MDG report card "mixed" at halfway point

This week, the UN released the progress report on the Millennium Development Goals as we reach the halfway point to the target achievement date of 2015.

Some highlights (courtesy of our friends at ONE and DATA):

MDG 1. Poverty and Hunger
Global: The proportion of people living in extreme poverty (earning $1 a day or less) fell from 31.6% to 19.2% between 1990 and 2004. If this trend is sustained, the MDG poverty reduction target will be met for the world as a whole and for most regions.

Africa: The proportion of people living in extreme poverty has declined from 45.9% to 41.1% since 1999, but reaching the MDG target (to halve the extent of extreme poverty by 2015) requires that the current pace is nearly doubled.

2. Education
Global: Progress has been made in getting more children into school in the developing world. Enrollment in primary education grew from 80% in 1991 to 88% in 2005.

Africa: Enrollment has increased from 57% in 1999 to 70% in 2005, but a gap of 30% remains and the number of school-age children is increasing daily.

3. Gender Equality
Global: Women’s political participation has been growing slowly. Even in countries where previously only men were allowed to stand for political election, women now have a seat in parliament.

Africa: Although the share of parliamentary seats held by women has increased from 7% in 1990 to 17% in 2006, the share of women who earn a salary aside from farming still stood at less than one-third in 2005.

4. Child Mortality
Global: Child mortality rates have declined from 106 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 83 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2005. It is becoming clear that the right life-saving interventions are proving effective in reducing the number of deaths due to the main child killers such as measles.

Africa: Under-five mortality rates dropped from 185 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 166 per 1,000 live births in 2005. This change barely makes a dent in the objective of a two-thirds reduction by 2015 and the region’s child mortality rate is still twice that of the developing world as a whole.

5. Maternal Health
Global: Over half a million women still die each year from treatable and preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

Africa: The odds that a sub-Saharan African woman will die from complications during pregnancy and childbirth during her life are 1 in 16, compared to 1 in 3,800 in the developed world.

6. HIV/AIDS, malaria & other diseases
Global: The number of people dying from AIDS worldwide increased from 2.2 million in 2001 to 2.9 million in 2006, and prevention measures are failing to keep pace with the growth of the epidemic. Key interventions to control malaria have been expanded. The tuberculosis epidemic appears on the verge of decline, although progress is not fast enough to halve prevalence and death rates by 2015.

Africa: The number of people dying from AIDS continues to mount, reaching 2 million in 2006. Although prevalence rates have leveled off, the number of new cases, especially among women, and the number of people with advanced HIV infection continues to grow and is rising faster than treatment services are being scaled up. There is no evidence that the very high rate of new TB cases in sub-Saharan Africa is starting to level off.

7. Environmental Sustainability
Global: Half the population of the developing world lacks basic sanitation. In order to meet the MDG target, an additional 1.6 billion people will need access to improved sanitation over the period 2005-2015. If trends since 1990 continue, the world is likely to miss the target by almost 600 million people.

Africa: Only 42% of people in rural areas have access to clean water (according to the latest 2004 data) and 63% of the entire African population lacks access to basic sanitation facilities (down only barely from 68 % in 1990 and far from the target of cutting this portion in half by 2015).

8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development
Global: Global aid levels are decreasing, making it more difficult for programs that work to be scaled up. Debt relief is being implemented in 22 of the 40 Highly-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) with several other countries going through the process. However improvements are still needed in poor countries’ access to export markets, opportunities to earn a living through trade, and access to new technologies.

Africa: More and better aid is needed in Africa in order to address the continent’s development challenges, including a scale-up of funding for programs that help Africa to export. This assistance should also be provided in a predictable manner in order to allow African countries to plan and execute development strategies.

Download the whole report here.

Eat In to Help Out - 07/07/07

Click the map above to log your dinner party or see where other groups' donations have gone!

This week, people all over the country are hosting dinner parties for their friends as part of "Eat In to Help Out," sponsored by Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation. Dinner hosts encourage their guests to bring the money they would spend if going out to eat and donate the money to an organization working with the Millennium Development Goals.

Saturday, July 7th is the halfway point to achieving the MDGs. We've made some great progress, but we still have a long way to go! These dinners are a great way for us to celebrate what has been done, reflect on what we have done in our ministries with the MDGs, and make plans for the future.

For more information, check out www.eatin2helpout.org for more information about how to host your own dinner party. It doesn't have to be fancy - just invite some friends over for a simple dinner.

Spread the word! Watch the blog's comments and posts as people share their reflections from the dinners.

Jim Kelsey - Friend, Pioneer, Advocate

EGR Northern Michigan diocesan contact Burt Purrington offers this tribute to Bishop Jim Kelsey.

Dear EGR Friends,

As many of you know, one of the Episcopal Church's shining lights, the Rt.Rev. James Arthur Kelsey, Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Michigan, died in an auto accident last Sunday, June 3. Jim was a champion of inclusiveness in the Episcopal Church and beyond, a pioneer in mutual ministry, a staunch advocate for the poor, disenfranchised and oppressed and a promoter of the MDGs well before the 2006 General Convention.

The Upper Peninsula is a region in severe economic decline, and the Diocese and congregations regularly suffer budget shortfalls. In the face of these fiscal challenges, Jim made a remarkable leap of faith and (successfully)asked the Diocese to set aside 0.7 per cent of its annual budget as a line item with the recipient(s) to be determined each year by our Justice and Peace Committee. He also asked each congregation and each parishioner to prayerfully consider making donations of 0.7 per cent of their income to one or more programs consistent with the MDGs. He believed that the search and vetting processes that go with selecting effective and
accountable programs would be not only a learning experience but a transformative one as well. One congregation after another, already operating on a shoestring, has dipped deep in their pockets to do their part to make the MDGs a reality.

Jim, his wife Mary and the Diocese have been long time supporters of and participants in missions to Honduras to Our Little Roses home for girls and young women. The Kelsey's also were looking forward to accompanying me on a working visit to Croix-des-Bouquets Parish in Haiti which has an established mission that our Diocese recently joined.

Jim always kept his hand on the plow, but in his ministry the reins were shared with many others. The world is greatly diminished by the loss of his warmth, generosity, compassion and humor. But with the mutual ministry to which he was deeply committed, his dreams and his work will continue -- and that will include his commitment to the MDGs.

Please keep Jim's family, his diocese and all who knew and loved this great man in your thoughts and prayers.

Burt Purrington
Coordinator for Global Missions and ERD
Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan

ONE Vote '08 Launches Today!!!

Every day, every paper in America carries a story about the 2008 presidential election - sometimes as many as two, three, or four in a single day.

Even more amazing is the fact that we are still eighteen months away from Election Day!

And while the press is saturating the media with election coverage, people are dying every single day from extreme poverty and global disease. This global crisis can no longer be overlooked.

We need your help to bring ONE's message to the forefront of the 2008 presidential race.

Today we will launch ONE Vote '08, an unprecedented national campaign to make every 2008 presidential candidate take a clear position on extreme poverty and global disease.

Sign up for the conference call tonight, June 11th at 7:30 pm eastern time.

We are just days away from launching an aggressive field effort, placing ads on the air, and launching a new website that will track the '08 candidates on the ground and on the issues like AIDS, malaria, access to clean water, and universal basic education.

But to reach the widest audience possible, we need to tap in the power of the ONE community. I need you to share your vision for an America that leads the global fight to end extreme poverty and disease.

So tonight, we're kicking-off ONE Vote '08 by hosting a conference call with Senator Tom Daschle, Senator Bill Frist, and you.

Sign up for the conference call Monday, June 11th at 7:30 pm eastern time.

We'll start the call by discussing campaign strategy, and then quickly open up the floor for your questions and to hear your thoughts.

We've anticipated a huge response, so we lined up some powerful technology for the occasion. Instead of having to dial into the call, we'll be calling you. That's right, no dial-in number and no time to keep track of. Just follow the link below and we'll call you at 7:30 pm eastern time on the 11th.

Sign up with your phone number to join-in on this conference call.

Our efforts on behalf of the world's poorest people to raise awareness and spur our leaders to action have saved millions of lives. Taking our campaign to the 2008 presidential race means taking our fight against extreme poverty to an entirely new level.

Together, we will ensure that - no matter who ends up being elected president - the next leader of the free world will be a leader in eradicating poverty and global disease.

I look forward to hearing from you on Monday.

Thank you,

Susan McCue, ONE.org

Can You Spare a Dollar?

Here is a great piece from Roger Waters about the Millennium Villages -- a new model on fighting extreme poverty in Africa designed and managed by Dr. Jeffrey Sachs. As a respected economist on the world stage, he had been a tremendous advocate for the poor in Africa and Asia while making an impact advising leaders on economic models that fight the causes and side effects of poverty.

It's a great read, and thankful CNN.com is now using their media influence (somewhat) responsibly.

Avoiding Africa

"I am exasperated," Bono, the activist rock star, told Reuters. "I think it is deliberately the language of obfuscation. It is deliberately misleading."

-- N.Y. Times story, June 8

To give an example of how the Group of 8 nations decided to deal with the AIDS crisis in Africa, allow me to make an analogy:

Africa: Hey G8, we really need help fixing our car so we can go to work, learn job skills, earn money, feed our families and survive.
G8: OK, glad to help. We will give you enough money to fix all of your problems and teach you how to sustain yourself.
Africa: Fantastic! When are you going to send the money?
G8: Well, we're not sure. And I'm not sure when we'll be able to tell you.
Africa: Uh... without this help fixing our car, we can't survive.
G8: Well, sorry. But you should be happy that we at least said we would give you money.

I think anyone can see the lunacy in this. Basically, the G8 promised money to NGOs and faith groups working to save the lives of people across Africa, but didn't give any timeline on when the money would be delivered. In the meantime, malaria spreads and child mortality rates balloon from avoidable illnesses.

And since African nations have no strength in international diplomacy because of civil unrest and corrupt central governments, no one can hold these eight countries accountable to their pledge. It will take voices of those who care about this situation to hold their feet to the fire to the MORAL commitment they made at the G8 meetings two years ago in Scotland.

For more information about how the G8 summit and how they avoided dealing with the AIDS crisis in Africa, read the entire Times piece here.

Going to Cornerstone? Volunteer for ONE!

Are you considering going to the Christian rock extravaganza known as Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, IL June 27-30? Cornerstone will be an excellent opportunity to reach hundreds of people with the message of Bread for the World and the ONE Campaign!

Cornerstone's organizers say of the Festival:

"This event called Cornerstone Festival is far more than a massive musical experience. It is more than a collection of hundreds of solo artists and bands representing every style and sub-genre on the current musical landscape. It is more than a gathering of expert thinkers and speakers offering over twenty separate seminar tracks on an amazingly diverse range of subjects. It is more than the sum of its parts, as is the body of Christ.

Cornerstone Festival is the annual gathering of a community of believers that is spread out all over the world. From young children to senior citizens, Christians of all ethnicities and backgrounds migrate to a patch of 500 acres in central Illinois for four days of fellowship, entertainment, education and edification. One way of looking at Cornerstone is to see it as a continuation of a Jesus movement that began in the first century and remains a beacon of joy and spirit as we move into the next millennium."

If you are thinking about attending the Festival and would like to do volunteer outreach with Bread for the World and the ONE Campaign, please send me an email, and we can discuss the details.

Peace,

Annie Gill-Bloyer
ONE Campaign Faith Outreach Organizer
Bread for the World – IL/IN/MO
1-800-4470-BFW
agillbloyer@bread.org
www.bread.org/one