MAKE POVERTY HISTORY

Surely not this third world development stuff again ? Haven’t we finished with all that ? What’s happened with the money from last time ?

It’s hard not to get frustrated by the fact that the world’s poorest countries seem always to be with us. There’s an appalling déjà vu in images of potbellied African children dying or of young men attempting to rule down the barrel of a gun. It wouldn’t be surprising if the next epidemic was of compassion fatigue and we all just got on with our own lives.

So it’s perhaps particularly ironic that the latest UK campaign against global poverty rejoices in an acronym usually associated with speed, MPH. On aid, trade and debt however it’s not so much a question of Miles Per Hour, more like “minimal progress heretofore”.

In 1970 the world’s richest countries agreed to provide 0.7% of their wealth in aid by 1980. Thirty-five years later and all we have managed is 0.25%, a quarter of one penny for every £1 we have, an amount so small we don’t even have a coin for it any longer. The total value of aid has just reached $70 billion.

Following the Jubilee 2000 campaign the world’s richest countries agreed to forgive $100 billion of developing country debts. Five years later and only $46 billion has actually been cancelled. Meanwhile the total debt burden stands at $375 billion with $30 million being repaid every day

The World Trade Organisation proudly announced in 2001 that it would negotiate a “development round” for the benefit of countries in the South. The offers made by the richest countries were then so unfavourable that for the first time developing countries came together led by Brazil, India and China to reject the deal. The “development round” remains to be completed and meanwhile the UN estimates that developing countries are losing potential earnings of $700 billion every year.

So however deadeningly familiar the issues may be, there is no question that we have a lot further to go before justice is done. And there is real human suffering here: over one billion people have less than $1 a day to live on; 30,000 are dying every day. In 2005 therefore “MPH” stands for the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY campaign. Its ambitions were expressed by the U2 rock group musician Bono: “We can make extreme poverty history, I really believe that. The kind of stupid poverty where kids are dying for the lack of an immunisation that costs 20 cents, or for lack of food in a world of plenty. Don’t we want to be the generation that says no to that?”

So now you are enthused once again not only that something should be done about global poverty but that it can be done, how do you get involved with MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY ?

The most obvious step is to wear the campaign’s symbol, a white band as launched on the New Year’s Day edition of the Vicar of Dibley. They are available in development charity shops or via the links on the website www.makepovertyhistory.org. The bands can be worn all the time but there will be three “White Band Days” during the year, the first of which, on 2 July, will coincide with the G8 summit in Scotland.

On that day also there will be a mass lobby of the summit in Edinburgh and transport is being arranged from the Hambleden Valley – contact Malcolm Macnaughton or myself (01491 638131).

Closer to home and courtesy of WaterAid, there was a MPH White Band wrapping of St Mary’s Turville on Sunday 20 March during the 9:30am Service.

The anticipated General Election campaign will of course be an opportunity to raise aid, trade and debt issues with candidates but there is no need to wait until then to lobby the politicians. Again the website will provide links to plenty of email and letter-writing campaigns. However if you are at all uncertain and would like further information please do contact me.

Best of luck and happy activism. Together before this generation passes away, we can make poverty history!

David Redhouse, churchwarden of Turville

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