During U.S. President Obama’s visit to Ghana, the 44^th President spoke in front of Ghana’s Parliament on June 11. In his speech, Obama praised Africa’s achievements, offered warnings and charity as well.

Ghana is one of Africa’s leading economic countries, which has demonstrated impressive rates of growth in its economy alongside countries like Botswana and Mozambique. However, Obama also noted the terrible conditions in countries like Zimbabwe, Sudan, Congo and Liberia where financial collapse is a very real threat and violence is a daily occurrence.

The President committed $63 billion to a comprehensive global strategy excluding the Global Poverty Act, which is another part of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. The bill would commit $854 billion, over the course of eleven years.

In relation to the bill, then Senator Obama stated, “We can – and must – make it a priority of our foreign policy to commit to eliminating extreme poverty and ensuring every child has food, shelter, and clean drinking water. As we strive to rebuild America’s standing in the world, this legislation will not only commit to reducing global poverty, but will also demonstrate our promise and support to those in the developing world."

Read Full Text of Obama's Speech Here.

Source: Digital Journal

Senators Dick Durbin, Patty Murray and Bob Corker introduced the Water for the World Act of 2009 (S. 624) that will enable 100 million people to gain access to safe, clean drinking water and sanitation by 2015.

“Access to safe drinking water is a right that everyone in the world ought to enjoy but too few are able to realize,” Durbin said. “Water access is no longer simply a global health and development issue; it is a mortal and long-term threat that is increasingly becoming a national security issue. The United States needs to do much more to ensure that global water access is protected and expanded.”

Approximately one billion people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water and two out of every five people live without basic sanitation services. Pressure on global water supplies, particularly in developing nations, will continue as global warming, rapid industrialization and population and economic growth rise.

The need to combat the global water crises is important because water issues contribute to regional tensions, global health, child and maternal mortality and economic growth.

To goal of the bill would:

• Target underdeveloped countries with focused initiatives to improve access to clean water and sanitation;
• Foster global cooperation on research and technology development, including regional partnerships among experts on clean water;
• Provide technical assistance and capacity-building to develop expertise within countries facing water and sanitation challenges;
• Provide seed money for the deployment of clean water and sanitation technologies; and
• Strengthen the human infrastructure at USAID and the State Department to implement clean water and sanitation programs effectively and to ensure that water receives priority attention in our foreign policy efforts.

Source: durbin.senate.gov

Although 980 million people live on less than a dollar a day, poverty is not unbeatable. By bringing U.S. political attention to the issue, we can make a big impact to improve the living standards of those who do not have access to enough food, basic education, sanitation and health facilities. In the past 20 years, the number of the world’s chronically undernourished fell by 50 percent. By making one phone call to our representatives, we can continue to make the situation better. Encouraging our senators to cosponsor legislation, such as the Global Food Security Act, makes funds available to USAID for providing food in countries suffering food crises and allows them to make plans to bring an end to the poverty cycle in developing countries. Between 1999 and 2004, an estimated 135 million people were lifted out of severe poverty in low-income countries. With your support, we can improve the lives of millions by ensuring they have the means to survive. Please call or email your senators today and ask them to cosponsor the Global Food Security Act.

Due to the global economic crises that has lowered incomes and increased unemployment, world hunger is projected to reach a record high in 2009 with 1.02 billion people being hungry on the daily, as their access to food is reduced, according to new estimates published by FAO on Tuesday.

"A dangerous mix of the global economic slowdown combined with stubbornly high food prices in many countries has pushed some 100 million more people than last year into chronic hunger and poverty," said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf. "The silent hunger crisis - affecting one sixth of all of humanity - poses a serious risk for world peace and security. We urgently need to forge a broad consensus on the total and rapid eradication of hunger in the world and to take the necessary actions."

Almost all of the world’s hungry reside in developing nations. In Asia and the Pacific, approximately 642 million people are chronically hungry; in Sub-Saharan Africa 265 million; in Latin America and the Caribbean 53 million; in the Near East and North Africa 42 million; and in developed countries 15 million in total.

Poor countries, Diouf said, require development, economic and policy tools needed to increase their agricultural production and productivity.

Smallholder farmers in developing countries make up much of the world’s poor. But, if helped, farmers not only have the potential to meet their own needs, said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), but they can boost food security and stimulate overall economic growth. Providing smallholder farmers with access to not only seeds and fertilizers but tailored technologies, infrastructure, rural finance, and markets is vital.

"For most developing countries there is little doubt that investing in smallholder agriculture is the most sustainable safety net, particularly during a time of global economic crisis," Nwanze said.

Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme wholeheartedly agreed.

“The world must pull together to ensure emergency needs are met as long term solutions are advanced," Sheeran added.

Read more about the "grip of the crisis" here.

Source: Cattle Network