Why the IHF is Important, Part II
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon opens the UN’s 2008 report on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals with several cautionary notes. “The economic slowdown will diminish the incomes of the poor; the food crisis will raise the number of hungry people in the world and push millions more into poverty; climate change will have a disproportionate impact on the poor.” Secretary Ban goes on to attribute some of these threats to progress on a lack of concerted effort and attention by developed nations.
Some people say that development aid has a decreasing role to play in improving livelihoods. There is no question that development – economic and social – must be led from within communities, states and regions. But can we really expect developing nations to unwind the issues facing them in an intensely interconnected world without aligned efforts from developed countries?
Secretary Ban goes on to say that “the current troubled climate poses a risk that some advances in reducing poverty may unravel. Some gains, however, cannot be undone. A child will forever benefit from the primary education he or she might not otherwise have received. Many individuals are alive today thanks to a measles vaccination or antiretroviral therapy for AIDS. These and other examples provide ample evidence of what can and has been achieved with sound strategies backed by political will and financial and technical support.”
As we all weather this uncertain time, we can’t forget how poverty, or social and political instability increase exposure to an severe economic downturn. We also can’t forget some basic human facts. The ties that bind are between people, and then between communities.
In a time when we might want to turn inwards, and when a dollar is worth more than ever, organizations like the IHF are more important than ever. By deepening ties between communities, we are able to stretch donors’ dollars to very great lengths. And by building sustainable partnerships between communities abroad and students in the US, the IHF creates a groundwork for the ongoing support that developing communities and countries need. As Secretary Ban says, some changes can never be undone. This goes as much for a child in the developing world as for a student at a top US university.
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