Poverty

14 December 2007 -- Donor nations have pledged a record $25 billion to help fight poverty in the world's poorest nations, which are home to two and a half billion people.

The new donations boost the bank's International Development Association's budget to more than $41 billion over the next three years.

A total of 45 nations pledged donations, including six new countries -- China, Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Egypt and China were once recipients of World Bank aid.    » read more »

Almost $42 Billion for next three years

Berlin , December 14, 2007 – Donor countries today pledged a record US$ 25.1 billion for the World Bank to help overcome poverty in the world’s poorest countries. In total, the IDA15 replenishment will provide US$ 41.6 billion, an increase of US$ 9.5 billion over the previous replenishment (IDA14) which provided US$ 32.1 billion.    » read more »

13 December 2007 -- The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says people who suffer discrimination are often overlooked in times of disaster and may not survive those crises. This year's World Disaster Report tackles the problem of discrimination in disasters and examines ways to help marginalized people get a fair share of assistance.

The report says disasters do not discriminate, people do. And this often can lead to loss of life, disability and increased poverty.    » read more »

December 12, 2007 – The 2007 grain harvest hit a record 2.3 billion tons, yet voracious global demand has pushed cereal stocks to 30-year lows. Despite growing harvests, several factors are actually decreasing the amount of grain available per person as food, which peaked at 376 kilograms in 1986:

* Industrial livestock production requires large amounts of grain, particularly corn. Grain, in conjunction with soybeans, provides the primary source of livestock feed: in total, roughly one third (35 percent) of the world’s grain becomes feed.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 12, 2007—A new World Bank research report finds that 22 countries* with the world’s highest numbers of TB cases could earn significantly more than they spend on TB diagnosis and treatment if they signed onto a global plan to sharply reduce the numbers of TB-related deaths. Highly affected African countries could gain up to 9 times their investments in TB control.    » read more »

Legislation would aim to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015

December 11, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have introduced the Global Poverty Act (S.2433), which requires the President to develop and implement a comprehensive policy to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015 through aid, trade, debt relief, and coordination with the international community, businesses and NGOs. Representatives Adam Smith (D-WA) and Spencer Bachus (R-AL) sponsored the House version of the bill (H.R.    » read more »

December 10, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today wrote to President Bush demanding that he release emergency funding for local food banks and other essential food programs which are facing a critical shortage of supplies this winter.    » read more »

04 December 2007 -- The anti-poverty group Oxfam says global warming is altering the human food supply and threatening some of the world's poorest people with hunger. At the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Bali, the group argued developed countries should pay to address the problem, and costs could top $50 billion a year.

Climate change, which many scientists believe is fueled by human activities, alters rain cycles and causes increased droughts and flooding.    » read more »

01 December 2007 -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has announced a multimillion-dollar plan to improve roads, build sanitation systems and upgrade housing for residents in slums outside Rio de Janeiro.

Mr. Lula made the announcement Friday as he visited the Cantagalo "favela," or shantytown, outside the upscale beach district of Copacabana.

The president's plan will invest nearly $20 million of federal and state money into the local favelas, affecting thousands of families.    » read more »

26 November 2007 -- A new report by the international humanitarian agency Oxfam says weather-related disasters have quadrupled during the past two decades. It calls for governments to take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists blame for the crisis.

The Oxfam report, called Climate Alarm, says natural disasters have risen from 120 annually in the 1980s to as many as 500 today.    » read more »

Nov 19, 2007 -- Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, in response to a report by the Associated Press that food banks across America this winter are seeing increased demand for their services at the same time that donations and federal government assistance have decreased, Senator John Edwards released the following statement:

"This week, as families across the country gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving, we are reminded once again of the sad fact that millions of American families still go hungry.    » read more »

November 14, 2007 -- Oakland, Calif.—Most of the world suffers from abject poverty. Half of the world’s people live on two dollars or less per day and roughly 600 million live on no more than one dollar per day. Why do some nations get richer while others remain poor? What prevents development in some resource-rich countries while others thrive on very little? And why do robust economies sometimes collapse?    » read more »

Decrease largely attributed to increase in supportive housing

November 7, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is reporting a nearly 12 percent decrease in the number of chronically homeless persons living on the nation's streets. HUD's analysis found that more than 20,000 persons moved from the streets into transitional and permanent supportive housing between 2005 and 2006.    » read more »

30 October 2007 -- Some of the world's leading information technology corporations are in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, for what organizers are calling a historic summit focusing on Africa's growing IT sector. Representatives of tech giants are calling for business solutions to alleviate poverty.

Industry leaders say chronic poverty in Africa will be alleviated by investment in information technology, rather than foreign aid.    » read more »

10.30.07 - Columbus, Ohio – Three of Ohio’s leading anti-poverty organizations today announced their support for Ohio Governor Ted Strickland’s energy plan.

Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy, Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies and the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Banks today joined a growing chorus of supporters, including top business and labor leaders, hospitals, farmers and restaurant owners.    » read more »