As we head towards September and the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals, our ask to world leaders is clear
A decade on from the Make Poverty History campaign, Save the Children's Brendan Cox warms that there is much more to be done if we truly believe in ending poverty in a generation
In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been looking back on ten years since Make Poverty History. In 2005, hundreds of thousands of campaigners in the UK, politicians and the stars of screen and music came together to call for an end to extreme poverty.
Its achievements were historic and life-saving. Within four years, 5.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS had access to vital drugs, up from 300,000 in 2002 and by 2011, the number of children in education had doubled and then some.
Make Poverty History proved that when politicians, the public and household names come together to fight for those issues that matter the most, we can make changes which reverberate around the world.
2015 is another crucial year. While we’ve made such a leap forward globally, halving extreme poverty rates, cutting preventable child deaths by nearly 50 per cent and making real progress in protecting the ozone layer, there is still a long way to go to achieve a safe and fair future for all.
Three major summits this year will set the landscape for the future of people and planet - the Financing for Development conference, held in Addis Ababa this week; the Special UN Summit to set out new global development goals in New York in September and finally, the UN Climate Change Summit in Paris in December.
Each is crucial, if we truly believe in ending poverty in a generation.
People around the world have come together to as part of action/2015, a coalition of over 1600 organisations, including Save the Children, to fight for a better future for people and planet. From grassroots environmental projects to international anti-poverty organisations, we each bring something unique to the table. Together we are calling for action to ensure these three summits deliver meaningful global commitments to tackle the issues of poverty, inequality and climate change and the resources to make change happen.
The campaign’s voice is loud and truly global. At the time of writing, 26 million people around the world have been involved.
In the UK, campaigners have been meeting the Prime Minister, Ministers and MPs. On a global day of action on 11th July to call on world leaders to deliver the finance we need for development, thousands of people from Nigeria to India to Colombia, took to the streets.
And they’re not alone. Social media was rocked when the global super-band One Direction launched the spin-off action/1D campaign last week, already supported by two million people, not least Hillary Clinton.
As we head towards September and the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals, our ask to world leaders is clear: deliver ambitious global goals on development and set out a clear plan for how each country is going to meet them.
You have the power to ensure we end extreme poverty in a generation and protect the planet for centuries to come. We are all behind you.