Religious Heads to Meet with Condoleezza Rice on Global Poverty
After a year of focusing all efforts on the poverty issues that lay within national borders, Bread for the World and religious leaders will shift gears for the upcoming year to fight poverty overseas.
After a year of focusing all efforts on the poverty issues that lay within national borders, Bread for the World and religious leaders will shift gears for the upcoming year to fight poverty overseas.
Religious heads from different faith communities have scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday before her participation in the World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong mid-December. Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders will urge the United States to act boldly and show leadership in the matters of trade and the FY 2007 budget request.
U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair pointed to the significance of the WTO meeting and the decisions that will be made there.
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"This is an absolutely critical moment of decision for the whole WTO," he said, according to Bloomberg – a global provider of data, news, and analytics. "If we don't get a significant movement in Hong Kong, subsequently there is a danger that the whole round fails and that would be disastrous for economies developed and developing."
With main issues centered on agricultural talks, cuts in tariffs, domestic subsidies and export grants for farmers, religious heads, including Bread for the World President the Rev. David Beckmann, will push for an end to trade-distorting farm subsidies to help poor farmers in rural America and in developing countries.
President George Bush had revealed his commitment to fighting poverty when he announced the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) initiative in 2002, noted Bread for the World.
"The MCA presented much needed fresh thinking on how poverty focused development assistance aid should be spent and the president promised adequate funding of the program," said a statement released by Bread for the World – the nationwide Christian citizens movement seeking justice for the world's hungry people.
"Unfortunately, these promises have fallen short," the statement continued as it also noted the promise made at the G8 Summit to double aid to Africa.
As Blair encouraged boldness from all participating parties for the upcoming meeting, Beckmann articulated the same, referring to the FY2007 budget.
"Our message to the administration is to be bold,” he said.
"Bread for the World's 'One Spirit' campaign to increase poverty focused development assistance is to push for an increase of $5 billion. The administration needs to be doing more on Capitol Hill to fight for its promises to reduce global poverty."
The One Spirit Campaign is Bread for the World's 2006 Offering of Letters where people of faith are to write to Congress in support of hunger-fighting legislation. It serves as part of the larger effort of the ONE campaign, rallying Americans against global AIDS and global poverty.
