Paul Bugala, Senior Sustainability Analyst for Extractive Industries at Calvert Investments, explains why Wall Street and the developing world need mandatory oil and mining payment transparency. This piece is part of a larger blog series on transparency in the extractives industry. Stay tuned for more updates on this topic.
Imagine you had to make one decision that could change your community and livelihood dramatically. Wouldn’t you want to be 100 percent sure your decision created the best opportunities possible for you and your family?
On the flip side, what if that decision involved an investment of millions of dollars? You would want all the information you could find about the possible outcomes and risks of your decision, wouldn’t you?
Today, across the globe, citizens of resource-rich yet poor countries and investors in oil, gas and mining companies have a problem just like this. These odd couples both need to make very important decisions about natural resource projects and the companies that undertake them, but they don’t have enough information to make sure their choices are right.
New analysis published by ONE today has given the final verdict on the aid promises that were made by world leaders at the G8 summit in Gleneagles in 2005. The DATA Report 2011, also sets out the steps that need to be taken to make a renewed push towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. It suggests new innovative finance schemes and identifies other measures to support proven smart aid programmes that help the poorest people in the poorest nations build a path out of poverty.
ONE members across the country are always looking for opportunities to speak directly to their members of Congress about the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases. Some great volunteers took advantage of Senator Scott Brown’s book tour last week and were able to catch up with the senator four times at his stops through Texas and California!
In Houston on Thursday, Senator Brown told the volunteers that (he had worn his ONE T-shirt earlier that very day on his morning run! Then, the following day in Simi Valley, California, Senator Brown signed his book, “To the ONE Campaign. Keep the faith.” Thanks to all our volunteers who supported ONE out in the community and thanks to Senator Scott Brown for giving ONE such a warm welcome as he traveled around the country!
Don’t turn that dial because ONE is hitting the airwaves this week on a radio station near you. We just recently launched a radio ad in districts across the US to tell Americans why this week is so important in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, hunger and childhood disease.
Our new radio ad explains how America is a blessed nation, considering there are areas of the world where people have far less than we do. Congress can continue to put our values to work by making good choices about our nation’s spending that don’t hurt the world’s most vulnerable.
Congress is now considering ways to reduce the national deficit. But we know it doesn’t take much money to save millions of children’s lives in the world’s poorest places — less than 1 percent of our entire budget. That money helps give children anti-malarial bed nets, vaccines against deadly diseases, ARVs for people living with HIV and much more.
You may have heard our message, but that doesn’t mean Congress has.
We need your help in telling Congress not to cut the foreign aid budget. Call your member of Congress at the general hotline, (877) 778-2578, or find a direct line to your member using our form. Your call will make a huge difference for millions of the world’s poorest people.
Did you hear our ad on your radio station yet? If so, let us know what you think!
Hi, I am Sipho Moyo, Director of ONE Africa. This is a very important week for ONE’s work on the continent
We have just opened our office in Johannesburg, we are hosting the ONE Africa Symposium on Economic Transformation through Technology and Transparency, and are launching the ONE Africa Blog.
Infused throughout all this work, is the idea that by going together with others, we will go far.
We are aware that we will need to prove our credibility and inspire trust as we actively build partnerships with other civil society organisations in the region who are already on the ground and working on precisely the same issues that we care about.
We also hope to continue to engage more people in the political process of fighting extreme poverty. There are tens of thousands of ONE members in Africa already, with hundreds more joining each week.
So no matter who you are, we aim to have something interesting for you here on the ONE Africa Blog. You’ll find posts from the business leaders, opinion formers and activists who are shaping the continent, and I hope that you’ll not just read them, but join in the conversation by sharing your thoughts.
Thank you, and I look forward to working with you to end the blight of extreme poverty.
To commemorate World AIDS Day, we’re launching a series of blog posts to educate, inspire and update you about the fight against HIV/AIDS. Keep an eye out for posts like this one on the ONE Blog throughout the week
Fortunata, who is HIV-positive, and her HIV-negative daughter, Florida
Every year on December 1, the world marks another anniversary of the global HIV epidemic. This year, as we take time on the ONE Blog to mark the week of World AIDS Day, we see opportunities that make us very optimistic about bringing this epidemic to an end, and an equally long list of challenges to overcome.
Let’s start with the good news: AIDS deaths are declining, new infections are decreasing in some countries and more than 5 million people are alive thanks to life-saving antiretroviral treatment (Check out UNAIDS’ new report for details).
Donors have also responded with historic levels of support, reaching about $8 billion in 2009, and another $8 billion from domestic sources, including governments, businesses and individuals. And there’s more help on the way, with recent good news on a number of new HIV prevention technologies (which we’ll be blogging about tomorrow).
Dana Perino – a Fox News contributor and former White House press secretary – has a special favor to ask in her great opinion piece on FoxNews.com. Let’s take a break from the mid-term election talk (something hard to do in DC these days) and turn our attention to helping the world’s poorest people – especially women. Here’s a quick look at what she had to say:
“I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to many places around the world and see first-hand how America’s generosity is not taken for granted, how every dollar is stretched in many of these programs to get the most out of our taxpayer dollars to help others. I believe that a focus on helping women will pay more dividends for these countries – and our world – for years to come.”
Earlier this year, Dana Perino actually traveled to Ghana and Sierra Leone with ONE, and wrote about the amazing things she learned. And to take a look at the full article from today (with some great shout-outs to ONE), click here.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
