The Hunger Project’s Executive VP, John Coonrod, is in Washington, DC to strengthen THP’s seat at the table of international development. Each week, John sends us insight into issues of health, policy, human rights and more by way of the Washington Weekly.
This Friday starts the final 1,000 Days to fulfill the MDGs! People around the world are invited to take part in a social media surge between Friday, 5 April, 2PM CET and Saturday, 6 April, 7AM CET. #MDGMomentum
World Bank President: End Extreme Poverty by 2030
It was a quiet speech, but you could tell it might be historic. On Tuesday, April 2 at Georgetown University, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim called for the world community to reduce the percentage living on less than $1.25 per day to 3% by 2030. He described the goal as “within our grasp.”
He cited climate change and inequality as the two fundamental challenges to meeting the goal. He also spoke of the gap between commitments and implementation, promising to better link practitioners around the world in what he called the “Science of Delivery.”
Kim ended his speech by citing Martin Luther King: “Injustice will not vanish inevitably, it must rooted out by strong, persistent, and determined action.” He said, “We can and we must seize the arc of history and bend it toward justice”.
Action Item: Post-2015 Agenda: Readout from Bali, Request for Input
John Norris, who supports John Podesta on the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel for the Post-2015 Agenda reported to civil society today on the recent meeting in Bali – the panel’s 4th meeting and the last before they review their report in mid-May.
The subject was partnership and financing, although it seemed to discuss the full range of issues. Most of the key innovations are still alive: universality of goals, inclusion of key good governance issues and addressing inequality. There does seem to be a real divide on the issue of official development assistance – the richer countries increasingly see ODA as only a small part of the bigger picture of funding for development, while the G77 countries focus on it intensely. There will likely continue to be a 0.7% ODA goal, and there is some discussion of a 0.35% goal for middle-income countries.
The government-side of this process, the 30-member-state “Open Working Group”, is just getting underway and is discussing modalities. Their work is expected to be more contentious than the High-Level Panel, and will produce its report in September 2014.
Action Item: USAID/GDA Funding – Links to Private Sector?
InterAction is negotiating a partnership with USAID’s Bureau for Food Security to co-fund bold initiatives generated by InterAction members through a mechanism known as a “Global Development Alliance (GDA)” based on 50/50 funding. InterAction members made a joint $1 billion commitment in private resources to food security at last year’s G8 meeting.
Action Item: TOPS Small Grants Program for Capacity Building
USAID and Food For Peace have a large food security program called TOPS staffed largely by Save the Children, and it has just opened a window for “micro” grants up to $50,000 for food security capacity building. For example, THP-Bangladesh could submit a request for the agricultural training it does.
Upcoming Events
April 11 – THP/UNDEF Participatory Local Democracy Consultation in Rome
April 23/24 – THP/UNDEF Participatory Local Democracy Consultation in Cape Town
April 29-May 1 – InterAction Forum, Arlington, Virginia
May 12-14 – Food Security and Nutrition Knowledge Sharing, Dhaka
May 20-28 – World Health Assembly, Geneva
May 28 – World Hunger Day, London
May 28-30 – Women Deliver Conference, Kuala Lumpur – Joly to attend
June 8 – London Hunger Summit before the G8.
June 10-11 – Scaling-up Nutrition/1000 Day Summit in Washington
June 13-14 – Civil20, Business20, Youth20 Summits in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
June 27-28 – International Conference on Population and Development, Paris
September 5-6 – Leaders G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia
September 24-29 – Opening of the UN General Assembly
October 2 – Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday and the awarding of the Sarojini Naidu Prize.
October 5 – The Hunger Project Fall Event
October 11 – International Girl Child Day (which will subsume our National Girl Child Day.)
October 16 – World Food Day
