Why is it always the poorest people who are hardest-hit when things go wrong in the world? That was the question that hit me day after day, back in January, as I toured devastated areas of southern India in the wake of the tsunami.
Despite the resilience of the people and the truly amazing efforts of aid workers from World Vision and many other organisations; despite the speed and generosity of the response by people the world over; despite moves by governments of the rich nations to freeze debt payments from tsunami-hit countries - despite all these very positive steps, it's not enough. The vulnerability of the people living in absolute poverty will not be fully eliminated until the world takes firm, positive, long-term action that involves so much more than money.
A tall order? An impossible task? I don't think so. Nor do the 200 or so organisations, including World Vision, which have joined together under the banner to make poverty history, to fight for a better deal for the world's poor.
At the heart of Make Poverty History is the knowledge that a tsunami happens every week around the world. Every single day, 30,000 children die needlessly in the world's poorest countries - that's over 200,000 each week. Millions perish from starvation; thousands succumb every day to malnutrition and diseases that are at best preventable and at the very least treatable; millions of people are uprooted from their homes because of civil conflict or natural disasters.
Why is it always the poorest people who are hardest-hit when things go wrong in the world?
But something can be done - and something must be done. And it doesn't seem so impossible, when you consider that the three richest people in the world control more wealth than 600 million people who live in the world's poorest countries. The world can afford to end this poverty - and this year, public opinion is rising up like never before to demand that it does.
Money's not the real story here. It's more about a greater understanding of the complex reasons behind the poverty crisis. It's about justice as well as cash. And it's about a willingness to let poor countries have more of a say in how they get themselves out of poverty.
The Commission for Africa, an initiative of the Prime Minister which is part of his agenda-setting for the G8 summit in July, is due to report any day now. As part of its original remit, the Commission said it would 'listen to Africa'. World Vision is urging decision makers not only to listen, but to trust Africa with its own development, allowing the nations who know best what they need to deduce the best solutions for overcoming poverty within their own countries.
The word 'partnership' has eluded many previous discussions amongst rich governments and world leaders during their attempts to deal with poverty. But it is only through equal partnerships between developing countries and donor nations that real headway can be made.
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