[World Bank - IMF] Annual Meetings to Deal With Corruption, Poor Countries' Debt

from The Voice of america

By Daniel Schearf

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund open their annual meetings in Singapore Tuesday. At the top of the agenda for two days of talks among the world's finance ministers are debt relief and corruption in the aid process.

Finance officials attending preliminary meetings Monday backed a World Bank plan to tackle corruption. But they decided that any moves to withhold aid because of corruption in the recipient nation would require oversight of the bank's executive board, in order to ensure that such decisions are broadly based.

World Bank President had earlier been criticizied for blocking hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to African and Asian nations last year because of allegations of corruption.

Wolfowitz said Monday the bank's moves to crack down on corruption in countries receiving World Bank aid was necessary for poverty reduction.

"It's about making certain that the money goes to schools and textbooks for children, medicine for mothers and creating job opportunities for the poor, not to line the pockets of the rich and powerful," he said.

The move to fight corruption in the aid process is being backed by the Bush administration, and has considerable international support. But some countries and activist organizations have expressed concern that the fight against corruption is slowing loans to the poor.

Finance ministers also expressed concern Monday that debt relief was not reaching poor countries fast enough, and that new debts were beginning to pile up, even in countries whose debts had been cancelled by donors.

A small group of debt-relief activists demonstrated near the entrance of the meeting venue Monday, demanding that international financial institutions remove what they say are excessive conditions attached to debt relief.

Activist organizations say bank demands for privatizing and restructuring certain industries and liberalizing trade are obstructing poor countries' escape from poverty.

Finance ministers representing the world's poorest countries also said the World Bank and IMF should be more flexible with conditions they attach to debt relief.

But bank officials and finance ministers have expressed concern at commercial lenders moving in to provide new loans to countries that are unable to meet World Bank conditions, or have recently had their debts forgiven.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday that there are already signs that excessive lending to countries struggling to get out of debt is trapping them in new debt, prolonging the cycle of poverty.

Wolfowitz said World Bank loans reached a record high in the last year. The International Financial Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, says investments and loans to high-risk and low-income countries were up 20 percent, with a record $9.5 billion committed for investment in private-sector social projects in developing countries.

[World Bank - IMF] Singapore police bar World Bank poverty protesters

from The Independent

By Philip Thornton in Singapore

The World Bank is accused of colluding with an "authoritarian" regime after scores of poverty campaigners were detained, interrogated or deported by police as they tried to get the financial institution's annual meetings.

Leaders of bodies such as Action Aid condemned the bank's decision to continue the meetings despite what they called a "blatant violation" of their rights.

The Singapore authorities have deported an activist who had been accredited by the Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which is also holding its meetings in the Asian city-state.

Action Aid International named her as Maria Clare Soares, the Brazilian representative, of ActionAid Americas. So far, 28 members of campaign bodies have been barred from entering Singapore.

Iara Pietrocovsky, an academic and a representative of the Brazilian Networking of Integration of Peoples, was let in the country after being detained for several hours.

She said: "We were interrogated about our intentions and if we intended to participate in any protests. The policemen were polite but didn't explain why we were detained."

Sandra Krawitz, a media officer at ActionAid USA, said she had a catalogue of incidents where accredited activists had been detained and repeatedly interrogated. "It is just mind-boggling that we should be treated this way," she said. "People are being treated as common thugs. That's not acceptable." She accused Paul Wolfowitz, the president of the World Bank, of "paying lip service" to freedom of speech. "He does have the power to say enough is enough and stop the meetings and to say something more loudly and make sure people are treated as professionals," she said. "The World Bank, Singapore and the International Monetary Fund need to apologise. We need Singapore to come its senses and open their arms to people who are trying to serve the poorest people in the world."
Another activist, Roberto Bissio, of Social Watch, used a meeting between campaign groups of Wolfowitz to accuse the president of giving in to the Singapore government. He said five people had been deported and others had been barred. "People who have been accreditation, their accreditation has been withdrawn," he said.

"Under these conditions, how can we talk about good governance when the basic rules of the host country are being so blatantly violated. The integrity of these meetings is in question. How many NGOs have to be deported? What does it take?"

Mr Wolfowitz said he shared their concerns and said he had raised his concerns at meetings with the President and Prime Minister of Singapore. "Enormous damage has been done and a lot of damage to Singapore is self-inflicted," he said. "They could have been a showcase to the world of development and I do ask whether it has to be so authoritarian."

Mr Bissio pressed him to postpone the meetings in protests but Mr Wolfowitz said: "I don't think that's feasible otherwise I would consider it."

Between 30 and 40 activists, who said they were members of the Global Campaign for Action Against Poverty, walked out of the meeting in protest.

Another activist, Roberto Bissio, of Social Watch, used a meeting between campaign groups of Wolfowitz to accuse the president of giving in to the Singapore government. He said five people had been deported and others had been barred. "People who have been accreditation, their accreditation has been withdrawn," he said.

"Under these conditions, how can we talk about good governance when the basic rules of the host country are being so blatantly violated. The integrity of these meetings is in question. How many NGOs have to be deported? What does it take?"

Mr Wolfowitz said he shared their concerns and said he had raised his concerns at meetings with the President and Prime Minister of Singapore. "Enormous damage has been done and a lot of damage to Singapore is self-inflicted," he said. "They could have been a showcase to the world of development and I do ask whether it has to be so authoritarian."

Mr Bissio pressed him to postpone the meetings in protests but Mr Wolfowitz said: "I don't think that's feasible otherwise I would consider it."

Between 30 and 40 activists, who said they were members of the Global Campaign for Action Against Poverty, walked out of the meeting in protest.

[Ohio] More kids in poverty

from The Marietta Times

By Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com

A new study shows that one in five rural Ohio children is living in poverty, a number local education and health officials say is a challenge but not a surprise.

Ohio was one of five states to have at least a 5 percent increase in children living in poverty in rural areas since 2000, according to a report by the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institute, which analyzed 2000 and 2005 census data. Ohio’s increase was 5.6 percent.

Another report, released in August by the National Center for Children In Poverty at Columbia University, reveals that the Midwest had the most dramatic jump in children living in poverty, at 29 percent. The national increase was 12 percent.

“The only thing that doesn’t surprise me is that the number isn’t higher,” said Bill Wotring, principal at Matamoras Elementary School. “It’s so unfortunate that children do not all start off on an equal playing field but it’s never been that way and we’ll probably never have that.”

A loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs in the area may account for some of the increase in the Midwest, said NCCP Deputy Director Nancy Cauthen.

The region was the only one where poverty increased among children with employed parents.

“The story from the Midwest makes it painfully obvious that work at low wages is not enough to keep families out of poverty,” Cauthen said. “It’s time we address the challenges associated with low-wage work.”

Locally, too many lost jobs have been replaced with lesser-paying jobs, said David Brightbill, executive director of Washington-Morgan Community Action.

“Wages are not keeping up with costs so the numbers don’t surprise me,” he said. “What’s considered poverty level is pretty low so if you would look at the reality of what you need the numbers would be even higher.”

For 2006, the federal poverty level is $20,000 for a family of four, but some research suggests families would need an income of twice that amount to meet their basic needs.

The end result for children can be anything from going to bed hungry to increased illnesses due to stress, said Kathy Boersma, director of Family Health Services.

“They could be living in a household where it’s uncertain whether rent can be paid or for those who had a decent income and then a plant closed, may lose their house,” she said. “We’ve seen a lot of that here and it’s issues some didn’t have to deal with before.”

Free or reduced cost health services are one of the best things communities can do for children living in poverty, Boersma said.

“Sometimes parents can’t afford medication or preventive visits, like well baby checks,” she said. “They may also be delaying taking a child to the doctor because they can’t afford it.”

Free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs at school also play a part in combating the problems poor children face, said Wotring.

“If a child is hungry certainly their mental attention is on food, not on reading, math or anything else,” he said. “Their basic physical needs have to be met first.”

Even after that, there are challenges, said Wotring.

“You always have to accept a child as the child is and try to give them experiences they may not have had,” he said. “Poverty affects background experience, preparation students come to school and myriad other things so you may have to afford those children more learning opportunities. It takes time and resources.”

Many communities may also benefit from more outreach programs, as was done in Washington County, getting the word out about food stamps, Brightbill said.

“All of us in the social service field can always do a better job in letting people know what’s out there, from HUD vouchers to food stamps to WIC,” he said. “Even if you can’t actually bring their income up it can make it possible for them to afford the necessities in life.”

Families living in poverty

For 2006, the federal poverty level is $20,000 for a family of four. Some research suggests families would need an income of twice that amount to meet their basic needs.

[UK] Aid body: Poverty pledge not enough

from The Guardian

A leading aid organisation has said the Government did not go far enough in its pledge to withhold £50 million from the World Bank in protest at the conditions it attaches to aid for developing countries.

Daleep Mukarji, director of Christian Aid, said more pressure had to be placed on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to force them to drop the crippling conditions they attach to loans they make to poor countries.

He was speaking as thousands of anti-poverty campaigners prepared to march on the Treasury in protest against unfair trade rules imposed by both financial institutions.

The rally was demanding that the Government ensure both institutions stop forcing poor countries to implement controversial economic policies in return for aid.

Mr Mukarji said the World Bank and the IMF, which are still run by rich and powerful nations, were "outdated" and "not fit for purpose" in the modern world. He said fundamental reform of the way they were governed and of their mandates was needed.

"Both the Government and the public need to know that thousands of people care about poverty reduction and want the Government to take leadership. We are asking them to hold back all funding from the World Bank and the IMF," he said.

"They were created immediately after the Second World War and are now not fit for purpose. They are outdated and still governed by the rich and powerful."

Mr Mukarji said it was "unfair and scandalous" that the US was able to choose the president of the World Bank while Europe got to pick the head of the IMF. "The people who are actually being held accountable by their policies are hardly even in the decision-making process," he said.

Earlier, International Development Secretary Hilary Benn said conditions should only be attached to loans in areas such as tackling corruption and good governance. But it was "not right", he said, to impose them on economic policy choices like privatisation and trade liberalisation.

Mr Benn said the £50 million was dependent on evidence of the Bank changing the way it used conditionality in relation to economic policy. He continued: "Giving a greater voice in taking decisions about how they are going to fight poverty to developing countries when it comes to economic policy is, I think, the right approach and I hope the Bank is going to support that line and we see the evidence that in fact things are changing."

[Missouri] Poverty rate in county tops state

from The Columbia Missourian

Social services and student population are reasons cited.

By VANJA PETROVIC

[Note: this story has been modified since its original posting to correct information about the difference in poverty rates between Boone County and the state.]

The recently released results from the 2005 American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, show that the percentage of people living below the poverty level in Boone County is 48 percent higher, at 19.7, than in the rest of the state, where it is 13.3 percent.

One reason could be that Boone County’s relatively low unemployment rate and good social services attract individuals living below the poverty level. Another reason might be the high population of students living in Boone County.

Anne Dannerbeck, a research assistant professor at the School of Social Work currently doing research in multiple counties in Missouri, believes that homeless shelters and housing programs are what bring people below the poverty line to Boone County.

“One factor (affecting the poverty level) is that we have a lot of social services here, and it’s a draw,” said Dannerbeck. “People find out and hear about it and that’s why they come here.”

However, while praising the availability of social services in Columbia, Dannerbeck said that there’s more to be done, as long as there is poverty.

Phil Steinhaus, CEO of the Columbia Housing Authority, said that a lot of people come to Columbia looking for opportunity and to work their way out of poverty. However, he said, some don’t work their way out of it.

“If you find yourself homeless, what do you do?” Steinhaus said. “Would you go to a town with a lot of unemployment and high crime or would you go to a town with low unemployment and low crime?”

He said that people are attracted to towns with low unemployment and low crime, like Columbia.

“We’re a great place to live and there’s a lot of opportunity here,” Steinhaus said.

Still, others attribute Boone County’s high poverty rate to the high population of students in Columbia.

“Because Boone County includes Columbia, which is a college town, the poverty rate may appear higher,” said Kathleen Miller, program director of the Rural Policy Research Institute. “This would be because of the large number of students and student families. As you know, many students have incomes below the poverty line, even though for them this is a temporary situation.”

John Blodgett, senior programmer and data analyst for the Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis in Columbia, said the student population does impact the poverty rate.

He accessed a 1 percent sample of the community survey for both Boone County and Missouri for analysis. He then removed the student population from the sample in order to see whether the student population heavily impacted the poverty rate in Boone County.

When this population is removed, the poverty rate drops to 12 percent. At first glance this appears to suggest that the poverty rate in Boone County is proportionately lower than in the rest of Missouri, “but the state includes students as well,” said Blodgett.

[UK] Ronan and Rowan unite to fight poverty

from The BBC

It is hard to imagine too many things that would unite the worldwide leader of the Anglican Church and the manager of the world's most successful boy band.

But on Thursday, Rowan Williams and Ronan Keating were rubbing shoulders at a rally in south London.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the former leader of Boyzone - and current manager of Westlife - were among thousands marching to the Treasury to protest over UK government funding to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Dr Williams was refusing to give interviews - but most of the media glare was reserved for Ronan.

UK money withheld

As a Christian Aid trade justice ambassador the pop singer and impresario has travelled to Ghana, where the World Bank's demand for a ban on tariffs and subsidies for the poultry market has led to an influx of cheap European imports and seen many thousands lose livelihoods.

He told BBC News: "I met with tomato farmers, chicken farmers, rice farmers and saw first-hand the effects of free trade - and how bad it is.

"Because of the IMF and the World Bank, the government in Ghana - like governments in many developing countries - is not allowed to help its farmers with subsidies and has to drop tariffs on imported produce coming in to the country.

"So their tomatoes and chickens are far more expensive than the frozen chickens and tinned tomatoes that come in from other countries."

Earlier on Thursday, International Development Secretary Hilary Benn announced the UK was withholding £50m it had pledged to the World Bank in protest over the bank forcing developing countries to liberalise their markets before giving them aid.

Keating told BBC News the announcement was "fantastic" and proved the pressure being put on the UK government by campaigners like Christian Aid was having an effect.

He added: "It is a start and an acknowledgement that what we are doing is working - but it is only the beginning and we need them to do more."

Passion

Another of the celebrities at the protest, former Casualty actress Adjoa Andoh, has also been to Ghana recently - but for her the trip was personal.

"My father is from Ghana, I have family there," she told BBC News.

"So the interests of developing countries are close to my heart.

"I see the effects of IMF and World Bank policies on the ground when I am in Ghana and that is pretty strong motivation.

"Why are we giving our money to them so they can tell people in Ghana they are no longer able to produce their own crops but have to compete against multinationals?"

Another of the protesters, Samuel Taylor, 61, was born in Ghana but came to Britain as a business student in 1963 and stayed to work for London Transport in Manor Park.

Mr Taylor, who returns regularly to Ghana, told BBC News he had seen it change since he left as imported foreign goods meant local farmers could no longer sell their produce at market and were going out of business.

Despite the obvious passion on display, the protest remained good natured with demonstrators of all ages donning fancy dress and beating out a common rhythm on drums of all sizes.

There was even room for some party games at the Mad Bankers' Tea Party, where the few police officers on duty took tea with the White Rabbit.

Husband and wife Carol and Eric Austen came from Dorchester in Dorset to join the protest because they believe "trade justice" is the biggest issue confronting the world today.

The IMF and World Bank were placing "unfair restrictions on poorer countries for the benefit of the richer countries", Mr Austen, 67, said.

"Big business wants to maintain its own status and does not think about the damage being done to the poorer parts of the world."

Another of the sizeable retired contingent at the protest, Mavis McManus, 72, had come from Wolverhampton to demonstrate on behalf of the "ordinary people" in the developing nations who "have to work long hours but are not getting the proper return for the work they put in".

At the other end of the age spectrum, Christopher Rogers, 10, from Poole in Dorset, one of many schoolchildren at the protest, was also concerned for people from the poorer parts of the world.

"I do not think people should live in pain and suffer when we have everything we really need," he said.

"People are not sharing properly - we have millions of pounds here and we are not sharing it out throughout the world."

[India] Merck gives rubella vaccine to India after outbreak

from The Press of Atlantic City

The Associated Press

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. (AP) - Drugmaker Merck & Co. has donated 55,000 doses of its vaccine against the viral illness rubella following an outbreak in India earlier this year.

AmeriCares, a nonprofit international humanitarian aid group, said that it delivered the doses of Meruvax on Wednesday. They will be given to people in Mumbai in western Maharashtra, an area of extreme poverty.

Distribution to health clinics in the region will be monitored by the Impact India Foundation, a longtime partner of Stamford, Conn.-based AmeriCares that helps poor and disabled people in India.

The rubella virus can cause congenital heart disease, impaired vision and hearing loss; it also can cause mental retardation and limit growth in babies whose mothers are infected during pregnancy.

Since the vaccine was launched in 1969, U.S. rubella cases have fallen considerably, but many countries, including India, do not have vaccination programs against rubella.

[Africa] Microsoft says technology vital to cut poverty

from The Angola Press

African women have high potentials of growing their small-scale businesses into bigger information technology-based companies through the innovative use of emerging technologies, a visiting corporate executive said here Tuesday.

Microsoft president for Africa, Dr Chieck Modibo Diarra, said his company was passionate that Africa held massive growth potentials for women to turn their small-scale enterprises into big businesses through the use of available market outlets.

He said African women traders should have access to the different technologies available to market their produce and bargain for the best prices available in the international markets to enable their businesses to grow.

"Technology is a powerful tool that can allow... the entire African continent to show tremendous economic growth in the coming years, but if we only can address the divide between those that can benefit from technology and those that currently can`t," Diarra noted.

"Microsoft is doing its best to bring to the attention of the community what we have got for their own benefit, we would like to see the emergence of local Information Communication Technology (ICT) based companies," Diarra told journalists here.

Diarra, who is in Nairobi to address the Youth Empowerment Summit on job-creation within the fast-growing ICT industry, said Microsoft shares the UN Millennium Development Goals, urging cooperation with the private sector to harness technology.

The Malian, who has recently been appointed to preside over the African operations of the leading software programmes maker, said efforts to popularise local languages as part of computer operating systems was geared towards creating an ICT market in Africa.

"We are asking the youth in Africa to take advantage of the new programmes we are launching to make tailor-made software programmes, this is part of the work we are doing to encourage the production of community programmes," Diarra said.

[Canada] Report examines the poor health of those living in poverty

from The Ottawa Sun

By JORGE BARRERA, Ottawa Sun

Everyone knows the poor are sicker than the rich, but governments at all levels continue to act like there is no connection between health and poverty, says a new report by the Canadian Association of Social Workers.

The report, released today, paints a gloomy picture of the health of people living in poverty. The report says that a poor woman has a 73% chance of reaching the age of 75, while a rich woman has an 80% chance.

“It is impossible to say we want to promote health and well-being by separating health, social services, child care and working conditions,” said Ginette Clarke, a social worker with the association. “We won’t help their health by focusing on an individualistic approach.”

Clarke said much of the report’s findings are common knowledge, but it was important press on so something actually changes.

“The necessity of it being repeated is obvious that nothing has really changed,” said Clarke. “Changes are not being made and they are not approaching health from a broader understanding.”

The report, which based many of its findings on other surveys and reports, said that poorer Canadians die an average of one to two years earlier than richer Canadians.

[IMF WB Conference] Finance ministers discuss poverty

from Business Week

Poorer nations need to have a greater voice in the management of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, India's finance minister said Wednesday during a meeting of finance ministers from the Commonwealth.

Rising global oil prices, plans to write off loans to highly indebted poor countries and ways to reduce poverty are also the focus of the three-day conference that opened Tuesday.

The conference precedes the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Singapore next week, and key decisions made by the Commonwealth ministers will have a bearing on that gathering.

Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the structures of the IMF and the World Bank must be changed to reflect the growing economic strength of developing nations.

"A flawed structure will increasingly undermine the effectiveness of these institutions," Chidambaram said in his address at the meeting, which brings together Britain and former British colonies.

The IMF will be discussing a proposal at next week's meeting in Singapore to boost the voting power of four countries -- China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey -- to reflect their greater share of the global economy.

Inaugurating the conference Tuesday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse also drew attention to terrorism, which he said was increasingly undermining regional economic cooperation. Sri Lanka's bitter war with separatist Tamil rebels has flared anew in recent months.

Rajapakse also urged rich Commonwealth countries to step up aid for poor nations. "We note that that the delivery of aid has unfortunately been below expectation," he said.

The Commonwealth represents about 2 billion people, or 30 percent of the world's population. The group comprises both rich countries, such Britain and Canada, and some of the world's poorest nations, including Bangladesh and Guyana.

[Australia] Churches to end poverty among Aborigines

from The Age

A coalition of Australian churches has set an ambitious goal - to eradicate poverty among Aborigines by 2015.

The National Council of Churches in Australia doesn't expect to reach the target, but Graeme Mundine says it's important to have goals.

Mr Mundine travelled to Canberra this week to meet with federal politicians and promote the Make Indigenous Poverty History campaign.

"While we're sitting here, my brothers, my uncles, my aunts are all passing away from diseases that should not be killing these people," he told a small gathering of MPs and reporters.

Every Australian needs to take personal responsibility for the state of indigenous affairs, he said.

"Indigenous affairs isn't in the right place ... It's Australia's shame that indigenous people are the way they are."

Seventy per cent of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders die before the age of 65, compared with only 20 per cent of non-indigenous Australians.

Death rates among infants and children remain about three times higher than for other Australians, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory problems, injury and cancer are the five leading causes of death among indigenous people, and are responsible for nearly three-quarters of deaths.

The National Council of Churches in Australia launched its indigenous poverty campaign last year, but there was a poor showing by politicians at its forum in Canberra on Wednesday.

A smattering of Labor MPs turned up, along with Independent MP Peter Andren.

Mr Mundine, the executive secretary of the Sydney-based National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission, said church groups had sought meetings with government representatives this week, to no avail.

Indigenous Affairs minister Mal Brough said it was important to open up indigenous communities to economic opportunities to combat poverty.

"Notwithstanding improvements in life expectancy and reduced mortality rates, there is no question that considerable further work is required yet and I have acknowledged that publicly," he said.

"There is no doubt that to make poverty history, not only in the short-term but also in the long-term, the most important first step will be to open up real opportunities through access to the wider market economy."

[George Soros] ...gives $50M to anti-poverty project

from The Seattle Post Intelligencer

By DEEPTI HAJELA
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

NEW YORK -- Billionaire financier and global philanthropist George Soros has dedicated $50 million to the anti-poverty work of the Millennium Village project in Africa, his largest commitment to a single entity in almost a decade.

The donation, to be officially announced Wednesday, is being matched by other donors to bring in $100 million for the project, which works to reduce extreme poverty in African communities through a multi-pronged approach covering areas such as health, education and food productivity.

"He just empowered us to do something that is incredibly important," said Jeffrey Sachs, the anti-poverty expert who heads up the United Nations Millennium Project.

"The real payoff would be if it sets an example that can be replicated on a much larger scale," Soros told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "If this prototype can be built on, then $50 million would be just a very small seed money for what might come out of it."

The Millennium Village project covers 12 sites in 10 African countries, a total of 78 villages. Each village, averaging about 5,000 people, gets five years of support from experts to help lift itself out of poverty. That support includes cleaning up water sources, provision of basic education, and teaching people how to diversify crops and make the best agricultural choices.

For about $60 per villager per year, or about $1.5 million per village over the five years, the U.N.'s poverty reduction goals can be achieved, Sachs said. The first village started with the program about 2 years ago, with most of the rest starting up this year. That first village, Sauri in Kenya, has already seen a surplus in food production and an increase in school test scores.

Sachs said that after a fundraising goal of $100 million was set, he approached Soros, who through his Open Society Institute gives out hundreds of millions of dollars to a number of causes every year.

Soros agreed to commit $50 million over five years if matching donations could be found. Millennium Promise, the non-profit that manages the project on the ground, was able to tap into its network of supporters, and has almost all of that money raised, Sachs said. Soros contributed his first-year donation recently, said Laura Silber, director of public affairs for the Open Society Institute.

The overall donation from Soros, whose fortune is estimated at more than $7 billion, is the largest to a single entity since 1997, when he gave $50 million to advocate for the rights of immigrants, Silber said.

The knowledge that Soros' support was imminent helped the Millennium Village project get off to a much bigger start than otherwise would have happened, Sachs said. The money from Soros and the matching donations funds 66 of the 78 villages in the project.

By having more villages involved, organizers can affect change on a larger scale in areas such as rebuilding health clinics and improving power grids and road systems, Sachs said.

Soros said the project was outside the usual scope of activities that he funds, which tend to fall under political development, but that the goals were in line with what he wanted to accomplish.

"I think that this is an ambitious enough program that it justified this size of commitment," he said.

[Israel] OPT: Poverty drives children to work at checkpoints

from Reuters Alert Net

WEST BANK, 12 September (IRIN) - Six months of a crippling international embargo on the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) has brought its economy to a virtual standstill. As a result, children are being driven increasingly to find work to help support their families.

"After my father became jobless, I joined my friends to work at the checkpoint in order to support my 11-member family," said Subhi Abdullah 16, referring to his unofficial job at al-Hawawer Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron.

The embargo followed the democratic election of a Hamas-led government in February. Hamas is considered a terrorist organisation by the West and Israel.

With a population of 4.2 million people, oPt comprises the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

While plans were announced on Monday for a Palestinian unity government that could meet conditions to have the embargo lifted, ordinary Palestinians continue to suffer.

According to the Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), 40,000 children under 18 work in oPt - 73 percent of whom were forced to work due to severe financial conditions.

Subhi goes to al-Hawawer checkpoint every morning, dragging his steel handcart behind him. He competes with other boys to get two or three shekels (45 to 70 US cents) a time for carrying the luggage of travellers.

Forty percent of the West Bank has been under the limited civilian jurisdiction of the Palestinian government since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, while Israel maintains overall control – hence the checkpoints.

"One man's poison is another man's meat," said Subhi, when asked what he felt about the existence of the checkpoints.

Israel has set up hundreds of checkpoints across the West Bank for "security reasons", its army says. These checkpoints make it difficult for Palestinians to move freely from town to town; sometimes even from village to village.

Subhi said he leaves home at daybreak. He goes to school first, then to the checkpoint. By the time he gets back home in the evening, he is completely worn out. "My studies have been negatively affected. I do not have enough time to study. I think it is useless," said Subhi.

Abdul Rahman, 14, from al-Khader village near Bethlehem, works at the al-Khader checkpoint. He prefers working than going to school.

"I impatiently wait for the school bell to ring. And when it does, I take my handcart, which I leave beside my school, and rush to the checkpoint. I leave my school bag with my younger brother, who takes it home," Abdul Rahman said. "I start looking around with my colleagues to get travellers' bags and transfer them to the other side of the checkpoint."

While these checkpoint children or 'the little porters', as they are sometimes called, are of great benefit to travellers, NGOs are concerned with their welfare and with the impact of the checkpoints on the Palestinian population.

The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has said that the prevalence of checkpoints coupled with Israel's intermittent curfews are hampering the education system in oPt. More than 225,000 children and 9,300 teachers in the West Bank face a daily struggle to get to school

According to the children's agency, two thirds of Palestinian children live below the poverty line (US$2 a day), 38 percent of Palestinian children are anaemic and 23 percent of students and 36 percent of teachers are unable to get to school on any given day.

A Palestinian Child Draft Law states that it is forbidden to employ children less than 15 years old. It stipulates that the state should take all appropriate procedures to rehabilitate working children - physically and psychologically. The draft, however, is poorly implemented.

While the little porters continue to relieve travellers' burdens, no one is helping them relieve theirs.

[Dr Jeffery Sachs] Pitt puts on the ritz for poverty expert

from The Globe and Mail

TORONTO -- Unless it's a gala movie premiere in Cannes, Venice or L.A., Brad Pitt doesn't normally show up in a suit. Usually the celebrity superstar -- one half of the duo known globally as Brangelina -- is snapped in torn jeans and a scruffy T-shirt, hair askew.

But the 42-year-old actor was all spit and polish at a private brunch in Toronto yesterday, clad in a black jacket and pants, crisp white shirt and tie. The designer attire was out of respect for a man of whom few tabloid readers would ever have heard.

Mr. Pitt -- who didn't attend former U.S. president Bill Clinton's star-studded birthday bash Saturday night at the Fairmont Royal York hotel -- came to pay tribute to Jeffrey Sachs, a gregarious but humble economist from New York who heads up the UN Millennium Project.

Mr. Sachs, a man known worldwide as one of the foremost experts on poverty, was feted last night at the swank Carlu by Oscar-winning actor Matt Damon and Ocean's 11, 12 and 13 chum Mr. Pitt at the hot-ticket fundraiser One X One, set up last year to improve the lives of children around the globe.

At noon, Mr. Pitt surprised guests in the lobby of the Fairmont Royal York when he sauntered through, surrounded by beady-eyed security guards wired up like Christmas trees. He walked into the Library Bar and immediately started working the room, shaking hands and chatting amiably with the 50 or so assembled guests invited to a private brunch by Liberal MP Belinda Stronach and One X One founder Joelle Adler, president of Montreal clothing company Diesel Canada.

"I could have gone home last night," explained Mr. Pitt, resting his lean form against the dark panelled wall, while sipping red wine. "But I wanted to stay to meet and support Jeff." (Mr. Pitt walked the red carpet Saturday night for the premiere of the acclaimed film Babel. Partner Angelina Jolie was not on hand.)

"Angie is really the driving force in this work," Mr. Pitt said yesterday. "But we are trying to set up a village in Cambodia, and I wanted to spend some time with Jeff picking his brain."

By "village," Mr. Pitt is referring to one of Mr. Sachs's pet projects: the Millennium Villages, which have been developed by a team of scientific experts at the Earth Institute at Columbia University (where Mr. Sachs is director) to help the poorest of the poor by investing in health, food production, education, access to clean water and essential infrastructure. The first went up in Sauri, in western Kenya, in June of 2004. Today, there are 12 sites in 10 countries, with a goal of establishing 100 by 2009.

Yesterday, after Mr. Pitt and his tablemates (Ms. Stronach, her 14-year-old son Frank, NHL tough guy Tie Domi and Rogers Media scion Edward Rogers Jr. and his wife Suzanne) polished off beet carpaccio and wild salmon, it was announced that Mr. Rogers (Ted's only son) and his wife would be donating $1.5-million (U.S.) -- in partnership with One X One -- to start Canada's first Millennium Village.

After the meal, Mr. Pitt explained to many gathered in the crowd that he and Ms. Jolie -- who have an adopted child from Cambodia -- plan to leave soon to begin the groundwork for a Millennium Village in that country.

After the brunch, the actor spent another hour in an empty ballroom at the hotel with Mr. Sachs and his doctor wife, Sonia, discussing the concept behind these villages.

"The bottom line is the solutions are simple," Mr. Sachs said, adding what is needed is basic support for self-sufficiency, such as bed nets, vaccines for malaria, school lunches and wells.

Ms. Jolie and Mr. Pitt have three children, Maddox, 5, Zahara, 1, and newborn Shiloh. Ms. Jolie is a long-time friend and supporter of Mr. Sachs, who wrote the landmark book The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time.

Not long ago, the two paired up to do an MTV documentary called The Diary of Angelina Jolie and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa, which offers actual solutions to famine, plague and conflict.

In line with the commitment to changing stereotypes and stagnant mindsets, Mr. Pitt also recently told Esquire magazine (in the October issue) that "Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able."

Earlier Sunday morning, Mr. Damon and his filmmaking partners, Marc Joubert and Larry Tanz (pals from Boston), talked about their new $2-million (U.S.) documentary Running the Sahara, about three men (including Ottawa's Ray Zahab) who run the equivalent of two marathons a day, for roughly 75 days. Their motivation for crossing the Sahara is to raise awareness of the country's plight and indomitable spirit. It will be directed by Academy Award winner James Moll (The Last Days).

Mr. Damon also announced he and his friends are establishing a fund called Africa H2O that will be dedicated to providing poverty-stricken villages with wells and clean water.

"A child dies every 15 seconds in the world because they don't have access to clean water," Mr. Damon said. "It's truly mind-boggling, and outrageous, and unnecessary. But beyond the issue of just surviving, it's the whole issue of the quality of someone's life."

At 6:30 last night, Mr. Pitt met Mr. Sachs on the red carpet leading into One X One's bash at the Carlu.

Later at the event, which drew more than 500 people, Mr. Pitt told The Globe's Johanna Schneller that he is "thrilled" to be a father, but he is not one of those parents who gets too anxious.

"I'm just happy to be along for the ride," he said. "It's just amazing to see who they are, see their personalities and just watch a human being grow up close."

Singers John Legend, Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace) performed.

Mr. Pitt and Mr. Damon's star power at the fledgling One X One event put the charity firmly on the map. Last year, founder Ms. Adler raised $1.3-million. This year, she's on target to bump that up considerably. However, she declined to give a dollar figure until the final tally could be completed at the end of the night.

[John Edwards] rails against poverty

from The Mercury News

EX-SENATOR WEIGHING '08 PRESIDENTIAL BID

By Mike Zapler

MediaNews Sacramento Bureau

Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards told a gathering in downtown San Jose on Saturday that eradicating poverty is ``the great moral cause'' facing the nation and that he is ``strongly considering'' a second bid for the White House, in 2008.

``We have 37 million Americans who wake up every single day worried about feeding and clothing their children,'' the former Democratic vice presidential candidate told 2,000 health care union members at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. ``How can that be in the United States of America? How can that be in the richest nation on the face of the planet?''

Edwards spoke at length about poverty during the 2004 race, decrying what he called the ``two Americas'' -- one comfortable and well-off, the other struggling to get by.

In the two years since he and Sen. John Kerry lost their bid for the White House, Edwards has made reducing poverty the focus of his professional and political life. He launched a center on poverty at the University of North Carolina and is speaking to audiences across the country about the issue.

Edwards also has worked since the election to bolster his already strong relationship with unions. On Saturday he called labor a crucial ally in the fight against poverty and said the nation should reform laws to boost union membership.

Edwards found a receptive audience at the San Jose gathering, where leaders of the United Healthcare Workers union gathered for an annual conference. He said the nation needs to enact universal health coverage, raise the national minimum wage and provide vouchers to allow poor families to move into better neighborhoods.

Edwards also said that six years of Republican control in Washington has hurt America's standing abroad. It's tragic, Edwards said, that the country has done nothing to stop genocide in Africa.

``Where is America?'' Edwards asked. ``America is better than this. The world needs to know that we care about humanity.''

Later Saturday, Edwards joined Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides for a campaign rally at the Booker T. Washington Community Center in San Francisco. Angelides got a boost from Edwards in his attempt to link his opponent, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to President Bush, who is deeply unpopular in California.

``I watched, in a very personal way, Arnold Schwarzenegger campaign with George Bush in 2004,'' Edwards said, eliciting hisses from the crowd.

Schwarzenegger did campaign for Bush in 2004 but has parted ways with the president on several issues, including stem-cell research and global warming.

Edwards predicted in San Jose that the country is ready to accept his call to tackle poverty.

``There's a hunger in America, a hunger to be inspired,'' Edwards said. ``People are looking for something big and important, something bigger than their own self-interest.''

In an interview with the Mercury News after his speech, Edwards said he is ``strongly considering'' a bid for president in 2008, adding that it would take something unexpected, such as a family illness, to dissuade him. His wife, Elizabeth, was diagnosed with breast cancer after the 2004 race, but Edwards reported she is doing well.

He said his focus on poverty is a matter of principle for him, dismissing the notion that it might be a difficult issue with which to galvanize the country.

``I don't think the test should be whether somebody can rally people to a political campaign,'' Edwards said. ``The test should be whether someone running for president actually believes in these issues.''

[Connecticut] Fewer people on state health care despite rising poverty

from The Journal Inquirer

By:Keith M. Phaneuf, Journal Inquirer

State officials have tried several approaches in recent years to control the cost of the Connecticut's health insurance program for poor families.

There have been monthly premium hikes, new co-payments, changes in eligibility rules, cutbacks in outreach spending, a complex application process, and even legislation to block prescription requests from those who fail to pay.

Even though some of these measures later were rescinded as families pulled their children from the "Husky" health insurance program in the thousands, private advocates say the damage has been done.

Though a federal welfare law change appears responsible for some of the shift, other needy families who left Husky because they couldn't afford it simply never came back, advocates say.

Despite recent census data showing the number of uninsured Connecticut residents is on the rise, enrollment in Husky has dropped by 25,000 people over the past year, including about 18,000 children.

"In many ways, Husky is a very fragile program, and a change can have an exponential negative consequence," said Sharon Langer, senior policy fellow for Connecticut Voices for Children.

A New Haven-based nonprofit group, Connecticut Voices also has worked for the state-funded Children's Health Council and Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to assess the Husky program.

Connecticut Voices issued a report this week, based upon U.S. Census data, showing that 326,000 families in the state, about 9.3 percent, live below the federal poverty level. For a family of four, that means an annual income of not more than $19,961. That's up from 7.5 percent in 2001.

That same report also showed 11.3 percent of Connecticut residents, about 394,000 people, including 68,000 children, were without health insurance for all 12 months of 2005. That compares with 10 percent in 2001.

So if poverty is growing along with the need for health insurance, why did people leave the Husky program?
For one thing, Langer says, the program has been far from stable over the past three years, particularly in terms of the contributions it asks of recipients.

"Husky," or Health Care for Uninsured Kids and Youth, has been in place since 1998 to market and expand Medicaid coverage for children from poor families. And since 2001, Husky has provided insurance for a wider pool of adults than basic Medicaid does.

State government will spend an estimated $700 million this fiscal year providing insurance for just over 299,000 people, including 216,000 children and 18-year-olds. Husky eligibility rules classify 18-year-olds as children.

Most pay no monthly premiums. Families earning 235 percent or more of the federal poverty level - for a household of three that's about $37,800 per year - pay up to $50 per month.

But in 2003, with the economy in recession and the state budget nearly $1 billion in the red, state legislators and then-Gov. John G. Rowland ordered many changes:

* A $3 co-payment for medical services and $1.50 for prescriptions.

* New monthly premiums ranging from $30 to $75 for families above 185 percent of the poverty level.

* An end to "presumptive eligibility" that allowed parents to get treatment for their children immediately while applications to join Husky, which can take six weeks to process, were considered.

Most of these changes were repealed in 2004, and all by 2005.
But lawmakers and Gov. M. Jodi Rell went down the same path in June 2005, again approving monthly premiums ranging from $30 to $75 for families above 185 percent of poverty.

By late October 2005, nearly 2,200 children were being removed from Husky by parents who cited the increased premiums as a problem, even though they hadn't been implemented yet.

One month later, Rell and the legislature rescinded the premium hikes in special session.
In July 2005, the state ended the practice of allowing Husky applicants simply to sign a sworn statement of their earnings, which would subsequently be investigated. The new requirement was that at least four paycheck stubs had to be submitted as further proof.

That requirement was repealed one year later, again after numbers showed Husky applicants walking away from the program.
Langer said there is a misconception about recipients of state aid, adding that many find it difficult to accept. As a result, they may find it embarrassing to return to a public assistance program, particularly after leaving it once because they couldn't afford it.

"As a society, we constantly communicate a mixed message," she said. "There is a lot of talk about personal responsibility, but we want people to feel they can turn to others for help. The reality is many families sometimes find themselves in situations where they do need help."

State government used to spend about $4 million annually to market the Husky program, including television and radio public service announcements and various grassroots promotions through health clinics and other community-based care providers.

Husky outreach spending has dwindled steadily since then and according to the legislature's Office of Fiscal Analysis, it stood at $850,000 last fiscal year.
After Connecticut Voices issued its report on families in poverty this week, Rell ordered the Department of Social Services to redirect about $1 million in savings from the declining Husky enrollment to expand marketing efforts.

"Connecticut Voices for Children is right, too many parents are not renewing coverage for their children or not signing them up in the first place," Rell said. She added that allowing children to be uninsured "is simply not acceptable in a state that already offers great health benefits for children at little or no cost."

The Republican governor's Democratic opponent in this fall's gubernatorial race, Mayor John DeStefano Jr., said Rell's response is ironic.
"What the governor is not saying is that she is now responding to a crisis that she helped create," DeStefano spokesman Derek Slap said.

Some of the steep decline in Husky enrollment could be attributed to a change in federal welfare rules, according to Michael P. Starkowski, deputy commissioner of administration for the state Department of Social Services.

Households on the federal Temporary Aid to Needy Families also receive health insurance through Husky. Because Husky effectively is an expanded Medicaid health insurance program, it is supported both with federal and state dollars, and subject to certain federal rules.
But in July 2005, federal law changed, requiring that families coming off welfare remain eligible for state health insurance for one more year, down from an earlier transitional cushion of two.

That meant July 2006 was the first month that a new pool of families would be removed from Husky earlier than normal. Starkowski said an estimated 15,000 people were removed from the rolls all at once two months ago.
But he also added that the various changes to Husky contribute to some clients and potential clients walking away.

"The governor has instructed us to get back to community outreach," Starkowski said, adding he's hopeful a strong grassroots effort working with local care providers will increase enrollment.

Further information about the Husky program can be obtained by calling the Department of Social Services toll free at 1-877-CT-HUSKY, or by visiting the program's Web site at:
www.huskyhealth.com

[Switzerland] 70 years of fighting poverty and injustice

from Swiss Info

Swiss Labour Assistance (SLA) celebrated 70 years of defending workers' rights and democracy on Friday, in the presence of Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey.

The non-governmental organisation's first challenge was to care for victims of the Spanish Civil War. Active in both Switzerland and abroad, it also provides humanitarian aid.

In her speech at the anniversary event in Zurich, Calmy-Rey, whose centre-left Social Democrat Party co-founded the SLA in 1936, praised the SLA's important role and urged Switzerland to combat its isolation.

"The SLA has made a vital contribution towards conquering social Darwinism and political intolerance in Switzerland and abroad," said the foreign minister.

"In the face of globalisation, Switzerland should not be blinkered and imagine that it is an island independent of the rest of the world."

The anniversary event, attended by some 400 guests, included a panel discussion on the question "Which work for which development?", focusing on the role of work in long-term development.

According to SLA, one in two workers worldwide live in poverty.

The NGO wants to examine what global companies - including Swiss ones - can do and how unions can react to unstable work conditions and unemployment.

"I'm pleased that we can have a such an important discussion on one of the key issues of our activity and open it up to people who contribute other opinions and perspectives," said Daellenbach, ahead of the occasion.

Speakers included former interior minister Ruth Dreifuss, as well as representatives from other aid organisations, the unions, the media and Swiss-Swedish company ABB.

Spanish civil war

SLA has come a long way since its beginnings in 1936 helping undernourished children from poor Swiss families and the victims of the Spanish civil war.

It is now active in 12 countries, as well as in Kosovo and the occupied Palestinian territories. The organisation helped to rebuild areas in Sri Lanka devastated by the 2004 tsunami.

In Switzerland SLA supports migrants and the unemployed and continues to run holidays for underprivileged children, especially aimed at improving integration.

Throughout its 70-year history, the left-wing NGO has placed value on working with local partners and trade unions, which forms its concept of solidarity.

Daellenbach said she was pleased that the NGO could mark this jubilee, but added a note of regret that poverty and injustice was still widespread.

"It would be wonderful if we didn't have to celebrate this anniversary. If you could say society has changed so much that the fight for solidarity is no longer necessary," she told swissinfo.

"But of course this is not the case - on the contrary. So there are always two sides."

swissinfo, Isobel Leybold-Johnson

[Connecticut] Report: Poverty up, wages down

from The Journal Inquirer

Household earnings declined for all but the highest of the highest wage earners in the state

Most Connecticut workers' wages aren't keeping pace with inflation, despite the so-called economic recovery, according to a new report issued this week by a New Haven public policy research group.

Connecticut Voices for Children also reported that over the past four years the state has seen increasing numbers of families living in poverty and without health insurance.

"The rising tide of Connecticut's economic recovery is not lifting the boats of most workers in the state," according to a statement from Connecticut Voices, which prepared its latest reports in partnership with the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal policy group based in Washington, D.C.

"These recent trends suggest that the vast majority of Connecticut's workers are not benefiting from its recent economic recovery."

Wages adjusted for inflation declined between 2003 and 2005 for all but the highest-wage workers - those who earn more than what 90 percent of the population do.

According to the report, the 90th percentile mark means individuals who earned at least $39.90 per hour in 2003. Based on a 40-hour work week, that represents an annual income of just under $83,000.

After adjustments for inflation, wages for the lowest 10 percent of earners fell from $8.41 per hour in 2003 to $8.21.

Similar declines included:

* The 20th percentile fell from $10.49 to $10.10.

* The 50th percentile fell from $18.08 to $17.25.

* The 80th percentile fell from $30.90 to $29.86.

Part of this trend stems from the types of jobs Connecticut has gained in recent years, the report states.

The state lost roughly 60,400 jobs in 31 months between July 2000 and September 2003 as the economy fell into recession.

By July 2006, Connecticut had regained about 54 percent of those jobs, or about 32,500.

But over the same period, job losses have been highest in the areas of manufacturing, information, and professional and business services. The one area of significant job growth, about 7.1 percent, has been leisure and hospitality, which traditionally has paid less than these other areas.

The average yearly pay in the five employment sectors showing the largest employment losses in 2005 was nearly $63,800, the report states, compared with an average wage of nearly $35,900 for the five sectors showing the most gains.

Connecticut Voices issued a second report recently showing that, given the shrinking value of wages, 9.3 percent of Connecticut residents, about 326,000, lived below the federal poverty level in 2005, compared with 7.5 percent in 2001.

For a family of four, that means a household income below $19,961 per year.

The report also found 12.4 percent of children in 2005, about 103,000, lived in households less than the poverty level. That's up from 9.3 percent in 2001.

Poverty rates were highest in New Haven and Hartford counties at 11.2 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively. It was lowest in Litchfield County at 4 percent. In Windham and Tolland counties, the rates were 8.5 and 5.5 percent, respectively.

"In the nation's wealthiest state, parents who are working full time should have sufficient income to afford decent housing, good education, quality child care, and health care for their children," said Shelley Geballe, president of Connecticut Voices. "Yet the thousands of Connecticut parents who work at jobs that pay poverty-level wages or that don't offer health insurance benefits find that, no matter how hard they work, there's never enough income to make ends meet."

Based on an analysis of federal census data, Connecticut Voices found that 11.3 percent of state residents, about 394,000, were without health insurance for all 12 months of 2005. That figure includes about 68,000 children, or 8.2 percent of the child population.

The two reports from Connecticut Voices also recommend:
* Increasing state investments in school readiness programs and scholarships based upon financial need.

* Protecting federal funding for child care, energy assistance, and educational programs, particularly for children in kindergarten through Grade 12.

The nonprofit group also is expected in the 2007 General Assembly session, which starts Jan. 3, to renew its call for a state-earned income-tax credit, which has drawn mixed reviews in the past.

Patterned after the federal EITC, this is a refundable credit that allows working poor families to gain a state income-tax refund equal to a percentage of what they made, even if they earned too little to owe any taxes.

Critics have said this isn't really a tax refund, but a subsidy program, and that the state would be better off investing those funds in social service programs.

[Free Trade] Brown calls for relaunch of global trade talks

from The Scotsman

LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor Gordon Brown called on Wednesday for the International Monetary Fund's member states to reach agreement in Singapore this month on restarting global trade talks that collapsed earlier this year.

Brown, who chairs the IMF's main policy steering group, described the stalled talks as the most worrying setback for the world economy and wants the lender's new surveillance powers to focus on trade issues alongside current account imbalances.

"As chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), I have put progress on trade and a pro-globalisation agenda firmly at the heart of our meetings," Brown wrote in an article in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.

"Once we can regain the momentum in Singapore, any breakthrough should be followed quickly by a push by heads of government for a trade agreement before the end of the year."

World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy, whom Brown has invited to address the IMFC, suspended the so-called Doha round of talks in July after trade ministers failed to break a long-standing impasse over farm subsidies and tariffs.

The round has been billed as a once-in-a-generation chance to inject up to $300 billion (158.3 billion pounds) a year into the world economy and lift millions out of poverty.

"And this trade failure is helping give cover to the protectionist backlash that is seeing the growth of populism in Latin America, a resort to national champions in Europe and protectionist calls in the U.S.", Brown wrote.

He said that it was important to find common ground among the key players before the Singapore meetings and Britain's Trade Secretary Alistair Darling was starting these talks in Brazil this week.

He also called for a greater role for the IMF and said the Singapore meetings should consider measures that will make a new trade agreement more acceptable to the developing countries with specific aid for trade proposals.

"I will propose that the IMF consider how this year's surveillance processes could focus not just on current account imbalances -- its current work -- but also on promoting trade growth and financial stability," Brown wrote.

"With infrastructure in the developing world so poor, transport costs alone can be ten times the cost of tariffs and thus are a far bigger barrier to trade. In Singapore, the United Kingdom will offer to do more to support infrastructure."

But he said the biggest barrier remained agriculture in developed countries and that Europe should go beyond its initial offer of a 39 percent cut in agricultural tariffs and maybe even the 51 percent being mooted.

The U.S. should go beyond a 53 percent cut in support for its farmers while Brazil should offer more than its pledge to reduce tariffs on industrial goods to a maximum of 30 percent, with India responding on services, Brown wrote.

He also said he would, together with IMF managing director Rodrigo de Rato, chair a summit of business and financial leaders to discuss the importance of free trade.

[Muhammad Yunus] Peace prize for microcredit pioneer

from Al Jazeera

A Bangladeshi who established a bank for the poor and is regarded as one of the key developers of microcredit has been awarded the eighth Seoul Peace Prize.

Muhammad Yunus won the biennial prize of $200,000, which honours peace efforts by politicians, academics, activists and international organisations.

"His tireless endeavour to root out poverty and create a new model of giving credit to the poor will bear fruit in terms of greater peace in the world," the Seoul Prize Cultural Foundation said.

It said Yunus, dubbed Banker to the Poor, began fighting poverty during a 1974 famine in Bangladesh. He set up a small bank, Grameen Bank, to give locals access to credit.

Yunus is seen as one of the main developers of the concept of "microcredit", which gives entrepreneurs who are too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans very small sums to start up their own enterprises.

The success of Grameen and Yunus's new banking concept has been emulated in 23 countries, the foundation said.

Reaction

Reacting to the news, Yunus said: "I am happy and proud to receive the award. Not only does it recognise the Grameen Bank initiative, but it also puts the poor people of Bangladesh and their struggle to fight poverty on the global map.

"The Grameen Bank has now 6.5 million borrowers. Some 96%of them are women.

"Our bank is now giving scholarships to 28,000 poor students annually and some 12,000 students have completed higher studies with our education loans.

"Our aim is now to create a whole new generation of empowered men and women out of our 6.5 million borrowers."

The Seoul Peace Prize, established in 1990, commemorates the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which drew as many as 160 countries and were seen as breaking the ideological wall between East and West.

Yunus is the eighth winner of the prize, whose other recipients Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general; Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president; and international relief organisations such as Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam.

The awards ceremony will be held in Seoul on October 19.