Make Noise for MDGs

From the AAAS Science Magazine - special issue for May on Tuberculosis and Malaria two of of focuses for MDG 6.

Editorial by Barry R. Bloom Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor of Public Health and former dean of the Harvard School of Public Health writing out against the $50 million reduction in funding for the Global Fund requested by the U.S. government for fiscal year 2011, in the face of increased requests for expanded coverage by those countries, would be a major setback. Sorry but you need to be an AAAS member to see the entire pieces.

TUESDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) -- Infectious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and blood poisoning account for more than two-thirds of the 8.8 million annual deaths in kids under 5 years of age worldwide, a new report shows.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) offers a unique combination of investment capital, capacity building and technical advisory services to promote microfinance and local development in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs):

Malaria Consortium works in partnership with communities, health systems, government and non-government agencies, academic institutions and local and international organisations to ensure good evidence supports delivery of effective services. Together, we work to secure access for groups most at risk, to prevention, care and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases.

Aid budgets face immense pressure - despite overseas aid being critical for poverty alleviation in developing countries and the explicit commitments of the world's industrialised countries to the Millennium development goals. With the world economy in a major downturn, the stakes for developing countries could not be higher. Public support for international development and aid will play a key role. Will the public become unsure about the UK's aid budget when they begin to feel cuts in government expenditure at home? How well equipped are we to 'sell' the UK's aid programme to a sceptical public in times of economic austerity?

First, the UK needs to meet our moral commitment to increase spending on aid to 0.7 per cent gross national income. But this investment has to go hand-in-hand with greater transparency, ensuring the money reaches the people who need it most. A Conservative government will create an independent aid watchdog and publish every item of aid spending online, so that the performance and impact of development policies are transparent to taxpayers in Britain and to people in the developing world.

A British Conservative potential Prime Minister speaking of the Millennium Development Goals as a responsibility of his government. I made the point in my last blog post that the Millennium Development Goals resonate better everywhere than they do here in America.

Objectives The United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) was created in 1975 by several agencies of the United Nations system to serve as a bridge between the UN and civil society organizations. It was established on the belief that meaningful civil society engagement in UN processes and deliberations is essential for the realization of the goals of the Organization and the pursuit of global democratic governance. The goal of NGLS is to strengthen the relations between the United Nations and civil society. Given its distinctive UN inter-agency nature, NGLS is uniquely placed to foster dialogue and greater coherence around the main issues on the UN agenda (development, human rights, environment, peace and security, and humanitarian affairs).

I put their demonstration page up in a previous Diigo post. This is the actual site. Zunia offers: * Over 50,000 registered users, more than half of whom are from developing countries * A searchable content database containing over 125,000 content items * Content aggregated from more than 200 development organizations worldwide Zunia was launched in July 2009. Previously, the knowledge-sharing site of Development Gateway was dgCommunities. All the content from that site was migrated to Zunia.

Zunia demonstration page another online tool for collaboration and information exchange for global efforts like the Millennium Development Goals. Zunia is an online network for knowledge exchange among development professionals worldwide. Users from all over the world visit the portal to access news, events, best practices and publications on a wide range of development topics. Registration in Zunia is free and open to all. Users can stay informed on development issues, post information, get e-mail updates, create a professional profile and connect with peers.

Another online resource that can be used in implementing the Millennium Development Goals. Development Gateway provides Web-based platforms that make aid and development efforts more effective around the world. It focuses on three areas where even small investments in information and communications technology can make a major difference:

Global Voices is a community of more than 300 bloggers and translators around the world who work together to bring you reports from blogs and citizen media everywhere, with emphasis on voices that are not ordinarily heard in international mainstream media. Including the Millennium Development Goals

This is an excellent example of collaborative tools available on the internet and how they can be used in implementing the Millennium Development Goals. Background We live in an increasingly 'networked' development world, where information, knowledge, and relationships are critical aspects of more effective efforts. Our organizations are adjusting and adapting to become 'global learning networks;' as individuals, we are asked to take on a broader range of roles and tasks become active participants in knowledge co-creation, sharing and use. Taking advantage of emerging opportunities in this area calls for use to develop and use a different communication 'toolset' in our work; we also need to change the ways we work, adopting more a 'mindset' that favours open learning and sharing.

Euforic.org is a non-profit service dedicated to spreading and sharing voices, ideas and information on Europe's International Cooperation. Euforic.org helps audiences communicate and share their voices. Our users find, enjoy, and share videos about the people, issues, and ideas on international cooperation. We gather a collection of opinions, news, video and research publications drawn from policymakers, international organisations, universities, think tanks and conferences dealing with international cooperation issues. We present this content free for anyone to watch, interact with, and share. With our community of users and an extensive, growing library of information, Euforic.org is contributing to the Europe's special role in poverty reduction and Millennium Development Goals as defined in European Consensus on Development. Euforic.org is hosted by European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI). For more information contact: info@euforic.org

Summary The combination of food and financial crises trapped an estimated 50 to 90 million people in extreme poverty in 2009. How can the Millennium Development Goals for 2015 be met in the wake of the economic crisis?

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."

Freedom of Expression is a fundamental human right as stated in Article 19 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. This is especially worth recalling as we mark the 60th anniversary of that declaration. It is essential to the efforts to implement the Millennium Development Goals both for those developed democracies that must take the lead and those under regimes that refuse to fulfill the needs of their people