The Reviewed and Revised Compendium of Christian Projects

Addressing the Diseases of Poverty: HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and TB

 

 

0.7 Initiative: A Christian Response- A Call to Action

Submitted by PC(USA)

 

I.                  The Situation

 

Since the upheaval caused by the terrorist bombings of 11 September 2001, many people are facing upheaval in their lives and the faith that has grounded them.  We see a world in which the diseases of poverty (AIDS, Malaria and TB – as defined by the World Health Organization in its Massive Effort Against the Diseases of Poverty) have become rampant at a time when the technology has been developed that could greatly reduce or eradicate them altogether.  First we must look and learn, and then we must decide how we, as Christians, should act.  The 0.7 Initiative is one response.

 

Today, 1.2 billion people are living on less than US$1 a day.  Another 1.3 billion are living on less than US$2 per day.  This means that at least two fifths of the world is living in abject poverty.  In poor countries, governments cannot afford to provide their population with adequate health care, education, sanitation and many other basic necessities.   Throughout the world, 3 million children die each year of diseases that can be prevented by vaccines.  Eleven million children die, often from poverty-related diseases, before their 5th birthday.   On 5 October 2000, Dr. Gro. Harlem Brutland, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO) observed, “Poverty is the underlying obstacle to human well-being…Being poor is bad for your health.  But being ill also reduces your chances of getting out of poverty.”

 

Of the 40 million people in the world living with HIV/AIDS, 95% live in poor countries.  One fifth of the world’s population is at risk for malaria, mostly in developing countries.  Each year there are 8 million new TB cases and the poorest and most vulnerable people are at the highest risk.  TB thrives in conditions of poverty and overcrowding.  (Health, a Key to Prosperity; WHO/CDC, 2000)

 

At national level, when poverty is combined with inadequate health care, people lack knowledge and support in staying healthy or in being cared for in case of illness.  This is made worse when these same countries are losing their professionals - educators, healthcare providers and government officers - to AIDS.   The situation is exacerbated by the problem of debt.  Paying off external debt has weakened the ability of poor countries to provide health care and education for their populations.  Although some debt has been relieved, the 23 countries that have had a part of their debt forgiven by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are still repaying over US$2 billion every year.  The same 23 countries, including many in Sub-Saharan Africa, among those hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, are then only able to pay US$1.4 billion per year on health care.

 

Poverty is a vicious circle.  It puts countries at risk for debt burdens so large that they lack resources for healthcare for their own citizens.  As a consequence, their citizens are at greater risk for both illness and continued poverty.    At the same time, they do not contribute to the tax revenue or the workforce needed to develop the country and help it move ahead.

 

Foreign Aid and Development

 

Foreign aid constitutes the resources provided to individuals, communities and countries, usually through institutional channels, so that they can develop higher levels of wellbeing in economic, political, educational and health areas. Foreign aid, or Official Development Assistance (ODA) includes both direct government to government aid (bilateral aid) and aid channeled through international institutions such as the World Bank (multilateral aid). Despite the promulgation of the International Development Goals by the wealthy countries in 1996, which included a goal to halve the 1990 number of people living in absolute poverty by 2015, aid budgets in most Organization for Economic Development (OECD) countries were cut throughout the 1990s.

 

In 1970 the United Nations set the international aid target for countries in the Organization for Economic Development at a rate of 0.7% of GNP.  Since that time, 30 years ago, only the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands have consistently given above the UN target of 0.7 % of GDP. Thankfully, there are some signs that the tide may be turning as the enormity of the task becomes recognized.  Ireland and the UK for example, are both planning to significantly increase their aid budgets in the coming years.  (See table below.)

 

Many figures have been put forward as to the amount needed to adequately address the needs of developing countries today.  One estimate is that it will take US$10 billion a year, for a period of many years, to turn around the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.  What is clear is that those who are capable of giving it are not giving enough.

 

 

Aid in 2000 US$ million

Aid in 2000 as% of GNP

Denmark

1.664

1.06

Sweden

1.813

0.81

France

4.221

0.33

United Kingdom

4.458

0.31

Germany

5.034

0.27

Japan

13.062

0.27

Canada

1.722

0.25

 Italy

1.368

0.13

 United States

9.581

0.10

Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

         

The current trend of declining levels of ODA is not a matter of insignificance but greatly reduces developing countries’ ability to progress towards a healthier, more progressive society. There is a growing realization that the HIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria and TB are all not simply health problems but a challenge to global developmental progress.  The current levels of ODA are not equal to the eradicating of poverty and the fighting of diseases.  With the projected increases of these diseases, poor countries will not even be able to maintain their currently inadequate levels of development, leaving them with no hope for meeting their need to progress further in their development to be able to address the impending explosion of these diseases.  There is no strategy for successfully addressing these diseases that does not call for a quantum increase in financial resources.  Practically speaking, these resources must come from the rich nations.

 

Christian life demands good stewardship in how we use the gifts, time and talents that God has given us.   God demands stewardship from citizens of rich nations not only in how they use their own resources but also how they use their positions of influence and citizenship to influence governments, policies, corporate structures and others for the establishing of a just and compassionate world.  We must be advocates for the disenfranchised.

 

III. A Practical Denomination-based 0.7 Campaign Model

 

The 0.7 Initiative is one response.  The model presented here is based on one developed for use in one denomination.  As noted earlier, although international aid is not the only answer, and that aid is best provided out of a response to our relational connections and caring for our neighbors, the reality of our world is that aid can make a great difference.  If countries were to put their promised 0.7% of GNP into international aid, today, US$150 billion would be available annually instead of the US$50 billion presently allocated. Although not a ‘silver bullet’, this would go a long way towards providing the health, education, clean water and resources needed to empower people in poor countries to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, heal the sick and care for the widows and orphans in their communities.

 

Why should Christian denominations in the USA participate in the 0.7% Christian Initiative?

 

1.)  "There is a moral imperative for wealthy countries to provide aid to poor countries.  That imperative is even stronger now with a global HIV/AIDS crisis.  Had wealthy donor countries met the target of giving 0.7% of national wealth in overseas aid thirty years ago, the large scale of the HIV/AIDS pandemic might have been prevented".  (‘False Dawn: A Christian Aid Policy Brief’, June 2001)

 

2.) The historical links between Christian denominations in the USA and Europe with their partner churches in the developing world, and the credibility of religious institutions both positions and mandates the Church to play a major role in encouraging donor nations to honor their commitment

 

3.) The 0.7 Initiative provides an achievable and measurable opportunity for the church to make a significant difference in the health and well being of people living in the world’s poorest communities.

 

4.) The 0.7 Initiative provides an opportunity for Christians in high-income countries to critically assess individual, congregational and national response and responsibility toward a world increasingly polarized between rich and poor nations.

 

5.) The 0.7 Initiative provides an opportunity to demonstrate Christian concern and determination, as a community bonded by love for God and God's people, to improve the living conditions, particularly of the poor, and the wellbeing of all human beings.

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

Christian individuals

 

1.) Educate your congregation and neighbors about:

§        The problem of the growing gap between rich and poor nations

§        The 0.7% GNP Appeal by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank

§        The USA performance regarding international aid 

§        The Implications for Christian stewardship in the face of the growing gap between rich and poor

 

2.) Lead by example

After assessing and adjusting (if needed) your pattern of giving, challenge your Christian friends and church members to determine if they are allocating at least 0.7% of the financial resources provided to them by God, toward activities which will close the gap between rich and poor nations.

 

3.) Facilitate your Congregation and other Christians who have already reached the 0.7% target to take the next steps:

§        Educate others through personal testimony, minute for missions, literature distribution, and presentations at gatherings from small groups to large Christian conferences

§        Write to your congressperson and urge others to write their congresspersons in order to promote the US Government recommendations (below)

 

Congregations

 

1.) Set aside at least 0.7% of your income for international missions.

 

2.) Resources should be targeted at supporting Christian health care, education and social welfare projects that address both the physical and spiritual needs in poor countries.

 

3.) When allocating resources, be sure that members of the recipient community have been included in the creation and implementation of the projects to ensure that projects are appropriate for responding to the community’s needs and the community has a sense of ownership of the project.  Low-tech, low cost and local solutions must be given priority. Also, the majority of funding should go to community-based organizations.

 

4.) Direct funds toward strengthening health care and education services in poor countries, giving priority to small-scale organizations rooted in the community.

 

US Government

 

In writing to your congressional representatives, direct them to ensure that the US government:

 

1.) Directs 0.7% of the GNP for international aid.

 

2.) Adopts a combination of policies, including changing trade rules and canceling excessive debt.  

 

3.) When allocating these resources, at least 30% should be targeted at increasing human productivity by repairing and building up health care, education, nutrition, housing, clean water supply and social welfare in poor communities.

 

4.) When carrying out goal #3, priority should be given to micro-enterprise projects, i.e. small-scale organizations rooted in the community (programs that tackle the root causes of poverty as well as the common diseases).