Action
card briefing – April 2006
“The Commission for
Africa finds the condition of the lives of the majority of Africans to
be intolerable and an affront to the dignity of all mankind. We insist
upon an alteration of these conditions through a change of policy in
favour of the weak. On the edge of this new century, in the age of
unprecedented wealth and economic progress by all continents, it is
unacceptable that Africa drifts further from the rest of the world,
unseen in its misery and ignored in its pain.”
(Commission for Africa
Report 2005)
Next time you are with a
group of family or friends, count round them and look closely at every
fifth face and then think that if you had lived in Malawi, the
statistics show that that person would not be present at your gathering.
Approximately one in five children do not reach their fifth birthday.
Next time you welcome a new
baby into your family and know the joy that new life brings remember
that often in Malawi that joy is tinged with sadness when a mother dies
in childbirth.
Next time you share a meal
and reach that feeling of not being able to eat another mouthful,
remember that 20% of Malawi’s population live with extreme hunger day by
day, not knowing when they will put food into their mouths again.
Yet in much of the country
there are strong and active Primary Healthcare programmes which
facilitate maternal and child health, family planning, water and
sanitation projects, rural housing, food security projects, women’s
savings and credit schemes, HIV/AIDS and malaria control programmes and
more. There are scores of dedicated and hardworking people, both trained
and volunteers managing projects. Malawians working to help their fellow
Malawians have a better standard of living. What can we do to help?
Thirty-five years ago, the
UK Government made a commitment to raise official international
development aid to 0.7% of gross national income. While many of the
other countries which shared this commitment have met, and, in some
cases, exceeded it, UK official aid still falls short of this target.
Tom Clarke MP has, with
cross-party support, proposed a Bill which would require our Government
to report annually to Parliament on progress towards honouring this
(recently reaffirmed) commitment. This Bill would also ensure
accountability on where our aid is going and how effectively it is being
used. As a Private Member's Bill, this proposal is at a crucial stage
and Parliamentary procedure could mean that even a tiny minority of
opposition could frustrate the Bill unless enough MPs show their
support. The 0.7% target is one which our churches have long supported.
We urge you to write to your MP
seeking their support for the Bill.
Please send this postcard
with words of encouragement and support to:
Tom Clarke, MP.
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
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