Financial collapse stymies progress for Millennium Development Goal

The global financial crisis is still being felt not just in the West, but also in developing countries. As the worldwide economy makes tentative steps towards stability, progress in poorer countries is slower due to drops in funding for trade and development: fewer jobs available and lower wages for those who do remain employed.

Despite this, the World Bank has recently claimed that plans are still on track to meet the criteria of the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of eradicating poverty and hunger. This will certainly get a boost from the US Treasury, who has pledged $224 million in grants for five countries to increase food security - Bangladesh, Haiti, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Although achieving the MDG is good news, it has come at a price: MDGs tackling child and maternal health, gender equality, access to clean water and disease control are likely to suffer. Financial demands on the international community following the credit crunch have meant that aid commitments have been cut, as well as investment in development, resulting in domestic borrowing to finance spending.

In reaction to the news, Oxfam claimed that governments "are cutting spending prematurely to avoid a new debt crisis. The biggest impact of the crisis for the world's poorest people is yet to come." Shockingly, it is estimated that 53 million more people will be living in extreme poverty in 2015 as a direct result of the global economic and financial collapse.

Nathalie Applewhite, Managing Director of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting will be moderating a workshop entitled MDG 1: How to Address Extreme Poverty & Hunger on Thursday July 22 at the Aid and International Development Forum (AIDF) at the Walter E. Washington Center in Washington D.C.

David Smith from the UNDP-UNEP Poverty and Environment Initiative Africa programme will examine how environmental sustainability can help reduce poverty and hunger. Too often the contribution that environmentally sustainable natural resource use can make to poverty reduction and food security is not adequately reflected in government and donor programmes and budget allocations.

Now in its fifth year, this event is a valuable opportunity for the aid, relief and development sector to network, build partnerships and address global humanitarian and development challenges, as well as showcasing goods and services to those who are responsible for delivery.

Registration is free to non-commercial organizations. More information, including the workshop agenda, speaker and exhibitor lists and registration details can be found at www.aidforumonline.org

Aid & International Development Forum 2010 partners include InterAction, IPOA, World Bank Publications and RedR UK.

Facts & Figures

There will be over 1600 visitors and in the region of 120 exhibitors, 100 of which will be businesses, 20 of which will be NGOs, UN and Government stands
For lists of speakers, exhibitors and the workshop agenda, please use the following links:
Speakers: http://www.aidforumonline.org/event_guide/speakers/category/event_2010/
Workshop Agenda: http://www.aidforumonline.org/event_guide/workshops/
Exhibitors: http://www.aidforumonline.org/event_guide/exhibitors/category/event_2010/

The Aid & International Development Forum (previously International Aid & Trade) has been the world's leading forum for humanitarian relief professionals to cement relationships, build partnerships, gain understanding and share experiences. Having been acquired by Henley Media Group in 2005, International Aid & Trade ran in Geneva in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In 2009 the event moved to Washington D.C., in partnership with InterAction, the largest coalition of U.S.-based international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

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This release was published on openPR.