There are lots of ways to get involved with SCIAF's WEE BOX Campaign. You can take on the 40 Day Challenge, give up something for Lent and see what change you could make to people's lives. And you can take action and help a SCIAF charity campaign for change. Click here to take action online or fill in one of our campaign postcards.
Think the Prime Minister’s got a lot on his plate?
Genet deals with unfair trade, conflict and climate change every day
SCIAF is working tirelessly to tackle the root causes of poverty and injustice and we need your help. Fill in a campaign postcard or online e-action and we'll send it to whoever is Prime Minister after the up-coming general election, asking him to prioritise the fight against global poverty and injustice.
There is nothing inevitable about poverty. Unfair trade rules, conflict and climate change all cause and sustain it.
Click on each of the issues listed below to find out more.
Climate Change
Unpredictable rains, drought, flood and increasingly severe natural disasters are hitting the poorest and most vulnerable. Hundreds of millions of people are affected by climate-related events each year – 98% are in developing countries.
In Ethiopia last spring, seed was sown on only 50-70% of farmland as farmers waited for rains which didn’t come. The result: a devastating food crisis.
Aid
Worldwide, a billion people go hungry: one in every six. In Ethiopia, 12.5 million people were affected by drought last year and 6.2 million went hungry. The UK government has not yet met its promise to give 0.7% of our national income in overseas aid – a promise made in 1970.
Unfair trade rules
Coffee is the staple cash crop in Ethiopia. Unfair trade deals mean farmers who produce the crop do not get a fair price for their hard work, especially as global markets have pushed coffee prices to a 30 year low. Proposed trade agreements between the EU and African countries would force fragile developing economies to open up to cheap products from Europe, undermining locally produced goods and denying people the chance to work their way out of poverty.
Conflict
Conflict is a cause and an effect of poverty. Families are torn apart. Hunger spreads when it is unsafe to farm land. Vast numbers of people flee their homes. Overcrowded refugee camps foster violence, and disease spreads. Children lose out on education. War between Ethiopia and Eritrea cost the lives of 100,000 people, and millions of dollars of military spending, which could have paid for education or healthcare. Worldwide, military spending reached $1,464 billion in 2009. It would cost an estimated $173 billion a year to end global poverty.
Poverty is political. This means we can change it. Click here to take action or call 0141 354 5555 to order your campaign postcard.
What are you giving up?