5th July, 2005

JACK DE GROOT

There is a whisper around the globe that is fast becoming a roar in the ears of world leaders - “Make Poverty History”.

A global coalition of aid agencies, community groups, religious organisations, celebrities and individuals are coming together to demand an end to the glaring injustice of poverty by increasing and improving aid, providing debt relief and making trade fair.

The world’s leaders are being put on notice. Their citizens do not want to live in a world where 30,000 children die each day because of extreme poverty.

And the message has already proven to be a potent one, driving a recent G8 decision to forgive the debt of 18 of the world’s poorest countries.

It is easy to be cynical about this kind of popular movement, especially when it involves countless pop-stars and actors.

What is harder to recognise is that the impossible dream is worth fighting for, and that it is worth doing now.

The overwhelming generosity of Australians and their government after last year’s tsunami demonstrated many of us simply do not want to live in a world where we are ‘alright Jack’, but others are not.

Yet, so far, the global community has not taken the necessary steps to address the inequity of poverty.

Instead, as developed country incomes have risen, aid has stagnated and developing country debt levels have soared. Aid has also been wasted by both donors and recipients and international trade rules have been manipulated to favour the richest nations at the expense of the poorest.

Five years ago, over 190 countries formulated a global plan to halve poverty by 2015, agreeing to a set of eight Millennium Development Goals. But most countries are falling far short of meeting one of the key targets - giving 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) in aid each year.

The average among developed countries is just 0.41 per cent of GNI. Some of the worst performers are G8 countries, with Japan giving just 0.19 per cent of GNI, the United States giving 0.16 per cent and Italy giving 0.15 per cent of GNI. Australia gives around 0.28 per cent of GNI.

At the same time, developing countries are expected to repay debt - which was often incurred before most of their population was born by leaders they did not elect, at a rate that easily outstrips aid payments. Africa has been estimated to pay back around $3 in debt for every $1 it receives in aid.

Poorer countries are also asked to participate in a global trade system that is heavily stacked against them. Developed countries now spend more than $US300 billion each year on subsidies for their farmers - the equivalent of the entire combined income of Africa. Every cow in Europe gets $US2 a day in subsidies, which is more than 2.7 million of the world’s poorest people survive on each day.

The Make Poverty History campaign is about finally tackling these obstacles to poverty eradication.

Global leaders must take up the opportunity of this year’s UN Millennium Summit progress meeting in September to immediately increase aid to the poorest countries in the world. For Australia, this means committing to lifting aid to 0.5 per cent of GNI within four years, as a first step towards meeting the 0.7 per cent target.

This increased aid must also be accompanied by measures by both developed and developing countries to improve its delivery and effectiveness, including through anti-corruption measures.

While the G8 decision to forgive the debts of those 18 countries was an important first step, there is so much more to be done to help poor countries escape the debt trap. Australia must join international efforts to secure 100 per cent debt cancellation for the 60 poorest and most heavily-indebted countries.

This year also presents an opportunity for reform of the international trade rules at the WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December. Australia has a better record than most on opposing unfair trade practices, but it must continue to push for fairer trade at the international level in December.

This should include pursuing a rapid phase out of export subsidies that encourage dumping of products on world markets at less than cost prices. Developing countries must also be allowed to decide the pace and extent of trade liberalisation of their agricultural markets, to ensure billions of small scale farmers can feed themselves.

Australia, like the rest of those 190 countries, must heed the growing call to “Make Poverty History” and help turn the impossible dream into reality.

Jack de Groot is the chairman of the Australian Make Poverty History campaign. For more information on the campaign, visit www.makepovertyhistory.org.au.

Agree? Disagree? Want to give your opinion? Have your say here...

Your Say

Discuss this article. Name: Message: Enter your name and message to make a comment. You may need to refresh the page to see your message appear. Due to recent spam problems, messages that contain links are moderated before they will appear.