“EDMUND JUSTICE”
Vol 1, February 2005
3RD WORLD
POVERTY – The Other Tsunami
“Are they simply
going to rebuild the poverty that blighted so many of these communities and
make them more vulnerable to tsunami or will the reconstruction aim to
reduce poverty & future vulnerability?”
( Oxfam’s senior advisor)
Did you know?
 | 80 times
as many people die each year from poverty as from the Asian tsunami
|
| 11 million children die each year (under age
5 & from preventable disease) |
| 114 million children do not have basic
education |
| US spending - Iraq war -
$148 billion;
US pledged Tsunami aid - $350 million (equiv of 1
½ days of war spending) |
| Australian consumer spending Dec
2004 - $30 billion |
( figures from
World Health
Organization)
The Millennium Project set up in
2001 (consisting of 191 countries) set 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
to be achieved by 2015:
|
eradicate poverty & hunger
|
|
achieve universal primary education
|
|
promote gender equality & empower women
|
|
reduce child mortality
|
|
improve maternal health
|
|
combat AIDS/HIV. Malaria
|
|
Ensure Environ sustainability
|
|
Develop global partnerships
|
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals
G7 Conference… held in London 2 weeks ago by the world’s richest nations looked at
poverty, foreign aid and trade debt. The poorest
African countries owe $90 billion. Debt
stops them solving health and education problems and rebuilding their
economies.
Make Poverty History…
Nelson Mandella, Mr Blair & Chancellor, Gordon
Brown, convinced G7 nations to drop 100 per cent of
Third World debt. Other goals,
especially increasing aid , have yet to be realized.
One critical MILLENIUM GOAL
is for wealthy nations to give 0.7% of GNI (Gross National Income)
as foreign aid assistance. Current figures for 2004
Country
|
% of GNI |
|
Norway |
0.82 |
|
Denmark |
0.84 |
|
Netherlands |
0.81 |
|
U.K. |
0.34 |
|
Australia |
0.25 |
|
New Zealand |
0.23 |
|
Austria |
0.20 |
|
Italy |
0.17 |
|
USA |
0.14 |
(source: “PAYING THE PRICE”
Report, Oxfam, 2004)
In general, countries are giving only
half as much per capita as they were in the 1960’s (before tsunami)
COST to achieve this increase in
foreign aid.… $80 per person annually or $3 per
week
i.e. one cappucino or a pie and a can of coke per person per
week.
"Through your will and passion, you assisted in consigning
that evil system forever to history...Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is
not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the
actions of human beings." (Nelson Mandella)
FIND OUT MORE?
Visit these sites:
http://www.oxfam.org/eng/pdfs/pp041206_MDG.pdf
http://www.caritas.org.au
http://www.makepovertyhistory.org
Resources
“Paying the
Price” Oxfam report
Posters of Millennium Goals available at
Caritas- Justice Place
Caritas Lenten kit for teachers &
speakers
“The Corporation” video recently shown
on SBS, available in most ABC shops.
Up-coming events
March 7 - Jesuit Lenten Talks - 7.30-930
pm Gregory Terrace
What’s on?
“RWANDA HOTEL” story of Rwanda
massacre. Excellent movie to see. |
