Statement issued by Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, on the occasion of the launch in Canada of the "Make Poverty History" campaign, at a press conference in Ottawa, February 11th, 2005, 10:00 a.m.

The "Make Poverty History" campaign is rooted in the conviction that 2005 can be the turning point in the fight to eliminate poverty from the face of the earth. There are one billion, two hundred million people living in absolute poverty world-wide, and nearly half of them are in Africa. From my perspective, the mesh of poverty and HIV/AIDS is the deadliest combination on the planet, and there's not the slightest possibility of confronting poverty so long as AIDS runs its savage course.

KAIROS Statement on Global Day of Action Against Debt Domination

Canadian Civil Society Groups Disappointed in G-7 Failure to Bridge Differences  to Provide Debt Relief to the Poorest Countries.

Ottawa – Canadian civil society groups in the Halifax Initiative Coalition expressed disappointment with G-7 Finance Ministers for failing to show the political will to bridge differences and cancel the debts of the poorest countries, but highlight that 100% debt cancellation is now universally acknowledged to be necessary for the poorest countries.

"Even though it is a real disappointment, the momentum is building for full debt cancellation," says Derek MacCuish, Coordinator of the Social Justice Committee. "The G-7 has now recognized what civil society organizations in Canada and around the world have been saying for decades - that the debt of the poorest countries needs to be cancelled."

KAIROS Analysis of the Outcome  of the G-7 Finance Ministers’ and IMF & World Bank Annual Meetings, Oct. 1-3, 2004

This briefing provides an analysis of the outcome of the G7 Finance Ministers Meeting and the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in light of the four demands put forward by KAIROS and the Halifax Initiative.

Dear Halifax Initiative Rapid Response Network,

Please note that this coming month is a critical time for the campaign to cancel the debt of poor countries.  We are asking you to take action to help make 100% debt cancellation a possibility for the poorest countries, with no conditions attached.

What you can do? 
1) Call Prime Minister Martin, Minister Goodale and your MP and tell them you want Canada to support cancelling the debt (see note below and attached)

Calgary Herald June 15, 2002
 
Give Africa more of a say in its own future: coalition
By Allison Auld - The Canadian Press
 
Group of Seven countries must cancel soaring debts that impoverish African nations and revise aid programs to better suit the needs of people in countries that languish under heavy financial burdens, a coalition of activists said yesterday.
 

Open letter to the G7 finance ministers

When the G7 heads of government met in Halifax in June 1995, leaders made a commitment to a series of measures to reform the Bretton Woods Institutions. The G7 called for the provision of multi-lateral debt relief for the poorest countries, the promotion of environmentally sustainable development and the reduction of poverty.

Seven years later, these promises are unfulfilled. The crisis of legitimacy confronting the World Bank and the IMF at the 50th anniversary of their creation led to the G7 to take up the reform of the international financial institutions (IFIs) in Halifax. As the G7 finance ministers return to Halifax, this question of legitimacy continues to haunt the institutions.

Export credit agencies (ECAs) are public agencies that provide government backed loans and insurance to corporations.

KANANASKIS G7 SUMMIT ISSUE BRIEFS (June 2002): Extractive Industries and the Role of the World Bank
One of the most controversial areas of World Bank involvement is the financing of oil, gas and mining projects in developing nations. This brief describes World Bank involvement in these extractive industries, specifically the devastating effects of these projects on local people and the environment and the solutions put forward by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to correct these problems.

KANANASKIS G7 SUMMIT ISSUE BRIEFS (June 2002):
What’s Shutout of the G7? – The Tobin tax and Mountains of Money for Development