IssuesMillennium Development Goals (MDGs) The Millennium Development Goals set a framework for how the world could see the end of extreme poverty. In September, 2000, The United States joined with 188 nations to affirm a set of international development goals in the United Nations Millennium Declaration. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reflect an understanding of the devastation caused by global hunger and poverty and aim for a world that is free of such suffering. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest by 2015. Our leaders committed to these goals and it is up to us, as Americans and ONE supporters, to make sure that America keeps its promises to the world’s most vulnerable people. 
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria More than 38 million people around the world are infected by HIV/AIDS, 25 million in Africa alone. Left untreated, AIDS leads to an early death for people in their most productive years who are needed to raise crops and families, teach school and care for the sick. For more information about global AIDS click here.
More and Better Aid International assistance saves lives, directly helping and empowering individuals to help themselves. Increasing international assistance by an amount equal to just ONE percent of the U.S. budget will:
Education for All Parents in Malawi know just as well as parents in Missouri that education is crucial to their children's future. But around the world, 72 million children do not go to grade school because their parents cannot afford fees, books or uniforms for all their children. For more information about getting children into school click here.
Clean Water & Sanitation ONE person in seven has no access to clean water for drinking, cooking or washing. In addition to spreading disease, this has multiple negative effects -- girls growing up in villages without water are far less likely to attend school because they're too busy spending hours walking to and from the nearest water source. For more information about clean water click here.
Trade Justice As much as people in poor countries appreciate development assistance, no one wants to rely on a handout -- they want to trade their way out of poverty -- but international rules make it difficult. A fair trade system would give people in poor countries the chance to earn their way out of poverty by participating in the world economy. For more information about trade rules click here.
Debt Cancellation Every year Sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region of the world, spends $14.5 billion dollars repaying debts to the world's richest countries and international institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Though we've made efforts to relieve them of these unpayable debts, many poor countries still spend more each year on debt than on health care or education. For more information about debt cancellation click here.
Maternal and Child Health Health systems in poor countries around the world are rapidly deteriorating, and in some cases, have failed entirely. Young children and pregnant women bear the brunt of these inadequate health systems. Every year, 10 million children die before their fifth birthday, nearly all of them from preventable causes. Each year, more than 500,000 mothers die from complications during child birth. There are affordable technologies and interventions in existence that would prevent nearly all of these deaths.
Corruption While corruption is harmful to all governments, losing resources to corrupt leaders is particularly devastating in poor countries where every dollar lost results in one less child in school or one less well dug to provide clean water. Approaches like America's Millennium Challenge which direct assistance to honest governments are the most effective, as is channeling assistance through private (and faith-based) relief and development agencies. For more information about fighting corruption in the poorest countries click here.
Food Around the world, ONE person in seven goes to bed hungry each night. We need to address hunger not just by giving food, but helping farmers in poor countries grow better crops and helping countries build farm-to-market roads so farmers can supply distant cities. For more information about hunger click here.
Orphans 18 million children have already lost one or both parents to AIDS, 12 million of them are in Africa alone. Unless more is done, there will be 25 million of these children around the world by 2010. We have the opportunity to help. For more information about orphans, click here.
Housing The world is experiencing a global housing crisis. Nearly 1 billion people live in substandard housing without clean water or adequate sanitation, including more than 14 million refugees and internally displaced people living in tents or other temporary shelters. An increasing number of these people are urban slum dwellers, and every week more than a million people are born in, or move to cities in the developing world. If no serious action is taken, the United Nations reports that the number of slum dwellers worldwide will rise over the next 30 years to nearly 2 billion. For more information about housing conditions around the world, click here. |
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