1.4 billion reasons to end poverty

If you're in the UK at the moment, I've got some news for you. ONE has teamed up with The Global Poverty Project on a tour showcasing their groundbreaking presentation, 1.3 Billion Reasons. Throughout October and November, they will be visiting various universities, festivals, libraries etc across the UK; if you're around and have some spare time try to pass by! Click here to find an event near you.

According to ONE, "this ‘Inconvenient Truth’-style presentation is traveling the globe breaking down the complex issue of global poverty and inspiring action. We all have friends who remain unconvinced that fighting global poverty is worthwhile in the current economic climate. So it’s more important than ever to show that we can and must end extreme poverty within our lifetime".

Even if you're not in the UK at the moment, there are still ways you can get involved. On their website, you make a commitment to one or more of their causes, including talking to friends and family about poverty, buying fair trade products and volunteering. The more people we have working together, the more likely it is for us to see extreme poverty eradicated in our lifetimes.

For all US residents out there

I've recently noticed on our blog counter that we seem to been getting quite a few hits from the United States. I've got a little something for you guys:

Our friends over at ONE are running a petition to push Congress to pass a bill essential for the delivery of President Obama's promise of donating over a billion dollars to Haiti to help with reconstruction. You can add you name to show your support here.

Similarly, the Millennium Campus Network is pushing for Obama and Congress to make the necessary policy changes to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 (specifically, global education, global health and sustainable development in Haiti). You can sign their petition here.

Unfortunately, those of us outside the United States are unable to add our voices to these causes. We hope those of you who can will join us in holding leaders accountable for their promises in the fight against poverty. I'll be sharing any updates as I see them, so keep an eye out for those!

--Updates-->>
Great news! early this morning (last night for you Yanks), Congress voted to pass the bill that will make the promised funding to assist with Haiti's reconstruction and debt relief possible. More details here. Result! Now let's rally behind the Millennium Campus Network campaign to see those policy changes happen!!
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President Obama has released his MDG plans; you can check them out here! I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported these campaigns... little by little, we're all able to make a difference :)

Help prevent maternal mortality worldwide!

The G8 summit is kicking off next week in Canada. This year, the wonderful people over at ONE are advocating a push to train 3.5 million health workers by 2010. I feel that this is a fantastic initiative that could potentially save the lives of millions of mothers and their babies. Too many women die or suffer horrific complications trying to bring life into the world. If you agree, please take a minute to sign up to their campaign. Thank you.

Go Black Stars!!

AfricanAgenda2010 Survey

African Monitor has been working on getting the voices of Africans heard at various summits held at organisations such as the African Union and United Nations. They have recently launched an the AfricanAgenda2010 Survey to widen the scope of people they are able to reach. If you have a little spare time, please take the survey and make your opinions count! Don't let the first page scare you off (as it almost did me!); it only takes about 10 minutes to complete. Here's some information about the survey from their website:

"2010 is a critical year in Africa’s development, and as we head towards the United Nations Summit on the MDGs in September 2010 in New York, it is important that African stakeholders develop a set of priorities for engagement and advocacy in Africa, and towards building a redefined relationship between African countries and the international community.

African Monitor and a number of partners, including ONE and the Southern Africa Trust, are facilitating citizen consultations around the continent to develop a citizen-driven agenda for Africa in the second decade of the 21st century. The aims of these consultations are to:

1. Develop an African agenda wholly owned and promoted by governments, civil society, business and academia;
2. Identify high impact priorities for implementation between 2010 and 2015;
3. Identify key evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of partnerships (among Africans and between them and the international community) in programme implementation;
4. Galvanise shared expectations and excitement about prospects for Africa;
5. Generate commitment and renewed energy to drive local and international support for democracy and development in Africa.

Recognising that there are ongoing continental processes to review progress towards the MDGs, as well as identify priorities for international community engagement, these consultations will also review the existing continental processes and submit recommendations to them. Realising how limited physical consultations are, it is critical that an e-consultation is undertaken to poll a broad cross section of African citizens, particularly young people, on these issues."