WORLD’S BIGGEST ANTI-POVERTY ALLIANCE SAYS ACCRA FORUM AN OPPORTUNITY

August 20th, 2008: Members of the world’s largest anti-poverty alliance, the Global Call to Action against Poverty ( GCAP ), are calling on those attending the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Ghana next month (2-4 September, 2008) to ensure international aid reaches those most in need. The Forum also marks the beginning of 50 days of action during which millions of people in over 120 countries will mobilize against poverty and inequality, culminating in the annual Stand Up action from October 17-19, 2008 . In 2007 43.7 million people Stood Up to create a new world record in one day. This year, given the escalating food price crisis, the need for mass solidarity is greater than ever.

GCAP is calling on the 1200 delegates, donors and leaders attending the Accra Forum, to advance on their commitments in the Paris Declaration and provide overseas aid transparently, free from harmful conditionalities and in a manner that allows citizens to hold donors and recipients to account.

 “Let’s move the aid agenda forward so it delivers to the poorest people, mostly women, who carry the burden of food production, family care and education. Not one dollar in aid should fail to reach where it is most needed. We want to be part of the process from the outset, not left outside the institutions in whose hands our fate currently lies,” said Adelaide Sosseh, GCAP Co-Chair from The Gambia.

Where quality aid has reached those most in need, societies have experienced a huge positive impact. This, say campaigners, should become the norm.

“Here in Ghana we know what it means when aid is spent effectively. We can meet our Millennium Goal targets if the pace is vastly improved and the current restrictions around aid are lifted once and for all,” said Rev. Albert B. Kwabi, GCAP Ghana and Christian Council of Ghana .

 “Concrete action is urgently needed. We have no time to lose with just three weeks before the High Level Meeting on the MDGs in New York (Sept 25th). We want to see specific and time-bound commitments to make aid more predictable, transparent and poverty-focused. If Accra is just more warm words, it will be a failure for the world's poor,” said Kumi Naidoo, GCAP Co-Chair.

For further information visit www.whiteband.org or to book an interview:

Begay Downes-Thomas, in West Africa Cel:+ 220 70 77 118 begay.downesthomas@gmail.com or

Ciara O’Sullivan, GCAP Media Coordinator, Cel + 34 679594809 ciara.osullivan@civicus.org

GCAP voices in Accra at High Level Forum and at Civil Society Forum

Adelaide Sosseh, GCAP Co-Chair, Gambia , biog below

Kumi Naidoo, GCAP Co-Chair, South Africa , biog below

Christophe Zoungrana, GCAP Africa Coordinator, Senegal / Burkina Faso

Seth Abloso – GCAP Ghana / Africa Facilitation Group and Global Council

Reverend. Kwabi- GCAP Ghana

Prince Kreplah, GCAP Liberia

Anil Singh, GCAP South Asia , India

Arnel Raymundo ODA Watch , Philippines

Alice Raymundo, Asia Pacific Network on Food Security, Philippines

Abdul Awal, GCAP Bangladesh ( TBC )

Hyekyung Kim, GCPA Korea

Allam Jarrar , GCAP Palestine

Neimat Kukuk GCAP Sudan

Ziad Abdel Samad, GCAP Arab region, Lebanon

Buchra Bel Hajj Hmida, GCAP Tunisia

Kinda Mohamadieh, GCAP Arab Region , Lebanon

EVENTS in ACCRA

August 30th - Accra Women's Forum

Hosted by Network for Women's Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) and co-convened by: WIDE , DAWN, FEMNET, IGTN and AWID, with the co-sponsorship of African Women's Development Fund (AWDF), UNIFEM and Action Aid International amongst others. Members of GCAP ’s Feminist taskforce are among those participating.

Aug 31st- Sept 1st - The Civil Society Forum www.betteraid.org

Organised by the Better Aid Alliance . GCAP members will participate.

Sept 2-4th  - The Accra High Level Forum http://www.accrahlf.net

Organised by the OECD.  Some GCAP members are participating.

BIOGRAPHIES
Adelaide Sosseh is Director of Worldview, and a representative of the Education for All Campaign Network in The Gambia. She was elected Co-chair of GCAP in June 2008. Having represented her country and Africa in the GCAP alliance for several years, Sosseh is a well–known figure for her work on justice and education. In 2007 she was awarded the “Child-friendly Personality of the Year by young people in The Gambia and in 2005 she was recognised for her outstanding contribution to education by the Gambia teachers Union . Her areas of specialisation are education and gender and she is a founder member of a pro-poor advocacy group PROPAG in 2003.  

Dr. Kumi Naidoo is one of the founders of GCAP and now a Co-Chair. Since 2005 the alliance has grown into a coalition of anti-poverty campaigners from over 100 countries engaging the public to maintain pressure on leaders to fulfil their promises on aid, trade, debt, climate change and gender equality.  Born in South Africa , Kumi Naidoo became involved in the South African liberation struggle at the age of 15. He was deeply involved in neighbourhood organization, youth work in his community, the underground movement, and mass mobilizations against South Africa 's apartheid regime. Kumi holds a D.Phil in Politics from Magdalen College , Oxford and has published and spoken widely on issues relating to civil society, education and resistance to apartheid. Kumi holds board and advisory positions with renowned institutes such as the Clinton Global Initiative, Amnesty International, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

The Global Call to Action against Poverty ( GCAP ) is the world’s largest civil society alliance of social movements, International NGOs, trade unions, community groups, women’s organizations, faith and youth groups, local associations and campaigners working together across more than 100 national coalitions/platforms. GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. In particular, GCAP demands solutions that address the issues of; public accountability, just governance and the fulfillment of human rights; trade justice; more and better aid; debt cancellation and gender equality and women’s rights. 

For more information on GCAP, see www.whiteband.org

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