Irresponsibly-handled finances have thrown millions of people into even greater poverty. Every three minutes the equivalent of a school class of 30 children dies because of chronic hunger. Lack of commitment to fight climate change puts nations below sea level at risk in the near future.
These are some facts given by heads of state, managing directors and civil society representatives during the first sessions of the European Development Days. They addressed the urgency and magnitude of what was summarized as the “human crisis”. It is clear that the economic downturn, climate threats and poverty are interlinked and need common solutions.
“Negative impacts in one part of the world will sooner, rather than later, have an effect elsewhere,” said Otive Igbuzor, head of International Campaigns at ActionAid International.
“Speed is irrelevant if you are going in the wrong direction.” The quote originates from Mahatma Ghandi, but its relevance was cited by Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Pachauri and others stressed the need for better co-operation in order to create sustainable development: between developed and developing countries; between public interest and the private sector; and between governments and citizens.
Muhammad Yunus, managing director of Grameen Bank, is hopeful. At the session about The response to the global economic downturn, he said:
“There now is a great opportunity to re-design the basic system.”
He argued for social businesses as one solution to attain poverty reduction and to build resilience for the poor.
Ernest Bai Koroma, president of Sierra Leone – one of the world’s poorest countries – gave evidence of the impact of food, fuel and financial crises in recent years. However, he also pointed out the huge potential of his country and hoped for true solidarity and partnership with the developed world; not primarily through aid, but in the long run through trade.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director of the World Bank, urged for both commitment and capital to make real change in developing countries.
Other speakers, such as George Soros, one of the world’s biggest philanthropists, lobbied for more money to be directed at the most vulnerable.
“The economic downturn should not be a reason for cutting down support,” he said.
Huguette Labelle, chair of the board of directors of Transparency International, highlighted the importance of fighting corruption – a subject that will be in focus at a forthcoming EDD session, together with aid effectiveness and democracy.
But words are not enough. Real action is what counts, many of the prominent world leaders pointed out.
“I hope for more leaders to find the courage to act,” Fredrik Reinfeldt, Sweden’s prime minister, said. “We need a soil where successful development can flourish.”
