Aid works!

The media often publishes one story after another arguing that giving aid to poor countries is a waste of money. It’s disappointing – not only is it untrue, more aid is urgently needed if the world is to have any chance to halve worldwide poverty by 2015.

In 2000 countries all over the world agreed to go for this goal and for seven other ‘millennium development goals’, such as getting all children to school, promoting gender equality and reducing child and maternal mortality.

Aid does work. Thanks to aid, in many countries more children go to school and more people have access to basic health services. In Tanzania for example between 2000-05 child mortality decreased by a third and the number of children going to school increased from 4.4 to 7.4 million. In 2004 alone, the government built 10 thousand classrooms and trained 10 thousand teachers. In Mali, the government stepped up investments in primary education and the number of children going to school increased from 38% to 51% between 2001-05.

Unfortunately, there are some occasion aid does get wasted. Sometimes this is because corrupt governments steal the money or use it to their own personal gain. But rich countries are also to blame. They often demand that poor countries implement economic policy conditions that can increase poverty. Or they require that poor countries spend the money given to them on expensive experts from rich countries.

That’s why Oxfam and other don’t just ask for more aid – we also ask for better aid. And at the same time, we support partners in poor countries that work hard to fight corruption.

In 2005 the richest countries in the world promised to double their aid by 2010. But for 2 years in a row, global aid is on the decline. European Ministers of Development are currently meeting to talk about aid to poor countries at the General Affairs and External Relations Council.

Oxfam was there to demand that rich countries will keep their promises, and give more and better aid to fight global poverty. We were there with Aidwatchers & GCAP Europe, and through our calculations we’ve estimated the the EU is currently a staggering €75 million short on the aid they promised.

If they fail to keep their promises, the aim of halving poverty by 2010 will be missed for sure. And that is no option.

Aidwatchers & GCAP Europe stunt outside the EU meeting

A reflection…

by Claire Seaward, Health & Education For All Campaigner, Oxfam GB

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Last week was a jam-packed, exciting week of campaigning at the World Health Assembly. We set ourselves some pretty tough challenges! Targeting world Health Ministers, organizing high profile events and dressing up in ‘70s gear to remind everyone of Ministers’ health commitments made 30 years ago.

….phew it was a lot to cram into a week!

So what did we achieve?

Oxfam were like ants – marching around every corner of the Assembly – armed with statements, hunting down Ministers to persuade them to sign up and recommit to promises for health for all.

Our allies at Save the Children, World Vision, Action for Global Health and Global Movement for Children were also in on the act – it soon became difficult to avoid us! We managed to track down and sign up a whopping 60 Countries!

The star of the day was the Bolivian minister – he managed to persuade the whole of the Americas region to sign up! Great news!

What else?

We also held two high profile events to discuss some really big issues: making sure poor people can access affordable medicines and debating public vs. private healthcare systems.

What was the point?

Well, we wanted lots of people including people from world organisations like the World Health Organisation, ministers, charities and ordinary people to come and listen and be spurred into action!

We wanted people to know how and why people cannot access affordable medicines and challenge the World Bank (head-on) that their private policies will not help the poorest. Our events were packed to bursting and resulted in some fantastic positive heated debates.

So what a fantastic week of campaigning but the pressure doesn’t stop there! We’re turning up the heat in July’s at the G8 in Japan. Why not send a wish to G8 leaders now by taking our Tanabata to demand action on Health, Aid and Climate Change!

For more information on why we are campaigning for public solutions to healthcare services and access to medicines, check out our short video messages below from Rohit & Anna, our policy advisors who were in Geneva last week:

– On public healthcare

– On access to medicines

A story of big hair, disco dancing, and broken promises

by Claire Seaward, Health & Education For All Campaigner, Oxfam GB

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Yesterday we were kitted out in our psychedelic 70s retro gear outside the World Health Organisation (as brazen as we could be) with our 1970s T.V, dodgy lamp shade, banners and posters, while a UN security guard looked on suspiciously.

“Why on earth were you doing that?” I hear you cry.

Well, the world’s ministers, who have come here to discuss health at this year’s World Health Assembly, have forgotten the promises they made back in the 1970s (called the Alma Ata agreement) promising health for all by 2000.

6,000 people die each day of AIDS related diseases and & 1,400 women die needlessly in pregnancy and childbirth. So health is still a really important issue.

We think it’s an absolute disgrace that not only have they missed the deadline (by eight years) but have chosen to swiftly shove the Alma Ata agreements firmly under the carpet, hoping we’ve all forgotten!

Well we haven’t forgotten and that’s why we’re here, reminding them of their commitments. We’re here turning up the heat and getting them to reaffirm to those promises they made in the 1970s.

Health ministers have been feeling the heat this week and it’s not because they’ve been dancing the night away in a disco inferno. Credit: Act Now for Global Health

The inside scoop – being a lobbyist for one day

by Claire Seaward, Health & Education For All Campaigner, Oxfam GB

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One of the things about being a campaigner is that you’re often on the outside of the big meetings. Campaigners are the ones who do the stunts, hold protests, hand-out fliers and put up posters. We’re often not the ones who lobby ministers and speak to policy advisers in government departments.

But today I got to trade in my jeans and placard for a swanky badge and suit and went inside the United Nations building to the World Health Assembly. My job was a simple one – to get health and development ministers to recommit to delivering health for all.

Health is such a basic right – it seems weird to still have to campaign for this sort of thing. 30 years ago, health ministers from around the world signed an agreement called Alma Ata. This agreement said that health was a right, and that health care should be available to all by the year 2000. Needless to say, this hasn’t been achieved. Instead, we’re half-way towards the deadline for the Millennium Development goals, and some of the health ones are the furthest away from being achieved.

There are three MDGs about health: one about reducing child mortality, one about reducing maternal mortality, and one about fighting HIV and AIDS. The progress on the maternal mortality goal is particularly bad – in some countries maternal mortality has gotten worse. We can’t let the MDGs go the same way as the Alma Ata agreement. We need governments to really put the financial resources and political will into delivering better services.

Because of this, along with Save the Children, World Vision, Action for Global Health and Global Movement for Children, we’re pushing health ministers to reaffirm their commitments of 30 years ago and to sign a statement making action on health a priority for 2008.

So why get Health and Development Ministers to sign this statement? Firstly – to make sure they don’t give up on health for all. It may not have been achieved but under no circumstances should we stop trying. Secondly – to make sure rich countries give more and better aid for health. Only 8 cents in every aid dollar can be spent on building and improving public health services – such as recruiting and training workers. That’s simply not good enough. Thirdly – to make sure developing countries prioritize health for all. Health ministers need to fight to ensure they get the budgets which will allow them to invest in and build good quality health services.

It was a long day – and I’m not sure I’m ready to trade in my placard permanently! But I got to speak to many ministers and their delegations – though I wasn’t always sure which was which! We got really positive responses from many countries, including Zambia, Sweden, Mexico, South Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, Angola, and Senegal. Hopefully this trend will continue and we’ll get every country to sign on by September, when the actual 30-year Alma Ata anniversary takes place.

You can find out more about the work Oxfam is doing on this issue at: www.actnowforhealth.org

The World Health Assembly is happening inside the UN in Geneva.

Why I love my job

by Max Lawson, Policy Adviser, Oxfam GB

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10 years ago on a sunny day in Birmingham, 70,000 people joined hands around a G8 meeting of world leaders in a human chain. They were there as part of the Jubilee 2000 campaign that called on world leaders to drop poor country debt. It was a day that changed the world for millions of people.

To celebrate this a 1000 campaigners, many of whom were there that day in 1998, returned to Birmingham to mark the 10th anniversary of that watershed moment.

I spoke on a panel about the impact that the debt campaign has had my job as a lobbyist, going to meetings with government officials and at the World Bank and IMF.

It’s simple really – the campaigning of thousands of people across the world opens the doors for lobbyists like me. Without that my job would be impossible.

And debt relief has been an amazing thing.

$88 billion dollars of debt have been cancelled since 1998, and it has meant millions more children in school, free healthcare in countries like Uganda and Zambia, and improvements in the lives of millions.

I saw this myself when I lived in Malawi at the central teacher training college in 1999-2002. When I arrived the college had been closed for months for lack of money. But then along came debt relief, and since then it has been open full time. I knew then I wanted to be a part of this movement for change.

The job is far from done though, and at least $400 billion still needs cancelling. Jamaica, a population of 2 million people, is still paying back a staggering $1 billion dollars a year! For every $1 dollar given in aid, poor countries still pay back $5 dollars.

The Jubilee activists that spoke were incredibly inspiring, and I was really glad I went. They ranged from young activists who were in primary school in 1998 to the incredible army of grey panthers who are veterans going back decades.

This is people power at its best, and it is the reason I love my job. I really believe that campaigners like these can and are making a difference, and we need to keep the pressure on those rich country leaders to do the right thing, at the Japanese G8 this summer and beyond.

Video by the Jubilee Debt Campaign