3 million expected to ‘Stand Up, Speak Out’ against poverty

from the Philippine Daily Inquirer

By Tina Santos, Kenneth del Rosario, Vincent Cabreza
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- Some 2,000 Filipinos, including government officials, teachers, students and soldiers, Wednesday joined a global campaign to end poverty by standing up and making a symbolic pledge at the Rizal Park in Manila.

They pledged to reject not only excuses that allow 50,000 people to die every day because of extreme poverty but also the growing gap between the rich and the poor.

They also urged government leaders to govern fairly, fight corruption and fulfill human rights.

Many of them wore white wristbands with sketches of multicolored human figures.

Organizers in the country expected three million people to stand up and make the pledge -- in parks, government and private offices, schools, hospitals, restaurants -- around the country from 5 a.m. to midnight Wednesday night.

An auditing firm will do a head count and hopefully, a record of sorts will be established for possible submission to the Guinness Book of Records, Agnes Aleman, UN national information officer, said.

The “Stand Up, Speak Out” pledge is part of the UN campaign to promote the Millennium Development Goals that include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education and ensuring a sustainable environment by 2015.

“Hopefully, this will encourage our leaders to fulfill their promise,” said Aleman.

Biggest headway

The Asia-Pacific region had more than one billion people living on less than $1 a day in 1990, but that number has dropped to 641 million and is likely to be cut in half by 2015, according to an Asian Development Bank-UN report.

China has made the biggest headway, with one in every three Chinese living in poverty in 1990, compared with one in every 10 today, the report said. But other countries were lagging behind, among them the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“We would like to be one with others in recognizing our effort to fight against poverty,” Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said.

In 1990, about 27 percent of Filipinos lived in extreme poverty -- on less than P1,022 a month -- but this has gone down to 17 percent, she said.

The country’s financial stability and social services, including subsidies for food and medicines, have helped reduce the incidence of extreme poverty, according to Assistant Secretary Dolores Castillo of the National Anti-Poverty Commission

Guinness record

Last year’s “Stand Up Against Poverty” campaign holds the official record title in the Guinness Book of World Records for 24 million people who stood up against poverty in 24 hours in 87 countries.

The Philippines ranked third in the Asia-Pacific region with 2.4 million joining the campaign, after India (9 million) and Nepal (over three million).

By holding fun activities on Wednesday, organizers said they hoped the youth would become aware of the need to eradicate poverty.

Exhibit, rock concert

Apart from the event marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty at the Rizal Park, an exhibit was held in Quezon City and a rock concert and cultural show were staged in Makati City.

At the Liwasang Aurora in Quezon City, the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) challenged government officials and policymakers to be “one with the poor” and live with only P41 for a day to “truly experience” what it is like to live on an empty stomach.

GCAP-Philippines said about 68 million Filipinos (more than 77 percent of the total population) were living on only P96 or less a day. Yet, the government claims that the poverty threshold is P41, thus creating an illusion of a reduced number of poor people in the country, according to the group.

“The government is feeding us with words and inaction perhaps because words are the only thing that the P41 per person can afford,” Erning Ofracio, an urban poor, said at a forum attended by some 60 nongovernment organizations.

At the fair, NGOs put up booths selling products of local communities and handing out advocacy materials. The fair became a place for discussions and exhibits on various initiatives aimed at ending poverty.

Poverty Requiem

Poverty Requiem, an artistic performance against poverty that combines visual arts, music and movement, was performed at the Liwasang Aurora.

GCAP-Philippines claimed that the P10 billion in additional budget for hunger and poverty mitigation programs announced on Monday was part of a “publicity” stunt.

“The government’s declaration of it’s six-month war on hunger earlier this year proved to be ineffective, simply palliatives or band-aid solutions to worsening hunger and poverty,” Nora Protacio, GCAP-Philippines Ambassador said in a statement.

She was reacting to a recent survey by Social Weather Stations, which showed that 21.5 percent of Filipinos had experienced involuntary hunger, the highest level recorded in the country.

Notes on dioramas

In Baguio City, everyone walking down Session Road caught a catchy note posted on wire-framed dioramas placed on Session Road on Tuesday.

The noted read “Sana magutom din ang Presidente (I hope the President starves)!”

It was one of many notes written by students, vendors, teachers and bank employees who interacted with Baguio artists on the eve of the annual Stand Up Against Poverty campaign.

On Tuesday, sculptor Kigao Rosimo, musician Shant Verdun and performance artist Rene Aquitania shaped ordinary wire into 15 human figures to represent the country’s enduring war with poverty.

They covered the frames with colored plastic sheets to simulate stained glass, and installed the dioramas on Session Road.

Christmas wishes

The artists asked every one who walked by to post early Christmas wishes on the dioramas.

But people offered angry messages against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo because of various scandals that have embroiled her administration, Rosimo said.

Foremost among the issues discussed by pedestrians was the money that Malacañang allegedly had given local officials.

“That is cruel. The people are starving yet she is still capable of granting politicians favors,” said a resident.

He wrote: “Tama na! Sobra na! Alisin ang mga corrupt sa gobyerno (Enough! We’ve had it! Remove all corrupt officials from government!).”

Another wrote: “Sana matugunan ng residente ang hinaing ng mga mahihirap (I wish the President can finally address the complaint of our poor people).”

The National Statistical Coordination Board has classified about 50 percent of Cordillera farming families as poor.

Innabuyog, the Cordillera affiliate of the party-list group Gabriela, said sharp increases in Cordillera malnutrition, which was noted this year by the government, confirmed that most poverty-alleviation projects have failed.

The Tuesday event led to a major concert Wednesday at the Baguio City Public Market where country western musicians were to be joined by 500 porters who would speak out against poverty.

Time to take notice: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

from The Independent

Around the world today, thousands are gathering to put an end to poverty. Gareth Chadwick reports

When over 100,000 people gathered in Paris 20 years ago today to protest against world poverty, little did they realise that during the next two decades their demonstration would become a global day of action.

The symbolic location for that Parisian outburst was the Trocadero, site of the signature of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The date, 17 October, was officially adopted by the UN as its International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, an annual reminder honouring victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger all over the world.

The aim is to use a global day of action as a way of pressurising governments and global leaders to eradicate global poverty, hunger and violence, and to highlight the plight of the millions of people worldwide suffering from poverty.

Organised by Global Call to action Against Poverty (GCAP), a worldwide alliance of over 100 national coalitions comprising charities, social movements, faith groups, trade unions, community groups, youth organisations and individuals, what has become popularly known as World Poverty Day will involve demonstrations, marches and other events in scores of countries across the world, all taking place under the slogan "stand up and speak out against poverty and inequality".

According to UN figures, more than a billion people around the world exist in a state of abject poverty and gross inequality, around 70 per cent of them women. Depressingly, this figure has actually increased by around 200,000 over the past 10 years, despite the fact that the world in general is richer. The majority of those in poverty are in the developing world, particularly Africa, but there are also significant numbers in South and Central Asia and Latin America.

It doesn't have to be this way. In theory, there are enough resources, knowledge and technology to eradicate poverty. Enough food is produced to feed the global population twice over. Yet global hunger persists and over 1.4 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.

The goal of today's activities is to focus attention on the plight of the world's poor, to campaign for their rights to livelihoods, food, water and basic services. It is about pushing harder to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of halving world poverty by 2015, which UN members signed up to 2000, and about making sure that national governments honour the promises they made in 2005 during the Make Poverty History campaign and G8 summit in Scotland.

It is not, however, unlike some prominent hunger campaigns of the past, about food parcels and hand-outs. Explains Richard Miller, executive director of ActionAid UK, an international charity which is involved in poverty projects around the world, long term eradication of poverty can be achieved only through investment and aid in more fundamental areas, such as education, health, and infrastructure, some of which we profile in these pages.

"It's certainly not about sending out food parcels. Most countries can produce sufficient food themselves, if they are given support and tools to do so. It is also critical that trade rules are more just so that countries can develop their own economies. Education and healthcare are seen as the great enablers. With better education and better healthcare, particularly among girls, development will follow," says Miller.

ActionAid's focus is on community-based projects directed towards solving specific local issues. It works with local partners to draw upon their knowledge and experience, seeking to help communities work their own way out of poverty, rather than imposing well-meaning but potentially inappropriate solutions.

Events to mark World Poverty Day include a world record attempt to get people all around the world to stand up at the same moment against poverty. The attempt is just one of thousands of events being planned in the 24-hour period from 9pm GMT on 16 October to 9pm GMT on 17 October. Others include a series of rallies in three Afghan cities to demand greater transparency in how foreign aid is spent in the country. A Poverty Requiem will take place in more than 25 countries, including Kenya, the US, Senegal and The Netherlands.

In Pakistan, the biggest banner ever made against poverty will be unfurled for over 10km along river banks, ending in front of government buildings in Lahore. Some 25 other giant banners will be unfurled in countries including Australia and Sri Lanka.

In Africa, mass mobilisation plans include a rally for rural workers in Malawi, a concert and a nationwide "schools stand-up" in Uganda, 15 performances of the Poverty Requiem in towns and cities across the continent, political delegations in Somalia and Ghana, as well as a predicted million-person stand-up across Kenya.

On the other side of the world, 40,000 Mexican school children are hoping to take part in street rally, while in Canada there will be a protest on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, to mark the first day of Parliament.

It is this global participation, says ActionAid's Miller, that is the key to making a difference. "In Britain, we tend to hear most about UK actions that are helping to solve world poverty. What GCAP and World Poverty Day highlights is that if we really want to make progress, then it needs to be a global, not national, movement.

"Eradicating poverty is not pie-in-the-sky. It is a very achievable goal. The Millennium Development Goals are regarded as attainable targets. The evidence is that if we put our minds to it, if there is the political will to ensure all children go to school, that there is basic healthcare and clean water, then we can begin to reduce the huge and growing gulf between the world's rich and the poor," says Miller.

World should fight poverty collectively: UN chief

from the Times of India

UNITED NATIONS: On the occasion of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day had fallen and it remained on track to meet the MDG target of halving extreme poverty.

The Secretary-General however cautioned against uneven development in sub-Saharan Africa. Ban Ki-moon said the world must refocus its attention, and its resources, on the places and people that are being left behind.

"Our task is to address these failings. As suggested by the theme for this year’s observance, we have to view people living in poverty as agents of change. This requires us to encourage national ownership of development strategies," the Secretary-General said.

Elaborating on the message, the UN chief said," Today, we join hands with the poor in a collective effort - one which brings in civil society, the private sector, and individuals around the world. Tens of millions of people are making their voices heard by standing up against poverty - at sports and cultural events, in universities and schools."

In his closing statement he said, "On this twentieth International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, let us all stand up. Let us demonstrate the political will required to end the scourge of poverty once and for all."

UN Marks World Poverty Day Today

from The Voice of America

By Peter Clottey

The United Nations is marking World Poverty day today. And in Africa, as part of activities lined up to eradicate poverty across the continent, the UN is planning to break a Guinness Book of World Records mark set last year, in which more than 23.5 million people reportedly stood up against poverty in more than 80 countries during a 24 hour period. Sources say Guinness record keepers said they were taken aback by the overwhelming show of support in solidarity with the poor.

From Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, UN campaign deputy director for Africa, Tajudeen Abdulraheem, tells reporter Peter Clottey that there should be a paradigm shift in the way African leaders tackle poverty in their various countries.

“The day is marked internationally for the eradication of poverty in the world because there is enough resource, human and material, for every human being to lead a decent life. And unfortunately, when it comes to poverty, Africa runs as one of the poorest. Africans are some of the poorest people in the world, even though Africa as a continent is one of the richest. So the day has particular significance for Africa,” Abdulraheem noted.

He said the UN in conjunction with local partners intends to break the world record to bring about more awareness of poverty in the world.

“Last year, we tried a challenge. The Guinness Book of Records along with the UN millennium campaign and the global call to action against poverty set a record of 10 thousand people ever to have stood up for a particular cause in a 24 hour period. Now, Guinness set a target of 10 thousand, and we got to work October 18th when the results were announced, over 23.5 million people in all continents of the world in more than 80 countries have stood up against poverty in support of the millennium goals,” he said.

Abdulraheem explains how they would go about beating the world record today.

“Today we are trying to beat the record that was set last year. And that is beginning from 9pm GMT last night up to 9pm GMT today, in various African countries. The National Coalition for MDG’s (millennium challenge account) are organizing a series of activities committing themselves to eradicate poverty in the world by taking a stand against poverty and supporting the millennium development goal,” Abdulraheem pointed out.

He said African leaders must strive to resolve the problems of poverty in their countries.

“Our responsibilities in the UN millennium campaign is to actually hold our governments to account to the commitments that they have made under the MDG’s. But more importantly for us, we demand accountability from our government because I don not believe that there is any African country that cannot eradicate poverty. What is missing is political will and political commitment of our leaders to prioritize the needs of their people. Some African countries can go to war without borrowing money. It is when it is only when it comes to school, hospitals, and roads for our people that they don’t have money. Now, we need to change that priority,” he noted.