Poverty was the buzzword Wednesday night during a panel discussion about American assistance to the world’s poor.
A crowd of about 130 students, faculty and Evanston residents overflowed part of the Louis Room in the Norris University Center for an event sponsored by Globe, Americans for Informed Democracy and Amnesty International.
The phrases “What can we do?,” and “No excuses” were splashed across flyers, rubber band bracelets and posters that covered the table leading into the event.
The presentation emphasized the role that citizens and governments play in finding an end to poverty. Each of the night’s three speakers addressed a different aspect in tackling the problem.
“The issue is not a lack of resources or a lack of political know-how – it’s a lack of political will,” said Carol Welch, the U.S. coordinator of the United Nations Millennium Campaign.
Strategies are based on aid, debt and trade.
Welch said the United States ranks the second lowest among countries that are able to distribute developmental assistance. Italy ranks the lowest. The ranking is based on the amount of aid a nation gives in proportion to its national income.
The international goal is for able countries to donate 0.7 percent of their income, Welch said. The U.S. currently gives 0.16 percent.
“People think we’re spending 10 to 15 percent of the budget (on developmental assistance),” Welch said. “It’s amazing the disconnect between what we think we’re doing and what we’re actually doing.”
Prof. Richard Joseph, director of the Program of African Studies, also said the distribution needs to be done strategically so countries can begin to develop independent stability.
Students can help reduce global poverty by joining organizations and starting conversations about the problems faced by poor countries, said Susanne Cooper, CARE Central Region Field Coordinator and ONE Campaign Represenative.
“Our moral obligation as NU students is to educate ourselves about (poverty),” said Bea Moraras, Weinberg senior and co-chair of Globe.
Drawing momentum from former Senator John Edwards’ Sunday speech on domestic poverty, Moraras sees the topics covered in the town hall forum as the next step.
“(Poverty) is already in peoples’ minds; we hope to take (the issue) to a global level.”
Reach Jasett Chatham at [email protected].
