Calls for Continued Commitment to Fighting Global Poverty and Disease

As the global economic slowdown worsens, programs to fight poverty and disease could end up on the chopping block. But leaders from around the world are calling on governments to continue their investment in effective foreign assistance, including efforts to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS.

"As we struggle our way through the current financial maelstrom, this crisis, we need to find a way to ensure that, not only, well over three million people on antiretroviral therapy can remain alive for decades to come, but also that the millions who are not on treatment will have access and that we continue prevention efforts on HIV. Interrupting that at this time or slowing down would be not only a disaster for millions of people but also it would actually undermine the huge investments that have been made over the last few years and where the return on the investment is starting to come out only. This is not the time to slow down efforts." —Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, October 28, 2008 Click here for full transcript.
"[The] new president has to realize that the world looks to America for leadership, and so we have to show leadership on some issues that the world is expecting us to, whether it's energy, global warming and the environment. And I think we have to do a lot more with respect to poverty alleviation and helping the needy people of the world. We need to increase the amount of resources we put into our development programs to help the rest of the world. Because when you help the poorest in the world, you start to move them up an economic and social ladder, and they're not going to be moving toward violence or terrorism of the kind that we worry about." —Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.) on NBC’s Meet the Press, October 19, 2008 Click here for full transcript.
"A response to the [economic] crisis that does not take into account the needs of the world's poor—or, worse, that results in reduced levels of engagement—would be grossly unfair. We all share responsibility for the persistence of poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy on a vast scale. The sense of injustice they engender is a threat to economic and political security… The Group of Eight leading industrialised nations and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries must honour their existing commitments, particularly aid levels, to the developing world and not use the crisis as a pretext for abandoning them." —Kofi Annan, Michel Camdessus and Robert Rubin, in an op-ed for The Financial Times, October 30, 2008 Click here for full text.
"Some say a time of financial turbulence is the time to put our ambitions on hold, to cut back. This would be the worst time to turn back—every global problem we have requires global solutions involving all the continents of the world. Africa and the developing countries are not the problem, they are part of the very solutions to today's problems." —UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Speech to the UN General Assembly, September 25, 2008 Click here for full speech.
"Let us not repeat the mistakes we made following the recession of the early 1990s when many OECD governments let aid efforts decline, with the consequent impacts on developing countries in such areas as agricultural production, infrastructure, social welfare and political stability… Declining aid budgets … would exacerbate pressures that food and energy prices are already inflicting on these countries and constrain our ability to help them adapt to climate change. Action is essential to avoid a deepening poverty crisis, and we know that poor countries face heightened possibilities of conflict in times of economic and social stress." —Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD), Angel Gurría, and Eckhard Deutscher, Chair of OECD’s Development Assistance Committee Click here for full document.
"When times are hard, as they are now, every nation is focused on protecting its own interests. That is entirely legitimate, and it is to be expected. But what we cannot do—what we must not do is to allow our generosity and our concern for others to fall victim to today's crisis. Reneging on our commitments to the world's poor cannot be an austerity measure… Not when there are so many men and women for whom AIDS need not be a death sentence—and so many young orphans, who still need care and still have a chance at a better life than their parents ever had." —US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, October 21, 2008 Click here for full text.
"During times of economic crisis, some may be tempted to turn inward—focusing on our problems here at home, while ignoring our interests around the world. This would be a serious mistake. America is committed—and America must stay committed—to international development for reasons that remain true regardless of the ebb and flow of the markets." —US President George W. Bush, October 21, 2008 Click here for full speech.
"Now more than ever we must be bold. In these times of crisis, when we are tempted to look inward, it is precisely the time when we must move pursuit of the common good to the top of the agenda. Global solidarity is necessary and in the interest of all. Pursuing the common good will require addressing a set of global challenges that hold the key to our common future." —UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, October 21, 2008 Click here for full speech
"The main message I will convey is that even after 20 years we are still fighting this virus, very strongly, and the AIDS epidemic is still spreading in Africa, so the fight is not finished."—Luc Montagnier, Winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, October 6, 2008 Click here for full transcript.
"Where there is poverty and sickness, including AIDS, where human beings are being oppressed, there is more work to be done. Our work is for freedom for all. We say tonight, after nearly 90 years of life, it is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now." —Nelson Mandela, June 28, 2008 Click here for full speech.

Calls for Continued Commitment to Fighting Global Poverty and Disease

"As we struggle our way through the current financial maelstrom, this crisis, we need to find a way to ensure that, not only, well over three million people on antiretroviral therapy can remain alive for decades to come, but also that the millions who are not on treatment will have access and that we continue prevention efforts on HIV. Interrupting that at this time or slowing down would be not only a disaster for millions of people but also it would actually undermine the huge investments that have been made over the last few years and where the return on the investment is starting to come out only. This is not the time to slow down efforts." —Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, October 28, 2008 Click here for full transcript.
"[The] new president has to realize that the world looks to America for leadership, and so we have to show leadership on some issues that the world is expecting us to, whether it's energy, global warming and the environment. And I think we have to do a lot more with respect to poverty alleviation and helping the needy people of the world. We need to increase the amount of resources we put into our development programs to help the rest of the world. Because when you help the poorest in the world, you start to move them up an economic and social ladder, and they're not going to be moving toward violence or terrorism of the kind that we worry about." —Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.) on NBC’s Meet the Press, October 19, 2008 Click here for full transcript.
"A response to the [economic] crisis that does not take into account the needs of the world's poor—or, worse, that results in reduced levels of engagement—would be grossly unfair. We all share responsibility for the persistence of poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy on a vast scale. The sense of injustice they engender is a threat to economic and political security… The Group of Eight leading industrialised nations and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries must honour their existing commitments, particularly aid levels, to the developing world and not use the crisis as a pretext for abandoning them." —Kofi Annan, Michel Camdessus and Robert Rubin, in an op-ed for The Financial Times, October 30, 2008 Click here for full text.
"Some say a time of financial turbulence is the time to put our ambitions on hold, to cut back. This would be the worst time to turn back—every global problem we have requires global solutions involving all the continents of the world. Africa and the developing countries are not the problem, they are part of the very solutions to today's problems." —UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Speech to the UN General Assembly, September 25, 2008 Click here for full speech.
"Let us not repeat the mistakes we made following the recession of the early 1990s when many OECD governments let aid efforts decline, with the consequent impacts on developing countries in such areas as agricultural production, infrastructure, social welfare and political stability… Declining aid budgets … would exacerbate pressures that food and energy prices are already inflicting on these countries and constrain our ability to help them adapt to climate change. Action is essential to avoid a deepening poverty crisis, and we know that poor countries face heightened possibilities of conflict in times of economic and social stress." —Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD), Angel Gurría, and Eckhard Deutscher, Chair of OECD’s Development Assistance Committee Click here for full document.
"When times are hard, as they are now, every nation is focused on protecting its own interests. That is entirely legitimate, and it is to be expected. But what we cannot do—what we must not do is to allow our generosity and our concern for others to fall victim to today's crisis. Reneging on our commitments to the world's poor cannot be an austerity measure… Not when there are so many men and women for whom AIDS need not be a death sentence—and so many young orphans, who still need care and still have a chance at a better life than their parents ever had." —US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, October 21, 2008 Click here for full text.
"During times of economic crisis, some may be tempted to turn inward—focusing on our problems here at home, while ignoring our interests around the world. This would be a serious mistake. America is committed—and America must stay committed—to international development for reasons that remain true regardless of the ebb and flow of the markets." —US President George W. Bush, October 21, 2008 Click here for full speech.
"Now more than ever we must be bold. In these times of crisis, when we are tempted to look inward, it is precisely the time when we must move pursuit of the common good to the top of the agenda. Global solidarity is necessary and in the interest of all. Pursuing the common good will require addressing a set of global challenges that hold the key to our common future." —UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, October 21, 2008 Click here for full speech
"The main message I will convey is that even after 20 years we are still fighting this virus, very strongly, and the AIDS epidemic is still spreading in Africa, so the fight is not finished."—Luc Montagnier, Winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, October 6, 2008 Click here for full transcript.
"Where there is poverty and sickness, including AIDS, where human beings are being oppressed, there is more work to be done. Our work is for freedom for all. We say tonight, after nearly 90 years of life, it is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now." —Nelson Mandela, June 28, 2008 Click here for full speech.