in greenhouse gas pollution as well as clean energy technology, the United States needs to take bold action by implementing comprehensive clean energy policies to curb emissions.

We join others around the world in calling on you to lead the United States in taking bold and significant action to reduce greenhouse gasses.

Brian Dowling

Click here to sign your name

Working Towards Zero Welcome to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF

Sphere: Related Content

I recently received a welcome to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF from Marcus Samuelsson (Celebrity Ambassador U.S. Fund for UNICEF) telling me that I have joined the ranks of countless people around the world who believe in a better future who are together making a difference in the lives of millions of kids. I remember carrying the UNICEF donation boxes around at Halloween during my youth, but I have not seen it for a long time. Below are some facts and figures on what UNICEF is doing today, as well as ways to get involved. UNICEF was working on Millennium Development Goals long before there were any Millennium Development Goals and has always spoken up for those with the smallest of voices - children. They also provide the proof that these types of programs do make a difference.

UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization. It is, by any standard, an immense accomplishment.

Because of UNICEF the number of children dying each day has significantly dropped to 24,000. That's 1,500 more children waking up, playing with friends, making their mothers laugh, and dreaming of the exciting things they'll do when they grow up.

From measles campaigns in Pakistan to emergency therapeutic food in Ethiopia; from tetanus vaccination in Indonesia to well drilling in Sudan; from hurricane relief in Haiti to anti-malarial bed net distribution in Nigeria—UNICEF's work is having a huge impact.

WATCH THIS VIDEO TO SEE OUR PROGRESS TOWARD ZERO!

How to get involved?

• Participate in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and Tap Project.
• Talk to your legislators as UNICEF advocates.
• Get to know unicefusa.org.
• Volunteer for UNICEF.
• Or visit our website to learn more

Make a donation. Send two lifesaving bed nets today.

Welcome to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Taking Global Action to protect the environment sooner better than later

Sphere: Related Content

I was late with getting the post out on the climate bill in my own state and I don't want to do that again. I have written about this before at the post Taking Global Actions to Protect the Global Climate, but there are actions coming up far sooner than the Copenhagen summit in December. Two days in particular, 21 September 2009 and 24 October 2009. These actions are from both the institutional and grassroots levels, both educational and activist. As usual, I am re-blogging, highlighting relevant points and providing a few more links.

The The UN Foundation Climate and Energy Team (Reid, Ryan, Jana, Kurt, and John) reminds us that Copenhagen will host pivotal UN-led negotiations toward a new international agreement to combat climate change.

The goal: to build a comprehensive framework to reduce emissions, hold all countries -- developed and developing -- to higher standards, and match the speed and scale of global response to the rapidly worsening climate change.

World leaders have their work cut out for them. But what they decide and how quickly they take action will have a profound effect on all of us.

The first step is to get educated on the issue. You can read more about the road to Copenhagen at our Web site, and see how climate frameworks have progressed over the past 20 years. And check out this glossary of common terms we'll be using as the campaign continues.

The problem is that a recent story 'Comprenhensive' climate treaty ruled out for Copenhagen that I found in the China Daily asserts:

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Yvo De Boer ruled out the possibility that a “comprehensive” international climate treaty will be ratified at Copenhagen in December.

De Boer, speaking at a press conference during the ongoing Summer Davos in Dalian, Northeast China said it is "impossible to craft and draft" a detailed climate treaty in "the time that remains" to address climate change.

"That is not possible. But it is also not necessary," he said, "I think what Copenhagen has to achieve is a basic political understanding" on the essential issues of climate change.

I have not, as of yet, seen the story anywhere else yet, but it gives all the more justification for the grassroots actions initiated by Avaaz. More than 100,000, Avaaz members (over 96%), took part worldwide and voted to organise a massive global wake-up call on climate change on September 21,

Many will be registering a climate wake-up call event to take place in your local area on the 21st. The goal is to organise thousands of wake-up events (or "flashmobs") in public places all over the world -- showing a massive public demand for our lagging leaders to sign a fair and binding deal to stop climate catastrophe and unleash a new green economy this year. These events around the world will then be compiled into a powerful package and delivered to world leaders and the media at the UN climate summit the next day!

Click here to register a climate wake-up event in your area ,

"flashmobs" -- fun, peaceful demonstrations in which participants assemble suddenly in a public place, blending in with the crowd, perform an unusual action simultaneously for a few minutes, and then quickly disperse.

The Global Wake-Up Call is a joint effort of the TckTckTck Campaign, named for the "tck"ing of a clock as time runs short. Through TckTckTck, Avaaz is working closely with groups like 350.org, Oxfam, and Greenpeace; with the producers of the film The Age of Stupid (which will showcase the Wake-Up Call at their global premiere!), and with mayors, houses of worship, and famous entertainers to raise a cry that will be heard around the world.

It's an extraordinary moment for the global climate movement -- and just in time, on the eve of this year's final meetings of heads of government at the UN and G20 summits. The stakes are vast. The climate crisis isn't waiting, and neither can we.

It's also an extraordinary moment for Avaaz: the first time we've come together, massively and everywhere on earth, to move our online network into an offline community in action. If our leaders don't respond this time, we'll keep coming back -- bigger and bigger, bolder and bolder -- until they do. We all share a commitment to a better world. Now is our time to be heard.

Related Posts:

• One of the Morally Urgent Questions of Our Moment

• 7th of 8 days: 8 Goals Personal Stories behind the Millennium Development Goals

• 2 Steps Forward, 2 Degrees Back

• Different Paths to Saving the Climate - All Up Hill

Check out "2009 Stand Up Take Action is next month" on United Actions Global Network

Sphere: Related Content

I am still trying to get the word out about the Stand Up Take Action Against Poverty Event on October 16th, 2009 through various online communities. One of the online communities that I have become involved with through my FaceBook page is the Ning Social Group

United Actions Global Network Don't wait for solutions; create them Brian Dowling Check out '2009 Stand Up Take Action is next month' Link: 2009 Stand Up Take Action is next month About United Actions Global Network Connect to United Actions Global Network and shape our world for our generation and for the generations to come. 271 members 105 photos 76 songs 27 videos 11 discussions 60 blog posts

Here is an invite to both the group and the event.

Brian Dowling Brian Dowling has invited you to the event 'Stand Up Take Action Against Poverty' on United Actions Global Network! Check out "Stand Up Take Action Against Poverty" on United Actions Global Network Brian Dowling Time: October 16, 2009 at 6pm to October 18, 2009 at 7pm Location: World Wide Organized By: United Nations Millennium Campaign Event Description: This year on October 16, 17 and 18 help break the record yet again and send a LOUDER message than ever - Achieve the Millennium Developments Goals by 2015. See more details and RSVP on United Actions Global Network: http://unitedactions.ning.com/events/event/show?id=2932281%3AEvent%3A6502&xgi=2eYlkqhYW0QW4w About United Actions Global Network Connect to United Actions Global Network and shape our world for our generation and for the generations to come. 271 members 105 photos 76 songs 27 videos 10 discussions 60 blog posts

Sphere: Related Content

Upcoming Stand Up Events

Here is more on what is happening around the world re-blogged from an United Nations Millennium Campaign email.

With less than 40 days left until "Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now" in 2009, the excitement and energy behind this global anti-poverty movement is building rapidly. From Uganda to Canada and Poland to Nepal, people all over the world are sharing their stories and creativity with us, telling us about the incredible events that they have planned for "Stand Up" this year.

World leaders will hear the "Stand Up" pledge echoing from the highest point in the world when anti-poverty campaigners climb to the top of Mount Everest. Some incredible people in Nepal are planning this high-profile mobilization. In neighboring India, there are plans to host a creative writing competition around "Stand Up" for young people in Patna. A short boat ride across the Indian Ocean in Uganda, there are plans to host 5,000 students at a public debate about the MDGs -- along with a music concert with gospel singers and prominent speakers at an event for over 15,000 people. Continents away in Edmonton, Canada, a very enthusiastic group of college students are coordinating a campus-wide initiative wrapping hundreds of trees in white 'Make Poverty History' bands and with their University President delivering the "Stand Up" pledge. A member of the Canadian parliament will speak at the event on behalf of the Canadian Government. Down south in sunny California, 1,200 people are ready to parade onto a soccer field where they intend to form a large peace sign with their bodies prior to 'Standing Up'. This will be followed by a number of youngsters staging a Kite Fair (based on the book The Kite Runner) to raise funds for impoverished students in Afghanistan and in support of women entrepreneurs in Guatemala. In Europe, an MDG lecture series at colleges will lead up to two prominent Polish musicians taking the stage in Warsaw to anchor a large "Stand Up" event.

Stand Up events and actions are coming to us from all over the world in all shapes, colors and sizes. Share your ideas and plans with us. Let us know how you are doing your part to call out to politicians and ask them to bring an end to extreme poverty. Find out more on www.standagainstpoverty.org.

Update on UN Millennium Campaign Newsletter - STAND UP special

Sphere: Related Content

I am reblogging some of the latest information from the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

Last year, more than 116 million people - nearly two percent of the people on earth - participated in "Stand Up and Take Action" at events around the globe to demand that world leaders keep their promises to end poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The MDGs are a set of 8 goals to eradicate extreme poverty and its root causes that 189 world leaders pledged to achieve in the year 2000.

After breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest mobilization of human beings in recorded history last year, we plan to make "Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now" bigger and better than ever before this year. Nearly 2% of the world's population stood with us in 2008, and with your continued help and support we can grow that figure.

Today we are launching a brand new and very exciting "Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now" song and video.

Taking Global Actions to Protect the Global Climate

Sphere: Related Content

Besides the Stand Up Take Action Against Poverty event in October, the next important event that this blog will be tracking is the World Climate Forum in Copenhagen in December of this year. Here are two pathways to learn from and help with this important goal below.

Millennium Development Goal 7. Environmental Sustainability is necessary to the long term viability of Millennium Goal 1. End Hunger as it will be developing countries that will suffer the worst impact on food producing industries.

Over 100,000 participants from 182 countries voted in the Avaaz global poll - 96% of people said, YES, let's go all out on climate this month and commit to a "global wake-up call" to world leaders on September 21st by donating $25.00 or whatever you can afford.

The goal of our wake-up call is a big one: to convince the world's leaders to meet at the final climate talks in Copenhagen this December and sign an ambitious, fair and binding treaty to stop catastrophic climate change.

Talks on the treaty have been building for years. Now, less than 100 days from Copenhagen, we're nearing a tipping point -- and a huge global roar could make the difference.

If we take this on, we won't be alone. Avaaz has been working closely with a new, massive coalition of global civil society groups, from Oxfam to WWF to Greenpeace, to multiply the world's voices for climate action. The joint campaign's name is Tck Tck Tck -- the sound of a ticking clock, as time runs short. Every group involved shares the vision of success in Copenhagen, and we can't succeed without everyone. The question is -- should Avaaz make this climate wake-up call its #1 priority through September 21?

From the United Nations Foundation on Climate Change and Copenhagen:

Dear Brian,

Disappearing land. Displaced communities. The end of indigenous cultures. These aren't consequences of war -- they're the disastrous effects of climate change.

For years we've associated climate change with polar bears and rising sea levels -- things that few of us come in contact with. But the truth is that climate change is just as much about people -- our decisions, our homes, our lives. Unless we act with urgency to reduce global warming, it is our lives and the things we enjoy that will be changing.

The UN is already hard at work to address this crisis. Since 2007, world leaders have been working on a comprehensive global agreement to combat climate change, with talks set to culminate this December in Copenhagen, Denmark.

But for change to really take root, we need people to help people. You have the power to pull together and influence the future of climate change, while we can connect you and your ideas to the global UN family.

Leading this campaign is UN Foundation president Timothy E. Wirth, formerly a U.S. Senator and Undersecretary of State. Senator Wirth has helped shape climate change policy for over 20 years, from chairing the historic Hansen hearings that first brought the dangers of climate change to a broad audience, to today's efforts to adopt meaningful climate action both in the U.S. and internationally.

So we have world governments, policy-makers, and environmental groups involved -- the only piece missing is you. Will you join us and help take action against climate change?

We'll be sending out information soon about Copenhagen and your stake in it, plus details about what you can do to pitch in. So look to your inbox for more on the most important part of the climate change discussion -- people.

With best wishes,





Reid Detchon
Vice President, Energy and Climate Program

Donate | Tell-a-friend | View in browser

1800 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036
© United Nations Foundation

Related Posts:

• RealClimate for Real Change to a WiserEarth

• One of the Morally Urgent Questions of Our Moment

Two requests - One to help one woman, the other to help millions, both help us all

Sphere: Related Content

The primary focus of this blog are the Millennium Development Goals and actions that are being taken to see them realized. Those actions include those both direct and indirect as well as those both online and 0n-the-ground. As I often do with blog posts, I am taking multiple perspectives with this issue to help develop a more global understanding.

One particular action that is being promoted by this blog is the Stand Up and Take Action event on 16 through 18 October 2009. This year there is also a focus on women's issues.

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.

Despite some of my own recent doubts about online activism expressed in this blog and My Pathways to New Paradigms, I am again blogging about online actions. This time by Amnesty International USA, one in support again of Aung San Suu Kyi and the other in support of the International Violence Against Women Act. The words below are summarized from the Amnesty emails. As is my usual practice, I have added a few more links. I have also added two badges to the top of the right hand column. The irony of having Amnesty provide the post cards in light of the recent articles on slacktivism is not lost on me.

Leaders across the globe have issued statements condemning the verdict in pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's sham trial. Tell them it's time to match words with action.

Time is running out. Vietnam will replace Thailand as chair of ASEAN at the end of next month. Critics have raised concerns that ASEAN's new human rights body will be toothless under Vietnam's leadership. We must ramp up our calls on Thailand to show leadership on human rights in Myanmar in order for it to make a difference in the remaining weeks of its chairmanship.

That's why we're calling on ASEAN to convene a meeting of the top brass in foreign affairs from all 10 member nations to come up with concrete measures to finally address the growing human rights crisis in Myanmar.

We're turning up the heat ourselves by calling on supporters to send 10,000 postcards – instead of emails – to the Thai government, which currently chairs ASEAN. (Don't worry – we'll send the postcard for you, so you don't have to buy postage, lick stamps or find a mailbox.)

Act now. Help us send 10,000 postcards to the Thai government by September 1^st to urge them to call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and thousands of other political prisoners in Myanmar.

Thank you for standing with us –
Jim, Nancy, Anil, Ulana and the rest of the Myanmar rapid response team

The United States could be doing more to combat rape in conflict, high rates of domestic violence around the world, human trafficking, and other forms of violence against women. President Obama and Vice President Biden championed I-VAWA as Senators. So we know that their support is there. They have been working with Senators Kerry and Lugar, who have promised to lead I-VAWA through the Senate.

• Young girls are being sold into unwanted marriages to pay their fathers' debts.
• Their sisters are raped by rebel bands as a tool of war.
• And their mothers are beaten by husbands in retribution for daring to seek basic education

But the comprehensive legislation that would make fighting violence against women a priority for US foreign policy and give the State Department Office for Global Women's Issues the force of law is still missing.

Help add 5,000 signatures to the petition urging President Obama and Vice President Biden to actively support the re-introduction and passage of I-VAWA this fall.

The Obama Administration has already taken historic measures this year to raise the issue of violence against women by:

• Creating a State Department Office for Global Women's Issues
• Appointing a White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, and
• Creating the White House Council on Women and Girls

But the bottom line is I-VAWA has still not been reintroduced.

Sign our petition and share it with someone who supports women's human rights.

In Solidarity,

Betsy Wright Hawkings
Deputy Executive Director, Research & Policy
Amnesty International USA

Aung San Suu Kyi Support gets thanks but not results

Sphere: Related Content I have written both on the seemingly vast potential of Web 2.0 to help us in our efforts in bettering the world and my own status as a slacktivist, recognizing that while this blog hopefully has some minimal impact it is certainly not at the level of resources and programs featured in this blog.

There is one cause, unfortunately, for which the promise of the web has not been realized and that slacktivist efforts and those far more in earnest have fallen short. That is the effort calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. It was through my first blog My Pathways to New Paradigms that I started learning more about Burma (now Myanmar under the current oppressive regime). This blog has also posted on the topic.

It continues to be an inspiring, but tragic story. It provided in part the inspiration to create this blog, and more importantly to see the world from a different perspective.

Avaaz asks help Free Aung San Suu Kyi

It is not the first time we have been called to help out, and I do not mean in anyway that we should not, but past actions have fallen short by a large margin. This even with the fact that the United Nations has condemned the actions of the government as illegal and activist organizations around the globe spoke up in protest. I understand the geo-political reasons for this, but that understanding is pointless here.

Avaaz was responsible for one such action. Back in March when I wrote the post they were at 143,838 participants supporting the Burmese. Now they are at 406,865. Their goal, because of the importance of the number 8 in Asian societies, is 888,888. Now I am not blaming Avaaz or anybody else or even myself. There doesn't seem to be any action that one could take to change this situation except keep pushing our leaders to push their leaders. Just realizing that there is no magic solution even on the Web.

Despite my current pessimism, I am providing this link so that more voices can be add to the call for freedom for Aung San Suu Kyi. http://bit.ly/16gzG9. This particular action is being put forward by Amnesty International USA.

Myanmar's military junta extended Nobel Peace laureate and pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment by 18 months today after finding her guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest.

Critics of Myanmar's military regime condemned the outcome of the 3-month sham trial, calling it a pretext to keep Suu Kyi out of the running during next year's presidential elections.

The junta commuted Suu Kyi's sentence from three years hard labor in prison to an 18-month extension to her house arrest in the hopes that the international community will view the reduced sentence as an act of leniency.

But Suu Kyi should have never been imprisoned in the first place.

Suu Kyi's deplorable imprisonment has been denounced by everyone from heads of state worldwide to nine of Suu Kyi's fellow Nobel laureates. Join the court of world opinion in condemning Daw Ang San Suu Kyi's sham trial. Tell the leader of Myanmar's military junta that Suu Kyi shouldn't serve another minute of her sentence.

We know that the odds of success may seem stacked against us any time we appeal to authoritarian rulers. But the recent release of two U.S. journalists from North Korea is proof that even totalitarian regimes cave to relentless international pressure.

The fact that Myanmar's government reduced Suu Kyi's sentence is also a sign that the military regime is susceptible to the world community's criticisms.

We've proven time after time that even military dictatorships and other repressive regimes are no match for Amnesty's millions-strong global movement. Just last year, Ma Khin Khin Leh, another prisoner of conscience in Myanmar, obtained her release after Amnesty activists sent tens of thousands of letters to Myanmar's leaders on her behalf.

Join us today in calling for Daw Ang San Suu Kyi's immediate release. Go to: http://bit.ly/16gzG9

Other Blogging Efforts For the Same Cause Ending Poverty

Sphere: Related Content

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

UN Budget Shortfall Financial Industry Receives 10 Times More Money in 1 year than Poor Countries Receive in 49 Years

Sphere: Related Content

I am back to posting to this blog, hopefully on a regular and more frequent basis. Although I raised a number of different aspects of the Millennium Development Goals that will need to be addressed to see their successful implantation, the most critical one is still funding, only things are getting worse. Two sources on the same subject, one from Change.org and the other from the Millennium Campaign.

Budget Shortfall from Change.org

It seems like everyone is facing a massive budget gap this year, and the United Nations is no different. Of the $9 billion that the UN was supposed to receive for humanitarian aid this year, the organization has only received half. And that's despite the fact that more people - some say upwards of 43 million people - are relying on UN aid than ever before. Humanitarian Relief blogger Michael Kleinman studies the budget shortfall at the UN and how this might impact humanitarian relief throughout the globe. Turns out that the problem is partly about a lack of money, and partly about a lack of political will. (Read More)

Directly from the United States Millennium Campaign which reported that on June 23, 2009 , the United Nations Millennium Campaign released an analysis showing that since the inception of aid (overseas development assistance) almost 50 years ago, donor countries have given some $2 trillion in aid. Yet over the past year, $18 trillion has been found globally to bail out banks and other financial institutions.

The stark contrast between the money dispersed to the world's desperately poor after 49 years of painstaking summits and negotiations and the staggering sums found virtually overnight to bail out the creators of the global economic crisis makes it impossible for governments to any longer claim that the world can't find the money to help the 50,000 people who are dying of extreme poverty every day," said Salil Shetty, Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign. "This is a straightforward question of political will. Rich countries' priorities will become crystal clear at this week's summit on the economic crisis, where we hope they will finally deliver on the aid they have repeatedly pledged but not delivered to those who need it most."

The Campaign is therefore calling on donor countries to immediately and unconditionally do the following:

• Agree to a timetable to accelerate delivery of their aid commitments.
• Make rapid progress toward achieving the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda to simplify and streamline aid, including a clear timetable for implementation of existing commitments.
• Reduce and/or eliminate all trade-distorting agricultural subsidies.
• Ensure that poor countries are fully represented in all decision making bodies and in the restructuring of the global financial infrastructure.

Millennium Campaign is calling on poor countries to immediately do the following:

• that national development policies and plans are pro-poor and focused on women and excluded groups.
• Prioritize expenditures on the Millennium Development Goals.
• Ensure accountability and transparency in the management of public money.
• Prioritize domestic resource mobilization.

Go to www.youtube.com/mcampaign to watch the videoclip.

-------

Final of 8 days 8 Goals Personal Stories behind the Millennium Development Goals

Sphere: Related Content

This video is the last of an incredible video series on the MDGs provided by the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

We hope that this series has given you a better understanding of not only the issues behind the goals, but more importantly the implications it has for individuals all around the world. We hope you have enjoyed the videos. Stay tuned for an exciting update this week..

The "first" day video is here. The second day video is here. Third day video here. Fourth day video here. Fifth day here. Sixth here. Seventh here.

UN Millennium Campaign Goal 8 Global Partnership

x

Somewhat Related Posts:

The Ledger of Human Development - Accounting For Change

Millennium Project on Trade Fair & Free

Obama best for the Globe according to Europe

Refugees Across the Globe - A Millennium Problem

Financial Fears * Global Challenges * Some Potential Answers