Stand Up and Take Action against poverty
17 October 2008
This weekend will see millions of people from around the world Stand Up and
Take Action against a global problem. Over 2,000 events will unite citizens from
all corners of the planet behind one aim: halving extreme poverty by 2015.
Last year, the Stand Up campaign saw more than 40 million people express their commitment to ending poverty. This year, the campaign is going one step further by asking people to take action within their own communities in support of the world's poor.
By raising awareness of the challenges faced by poor countries - daily challenges like having access to food and clean water, and education and healthcare - those taking part will send a message to their leaders that more needs to be done now to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Time for action
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has welcomed the campaign, speaking of the urgent need for progress to meet the poverty reduction targets set out in the MDGs:
"Stand Up Take Action is absolutely right that we must act now. We know that the global collective effort on the MDGs is yielding results, even in some of the world’s most challenging regions. But we also know that there is still a vast amount of effort needed if we are to get back on track to meeting the MDGs, particularly in the face of new challenges such as the global economic slowdown, food security and climate change. It is imperative that we do more and that we do it better.
"The UK is leading by example. At the Gleneagles Summit in 2005, the G8 committed to work with other donors to increase aid by $50 billion, to $130 billion by 2010. And by 2013, the UK government will reach our target of spending 0.7% of national income on aid. We have clearly laid out our plans to reach this goal and we are encouraging our partners to do likewise."
The Stand Up Take Campaign comes just a few weeks after world leaders met at the United Nations in New York to accelerate the pace in the fight against extreme poverty. Some $16 billion, including major commitments on education and malaria, was pledged at the summit - read more here.
To find out more about this weekend's events, visit the
Stand
Up and Take Action website.
