Debt relief money being put to good use
Zambia is proof that campaigning really does work. Saving made from debt cancellation means that this year Zambia will have 4500 new teachers, be able to build new schools and increase healthcare funding, especially for HIV/AIDS treatment. If you were wondering whether all your prayer and effort in support of Make Poverty History was worth it, this is just one reason why it was. Thank you.
Make Poverty History - Our evaluation
The clicking of fingers was one of the most powerful sounds of 2005 – a stark reminder that one child dies every three seconds due to extreme poverty, perpetuated not by chance but by the policies of the powerful.
The Make Poverty History campaign was launched in January 2005, to capitalize on the UK’s unique international role this year, as Chair of the G8 and President of the EU. Its aim was to secure changes to key policies in 2005 and to create a step-change in the UK public’s awareness of poverty, to ensure continuing pressure for change beyond 2005. Tearfund was a founder member; more than 500 organisations subsequently joined. Instead of asking for charity, the campaign called for justice for the world’s poorest people. It challenged the UK Government to make changes to its own economic policies and to take a lead internationally - in the EU, at the G8, the UN World Summit, and the World Trade Organisation. It focused on three critical and linked areas: injustice in global trade, the burden of unpayable and unjust debt and insufficient and ineffective aid.
There have been extraordinary moments. Twenty-five thousand people attended an all-night vigil in Westminster in April; nearly 250,000 came to march in Edinburgh ahead of the G8; and 97,000 Tearfund supporters sent a postcard to the Prime Minister to show that they were behind the campaign. The UK public was not alone but part of an astonishing global movement. 31 million people from 84 national coalitions around the world united in the Global Call to Action against Poverty.
But what was the impact? And what is still left to do?
Rich countries have promised to give more aid. Fifteen members of the EU have said that they will reach the UN target of spending 0.7% of their income on aid by 2015. Other members of the G8 have also promised increases, which mean that by 2010 there will be US$48 billion more aid each year than there is now. However, this is still not enough money to even halve poverty and not many of the measures required to improve aid have been taken.
The G8 agreed to cancel the debt owed by some poor countries to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank. The 100 per cent cancellation agreement was an important principle – but the deal only includes some of the debts of some poor countries. It will release about $1 billion a year to combat poverty, compared to the minimum of $10 billion debt cancellation per year needed to help developing countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
The UK Government accepted that poor countries should not be forced to open up their markets and that agricultural subsidies in rich nations are very damaging. Yet little progress has been made on trade so far. At the meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Hong Kong, developing countries gained little from the small concessions made by developed nations. They have also accepted proposals that could seriously erode their right to protect their industries and basic services. But there are glimmers of hope. Developing countries representing four-fifths of the world came together at this meeting in a historic display of unity that could help them resist pressure in the future.
The G8's commitment to ensure HIV treatment was a clear success of the campaign. In a significant policy shift, the G8 committed to "as close as possible to universal access to treatment for all those who need it by 2010”. The target was endorsed at the UN World Summit and became an international commitment. It now needs to be properly funded to ensure that it becomes a reality.