Contained in this document are a set of useful resources and materials that summarise the Make Poverty History campaign so far.

 CONTENTS:

Make Poverty History explained…………………………………………..mph

Key statistics……………………………………………………..………….stats

Make Poverty History manifesto…………………………………………..manifesto

Campaign update to date…………………………………………………..update

Speech to the Labour Party Conference by Bono (Sep 2004)………....Bono

Sunday Times article by Richard Curtis (Jan 2004) ……………….…....Curtis

Speech to Trafalgar Square by Nelson Mandela (Feb 2005)….............Mandela

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY EXPLAINED

At the start of the 21^st century more than a billion people are trapped in abject poverty.

But in 2005, for the first time in history, we have the opportunity to turn this situation around – for good. Not as a gesture of charity.  As an act of justice.

At the G8 meeting in July, leaders of the planet’s richest countries will sit down with a development agenda for the first time ever. In September the world will review progress on the UN Millennium Development Goals, a set of targets laid down in 1999 to eradicate poverty. Then in December the 6^th World Trade Organisation meeting will take place.

These are key moments; points in history that can be used to stop the needless deaths of 30,000 children every single day. At each of these meetings world leaders will be asked to commit to

-          trade justice – changing trade rules so that trade becomes part of the solution to ending poverty, not part of the problem

-          double the aid budget (from $50 billion to $100 billion a year) and improve the quality of the aid that is given.

-          drop the debts of the poorest countries.

If these three things happen, we can overcome poverty and the world will never be the same again – it’s that simple.

This is an astonishing opportunity for us to become the generation that said enough is enough - we can no longer live in a world where a child dies from a preventable disease every three seconds.

In more than 60 countries throughout the world, organisations are coming together to put pressure on world leaders to take this opportunity seriously.  A powerful group of NGOs, international networks, trade unions and religious groups have launched a Global Call to Action Against Poverty.  In the UK, the campaign, made up of more than 350 different organisations, is known as Make Poverty History, in the US it is the One Campaign and in Germany it’s called Weltweite Aktion Gegen Armut to name but three.

Throughout 2005 a huge series of events is being organised in each country to build up awareness and put pressure on the leaders.  From mass emailing, texting and postcard sending, to TV programmes, films, pop concerts, educational projects, multi media advertising, rallies and demonstrations, photo petitions and skywriting. The symbol of the campaign, adopted around the world, is a simple white band worn on the wrist, the arm – or however you want!

For more information on what is going to be the biggest assault on poverty ever, please go to the UK website – www.makepovertyhistory.org

Our leaders have the power to change the world. 

But we have the power to make them use it.

KEY STATISTICS

Poverty

One third of deaths – some 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day – are due to poverty-related causes. That’s 270 million people since 1990, the majority women and children, roughly equal to the population of the US. (Reality of Aid/WHO 2004)

600 million children live in absolute poverty. Every year more than 10 million children die of hunger and preventable diseases – that’s over 30,000 per day and one every 3 seconds.

(80 Million Lives, 2003 / Bread for the World / UNICEF / World Health Organization)

Over 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day with nearly half the world’s population (2.8 billion) living on less than $2 a day. (UNHDR, 2003)

The three richest people in the world control more wealth than all 600 million people living in the world's poorest countries. (http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/campaign/trade/basics#topten)

Income per person in the poorest countries in Africa has fallen by a quarter in the last 20 years. (http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/campaign/trade/basics#topten)

Women work two-thirds of the world's working hours, produce half of the world's food, and yet earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's property.  (World Development Indicators/Womankind Worldwide)

More than half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth every year – that’s one death every minute. (http://www.unicef.org)

115 million children remain out of school whilst one in four adults in the developing world – 872 million people – is illiterate.  (http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2003/english/ch1/page5.htm / Oxfam -Education Now)

Universal primary education would cost $10 billion a year - that's half what Americans spend on ice cream.  (http://www.actionaid.org.uk/index.asp?section_id=11)

Trade

The United Nations estimates that unfair trade rules deny poor countries $700 billion every year. Less than 0.01% of this could save the sight of 30 million people.

(http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/campaign/trade/basics#topten)

World trade robs poor countries of £1.3 billion a day – 14 times what they get in aid. (CAFOD, 2003)

Whilst world trade has increased 10 times since 1970 and more food is produced per person than ever before, the number of people going hungry in Africa has doubled. (http://www.cafod.org.uk/get_involved/campaigning/vote_for_trade_justice/trade_justice_campaign)

The average cow in the EU receives more than $2 a day in subsidies, whilst half the world’s population are struggling to survive on less than this. (http://www.cafod.org.uk/archive/policy/roughguidetoglobalisation20030901.shtml#5)

Aid

In 2002/3 the UK spent just 0.3% of national income on aid. If the UK met the 0.7% target by 2008, an extra 1.5 million people could beat poverty that year.  (http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/temp/scuk/cache/cmsattach/1295_07actionbriefing.pdf)

To achieve 0.7%, the UK needs to increase its aid budget by £3 billion. It sounds huge, but it is possible - the UK government found £5.5 billion to fund the ‘war on terror’. (http://money.guardian.co.uk/prebudgetreport/story/0,12685,1103989,00.html)

Debt

For every £1 in grant aid to developing countries, more than £13 comes back in debt repayments. (www.IMF.org.uk/World Health Report 2000)

Every year Sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region of the world, spends $14.5 billion repaying debts to the world's rich countries and international institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. (DATA)

Spread over ten years the cost to the UK taxpayer of cancelling £1.3bn debt is £171m a year or £2.85 per UK citizen per year – the price of a pint. (http://www.wdm.org.uk/presrel/current/costofdebt.htm)

Last year, Zambia handed over US$377m in debt repayments. Of this, $247 million will go straight back to the IMF. This means that in 2004, the Zambian government payed the IMF alone $25 million more than it is spending on education.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/education/gce_zambia_imf.htm

HIV-AIDS

In 2004, nearly 40 million people globally were estimated to be living with HIV. The AIDS epidemic claimed more than 3 million lives and close to 5 million people acquired the HIV in 2004. http://www.unaids.org/EN/other/functionalities/Search.asp

Nearly 40 million people are living with HIV and AIDS worldwide. Of those, 2.2 million are children under 15.  There were 4.9 million new cases in 2004, which amounts to a staggering 13,700 per day. <http://www.unaids.org/EN/other/functionalities/Search.asp>

Over 3 million people died from AIDS in 2004. 2.3 million of those were in sub-Saharan Africa. That amounts to 8,493 people dying from AIDS every day and 6 people dying every minute. <http://www.unaids.org/EN/other/functionalities/Search.asp>

Currently more than 11 million children in Africa have lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS; that number is expected to reach 20 million by 2010. (UNAIDS/UNICEF)

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY MANIFESTO

TODAY, THE GAP BETWEEN THE WORLD’S RICH AND POOR IS WIDER THAN EVER.

GLOBAL INJUSTICES SUCH AS POVERTY, AIDS, MALNUTRITION, CONFLICT & ILLITERACY REMAIN RIFE.

Despite the promises of world leaders, at our present sluggish rate of progress the world will fail dismally to reach internationally agreed targets to halve global poverty by 2015. World poverty is sustained not by chance or nature, but by a combination of factors: injustice in global trade; the huge burden of debt; insufficient and ineffective aid. Each of these is exacerbated by inappropriate economic policies imposed by rich countries.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. These factors are determined by human decisions. 2005 offers an exceptional series of opportunities for the UK to take a lead internationally, to start turning things around. 

Next year, as the UK hosts the annual G8 gathering of powerful world leaders and heads up the European Union (EU), the UK Government will be a particularly influential player on the world stage. A sea change is needed. By mobilising popular support across a unique string of events and actions, we will press our own government to compel rich countries to fulfil their obligations and promises to help eradicate poverty, and to rethink some long-held assumptions.

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY urges the government and international decision makers to rise to the challenge of 2005. We are calling for urgent and meaningful policy change on three critical and inextricably linked areas: trade, debt and aid.

TO END POVERTY AND PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT WE NEED TRADE JUSTICE NOT FREE TRADE. THE UK GOVERNMENT SHOULD:

TRADE JUSTICE

The rules of international trade are stacked in favour of the most powerful countries and their businesses. On the one hand these rules allow rich countries to pay their farmers and companies subsidies to export food – destroying the livelihoods of poor farmers. On the other, poverty eradication, human rights and environmental protection come a poor second to the goal of ‘eliminating trade barriers’.

We need trade justice not free trade. This means the EU single-handedly putting an end to its damaging agricultural export subsidies now; it means ensuring poor countries can feed their

people by protecting their own farmers and staple crops; it means ensuring governments can effectively regulate water companies by keeping water out of world trade rules; and it means ensuring trade rules do not undermine core labour standards.

We need to stop the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) forcing poor countries to open their markets to trade with rich countries, which has proved so disastrous over the past 20 years; the EU must drop its demand that former European colonies

open their markets and give more rights to big companies; we need to regulate companies – making them accountable for their social and environmental impact both here and abroad; and we must ensure that countries are able to regulate foreign investment in a way that best suits their own needs.

THE UNPAYABLE DEBTS OF THE WORLD’S POOREST COUNTRIES SHOULD BE CANCELLED IN FULL, BY FAIR AND TRANSPARENT MEANS.

DROP THE DEBT

Despite grand statements from world leaders, the debt crisis is far from over. Rich countries have not delivered on the promise they made more than six years ago to cancel unpayable poor country debts. As a result, many countries still have to spend more on debt repayments than on meeting the needs of their people. Rich countries and the institutions they control must act now to cancel all the unpayable debts of the poorest countries. They should not do this by depriving poor countries of new aid, but by digging into their pockets and providing new money.

The task of calculating how much debt should be cancelled must no longer be left to creditors concerned mainly with minimising their own costs. Instead, we need a fair and transparent

international process to make sure that human needs take priority over debt repayments.

International institutions like the IMF and World Bank must stop asking poor countries to jump through hoops in order to qualify for debt relief. Poor countries should no longer have to privatise basic services or liberalise economies as a condition for getting the debt relief they so desperately need.

And to avoid another debt crisis hard on the heels of the first, poor countries need to be given more grants, rather than seeing their debt burden piled even higher with yet more loans.

DONORS MUST NOW DELIVER AT LEAST $50 BN MORE IN AID PER YEAR AND SET A BINDING TIMETABLE FOR SPENDING 0.7% OF NATIONAL INCOME ON AID. AID MUST ALSO BE MADE TO WORK MORE EFFECTIVELY FOR POOR PEOPLE.

MORE and BETTER AID

Poverty will not be eradicated without an immediate and major increase in international aid. Rich countries have promised to provide the extra money needed to meet internationally agreed poverty reduction targets. This amounts to at least $50 billion per year, according to offical estimates, and must be delivered now. Rich countries have also promised to provide 0.7%of their national income in aid and they must now make good on their commitment by setting a binding timetable to reach this target. However, without far-reaching changes in how aid is delivered, it won’t achieve maximum benefits.

Two key areas of reform are needed.

First, aid needs to focus better on poor people’s needs. This means more aid being spent on areas such as basic health-care and education. Aid should no longer be tied to goods and

services from the donor, so ensuring that more money is spent in the poorest countries. And the World Bank and the IMF must become fully democratic in order for poor people’s concerns to be heard.

Second, aid should support poor countries’ and communities’ own plans and paths out of poverty. Aid should therefore no longer be conditional on recipients promising economic change like privatising or deregulating their services, cutting health and education spending, or opening up their markets: these are unfair practices that have never been proven to reduce poverty.

And aid needs to be made predictable, so that poor countries can plan effectively and take control of their own budgets in the fight against poverty.

CAMPAIGN UPDATE TO DATE

Nov 2003. Charities and campaigning organisations begin a series of meetings to plan a major coalition against poverty in 2005.  First joint letter is sent to Tony Blair challenging him to use his presidencies of the G8 and EU in 2005 to make a breakthrough against global poverty.

Jun 2004. 60 UK organisations gather for the founding assembly of the UK coalition for 2005. 

Sep 2004.  UK coalition plans announced under the banner of ‘MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY’. Coalition issues specific policy challenges on trade, aid and debt. www.makepovertyhistory.org is launched and thousands of people begin signing up to take action in 2005.

Sep 2004.  Organisations from 80 countries – including all the major G8 members – gather in Johannesburg to form the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. 

Oct 2004.  Bono addresses Labour Party Conference on behalf of the campaign.

Nov 2004.  MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY wins cross-party support at House of Commons launch featuring Claudia Schiffer, Lenny Henry, Richard Curtis and others.

Dec 2004.  Band Aid 20 single released.  Bob Geldof says ‘By buying this single, you are telling politicians to act in 2005.’

Dec 2004.  On the eve of 2005, campaign issues 30-page challenge to Tony Blair and other world leaders entitled “MAKE HISTORY”.

2005

Jan 1.  We ask our band of email campaigners to take their first action –emailing the Prime Minister to encourage him to use 2005 to make poverty history.  29,000 send emails.  Tens of thousands more send letters and postcards.

Jan 13.  600 female vicars march to Downing Street with Dawn French to meet the PM and show their support for the campaign
 

Jan 26-28.  World Economic Forum in Davos puts campaign centre stage, while Global Call to Action is launched simultaneously at World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Feb 1.  21,000 email Chancellor Gordon Brown to urge him to fight for a breakthrough at the G7 finance ministers meeting in London.  21,000 sent emails.
 
Feb 3.  Nelson Mandela tells 22,000 people in Trafalgar Square and millions watching around the world: “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome… Make Poverty History in 2005.  Make History in 2005.”  We ask the Trafalgar Square crowd to text the prime minister instantly to make poverty history.  5,000 send texts.

Feb 4. Mandela meets G7 Finance Ministers, who commit to develop a plan to deal with debt and aid. 

Feb 5.  Oxfam Shops and other coalition outlets officially cleaned out of first run of 500,000 white bands, the symbol of the campaign.  A million more delivered.

Feb 10.  We hold a reception for the advertising industry to ask them to donate ad and air space to our campaign.  Around £4 million worth of advertising committed in one night – more than the advertising budget for the film Love Actually.
 
Feb 11.   Richard and other members of MPH meet Scottish First Minister in Edinburgh to discuss the events in Scotland around the time of the G8 summit.  They also meet key Scottish newspaper editors.

Feb 14.  News that the Peace March in Italy has adopted Make Poverty History as its theme this year.  Means more than 650,000 Italians will march in support.

Feb 21.  Every student at Oxford University emailed to join the campaign. 

Feb 27.  BBC Worldwide launch Richard Curtis’ new film which is set at the G8.  Bill Nighy (who stars in it) and Richard present the movie to 400 TV buyers from all the G8 countries. It’s due to be screened on BBC1 in the UK and HBO in America the week before the G8 – as well as in 18 other countries around the world.

March 4.  Work nears completion on the “click film” - our ad which will run at rock and pop concerts around the world and in the media.  The script explains that every three seconds, a child dies of extreme poverty - and this year we have the power to change that.  The ad features Brad Pitt, Liam Neeson, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Bob Geldof, Justin Timberlake, Hugh Grant, Kylie Minogue, George Clooney, Kate Moss, Colin Firth, Penelope Cruz, Bono, Tom Hanks and more.

March 11.   Three short films about Making Poverty History are broadcast on BBC1 on the night of Red Nose Day.  The films are authored by Bono, Lenny Henry and Nelson Mandela.