World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007 - (Page 39)

approach to development of poor countries has been tried, padded Swiss bank accounts—and billions of wasted dollars. poverty turned up quite a few approaches that actually work. of people living on less than a dollar a day…. [and] the people who suffer from hunger.” These agreed-upon targets are clear and inspiring, but they’re also far from being realized. Nevertheless, they provide a strong sense of direction for what can be achieved if the world’s wealthy nations embrace the needed changes on the scale required. CAN WE DO OUR PART? So what is the role of Americans in all this? As the nation with the largest impact on the global economy, the United States is obligated to help lead the charge to end hunger in two fundamental ways: by providing funds (and most will need to come through the government we elect and direct), and by investing our human resources. As a nation, we are extremely wealthy, and much of that wealth is, to put it bluntly, squandered. As individuals, Americans are generous and caring; but our generous inclinations are not reflected in U.S. government priorities. In 1970, governments of the rich nations, including the United States, pledged to spend 0.7 percent of their Gross National Product on development assistance. Yet the U.S. lags behind almost every other nation in fulfilling this commitment, with 0.17 percent in 2006. What would it cost to end poverty and reach the millennium development goals? Depending on the source, the U.S. share is somewhere between $25 to 36 billion each year to cover the United States’ leadership role in providing basic health and nutrition, basic education, reproductive health and family planning services, and water sanitation services to those in the world who need it most. Somehow, I think we could find the funds. It is simply a matter of our priorities, at the www.heifer.org A “Among all the p g possible choices, I decided that the most serious and universal problem is the growing chasm between the richest p and the poorest people on earth. Citizens of the ten wealthiest countries are now 75 times richer than those who live in the ten poorest ones, and the separation is increasing every year, not only between nations but also within them. The results of this disparity are root causes of most of the world’s unresolved problems, including starvation, illiteracy, environmental degradation, violent conflict and unnecessary illnesses… But tragically, in the industrialized world there is a terrible absence of understanding or concern about those who are enduring lives of despair and hopelessness. We have not yet made the commitment to share with others an appreciable part of our excess wealth.” — President Jimmy Carter, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 November/December 2007 | WORLD ARK 39 http://www.heifer.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007

World Ark - November/December 2007 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked & Answered Pursuing Happiness (PRODUCT) RED: Consumer Power Fights AIDS in Africa Rwanda Reconciles End Hunger Now Protecting the Poor from Climate Change Mixed Media Heifer Bulletin Heifer Spirit Heifer Calendar Reflection

World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007

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