Posts tagged Social Justice

It's World Malaria Day: Let's not let the progress slow down

World Malaria Day website:

The theme for World Malaria Day 2012 - Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria - marks a decisive juncture in the history of malaria control. Whether the malaria map will keep shrinking, as it has in the past decade, or be reclaimed by the malaria parasites, depends, to a great extent, on the resources that will be invested in control efforts over the next years.

Investments in malaria control have created unprecedented momentum and yielded remarkable returns in the past years…However, these gains are fragile and will be reversed unless malaria continues to be a priority for global, regional and national decision-makers and donors.

Please take some time to find out more and see what action you can take to make a difference.

Kony 2012: Mobs, Takedowns and Meltdowns, but Very Little Truth

Alex Perry, writing at TIME’s Global Spin blog:

Invisible Children have shown us the almost limitless, instant — and by that I mean wondrous — potential for engaging the world that our new media tools allow. But Invisible Children has also shown us the price we have to expect to pay for that: an almost limitless, instant — and by that I mean thoughtless — response. It’s been enough, apparently, to break Russell, someone whose intent, whatever you thought of his methods, was merely to shine a light on one of the world’s more forgotten, and nastiest, conflicts. Will anyone be brave enough to try to do the same again?

Worth a read.

What UK aid will achieve for the world’s poorest people

ONE International:

The analysis shows that if UK aid spending commitments remain on track, the result will be millions of lives saved and transformed between now and 2015. We estimate that UK aid plans as they stand in March 2012 will:

• Put 15.9 million children in school
• Provide over 80 million children with vaccines against life-threatening diseases, saving an estimated 1.4 million lives
• Help 44.9 million people participate in freer and fairer elections
• Support over 40 million people with prevention or treatment for malaria, including distributing 26.6 million bed nets
• Provide access to safe drinking water to over 17 million people
• Help 77.6 million people access formal financial services, such as bank accounts or credit, which are the basics needed to start a business -Ensure 5.8 million births take place in a safe environment, saving the lives of over 50,000 mothers
• Provide 633,000 people with life-saving treatment for HIV
• Ensure better nutrition for 9.6 million people

There are many reasons why people might choose to criticise the coalition government but, when it comes to international aid, I really think they are doing the right thing in maintaining their commitment to to giving 0.7% of our national income to international aid. This breakdown of the difference the money will make is really helpful and the whole piece is well worth a read.

Kony 2012: Good but Flawed Is Better than Horrible

Erika Andersen writing for Forbes:

 How is it a bad thing that hundreds of thousands people all over the world are now motivated to help neutralize a horrible man who is responsible for countless heinous crimes against people throughout Central Africa?

This is the right attitude to take when considering the criticism that Invisible Children - the organisation who made the film about Joseph Kony that has spread like wildfire this week - has received. They may not be perfect and they may have made some mistakes and misjudgements, but their goals are still good. 

Kony 2012: The issue is bigger than just one person

Stop The Traffik:

Undeniably we all want Kony to be stopped but as any cases of human trafficking, we need to address this issue as a whole rather than focus on one single person. Kony2012 is useful and interesting – but please do not limit your understanding of the issue simply to the video itself.

I have a lot of respect for Stop The Traffik and was interested to hear - and now share - their perspective. They take a very sensible line: praise the awareness that Kony 2012 is bringing to the issue, but remind people that the issue of child soldiers goes far deeper than just one man.

Family life on benefits

Interesting look at how one family would be affected by the Government’s plan to cap benefits at £26,000.

Not sure that Sky TV and 200 cigarettes a week would count as essential.

Olympic mascots made by Chinese workers in exploitative conditions

Stop The Traffik:

…the cuddly toy versions of the Olympic mascots, Mandeville and Wenlock, have been made in factories in China where workers are paid just 18p per a cuddly toy. Undercover investigators from Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM), exposed the situation after visiting the Rainbow factory in Dafeng City twice. SACOM report that the workers in the factory are forced to work up to 11 ½ hours a day, with no holiday rights, fined a day’s wage for leaving their workspace untidy and told to lie to investigators about their conditions.

Let’s hope the Olympic committee take swift action.

Economic crisis mustn't eclipse battle against poverty

Bill Gates, speaking at the London School of Economics:

There are many things going on in terms of the eurozone crisis and budget cutbacks that would make it easy to turn inward and reduce financing. The answer is to remind people not only about the needs of the very poorest but also that we are making incredible progress in … the daily battle that is poverty.

Whilst I was never a fan of Bill Gates in his role with Microsoft, I continue to be hugely impressed with his work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I hope that he will be listened too and that, even though things are tight financially for us, we won’t lose sight of the fact that our experience doesn’t come close to the experience and living conditions of countless others in much poorer parts of the world.

David Cameron: No party has a monopoly on caring

David Cameron writing at ConservativeHome:

We also believe in compassion. No party has a monopoly on caring, but I think as Conservatives we should be particularly proud of some of the commitments we have stuck to this past year. We are protecting the NHS from cuts because we know that for so many people it is literally a lifeline. And we have also protected our aid budget because, likewise, for so many people it is a lifeline too. And this party should be proud that because of the decisions we have taken in government, in four years’ time we will not have just paid down the deficit – this country will also have vaccinated more of the world’s poorest children than there are people in the whole of England.

I know that the Tory haters will be in uproar about statements like this but, if nothing else, I think Cameron is absolutely right that no party has a monopoly on caring. Linked with this, it’s scary how many people seem to seriously think that all Tories hate the poor. The arrogance of some people to view an entire political grouping of people in such a prejudiced and blinkered way is shocking.

Do the Tories always get it right of issues of poverty and social justice? No. Of course not. Are there some on the far right who couldn’t give a damn about the poor and only think about themselves? Sure. Just like there are on the left too. But I have no doubt that at the heart of the Tory party is a core of people who believe in compassion and want to create a country that brings opportunity to everyone. (Just to be clear, I believe the same is true at the core of all the leading political parties too.)

What if our political debate started from this place? A place where we believe the best about the majority of peoples motivations rather than tainting the majority on the basis of a few on the fringes? What if instead of hating, we chose to embrace the reality that in most instances our politicians from all parties are sincerely wanting to make the United Kingdom a better place? They - and we - might disagree on both the methods and indeed the desired outcome, but if we could at least recognise the shared motivations, maybe, just maybe, there could be a much great civility to our debate.