Levels of international aid have been criticised as seriously insufficient for over 50 years, debt cancellation programs have failed to reach most developing countries, and the Millennium Development Goal for halving poverty will not be met by 2015. Without a fundamental restructuring of global economic priorities, the needs of the majority world will continue to be overshadowed by commercial interests.
Many crises threaten a globalising world, including international financial instability, growing worldwide poverty, global warming, and epidemic diseases that know no boundaries. Solutions require intense international cooperation and stronger global institutions. Progress will especially demand large new financial resources tens of billions of dollars to finance global public health, take steps towards environmental sustainability, and build programs to insure education and livelihoods for all.
For many people in the world’s wealthy countries, the holiday season is often a time for overindulgence in food. But for the estimated 850 million people worldwide who suffer from hunger, this time of year only serves as a stark reminder of their often-constant struggle for adequate nourishment.
With a few radical ideas and a band of scrappy followers armed with hoes and pitchforks, a self-taught economist from Kenya is trying to set Africa free - liberate it from the billions of dollars in aid it receives every year from rich countries.
If Western donors deliver on their promises, official development assistance (ODA) to the world's poorer nations is expected to increase by about 50 billion dollars in the next five years, according to a new U.N. report released this week.