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Tbilsi, Georgia, 8 August 2008 — As fierce fighting continues today in Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region, international aid agency World Vision is calling for the international community to help broker an immediate ceasefire. For further information, refer to the World Vision website for the Middle East & Eastern Europe.
The 2008 G8 Summit in Japan is now over. World Vision called on the G8 governments to greatly increase and improve their overseas development assistance, especially to tackle the massive health and AIDS crises. In support of these calls we presented leaders with a petition signed by over 34,000 people around the world. Unfortunately, the G8 has once again failed to show the kind of courageous leadership needed to save the lives and futures of millions of children world-wide, says World Vision in a press release issued at the close of the Summit. While the G8 did reiterate its 2005 commitments on ODA and HIV/AIDS, exactly how it will deliver these pledges remains a mystery.
Meanwhile in Geneva, World Vision has supported the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR in the publishing of a 'user-friendly' version of the UNHCR Conclusion on Children At Risk, to make it easier for operational agencies to implement the Conclusion and ensure the protection of children in humanitarian emergency situations.
Other World Vision advocacy plans for 2008 include researching the impact of violence on girls' education in emergency settings, researching the impact of the food crisis on children, contributing to the inter-agency campaign on Safe Learning Environments, and collaborative research into the effectiveness of child participation approaches and mechanisms in Africa.
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| Current Campaign
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| A matter of life or death:
How 18 million children are relying on the G8 to keep its promises
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There is a global epidemic that every year leaves millions dead, reaching across the borders of developing countries regardless of culture, language or sex. Despite efforts by the international community to stop it, the annual death count is so high that you can only make sense of the numbers by comparing them to country population figures. This international killer is poor health. In 2006, it claimed the lives of 9.7 million children under the age of five. The vast majority of these children died from preventable and treatable causes. Of the girls and boys who have survived this modern-day epidemic, 15 million to date have felt its effects through the loss of one or both parents to AIDS.
[A matter of life or death contains World Vision’s calls to the G8 leaders and ministers of finance and development to acknowledge this urgent epidemic. They are calls for the leaders of wealthy countries to hold themselves accountable for their commitments, and to be strategic with the commitments they have made. Read more...
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 | World Vision's calls to the G8 leaders |
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| Featured Item | |
| Latest edition of GLOBAL FUTURE
Neglected emergencies: forgotten but not gone | |
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When does an emergency slip into the realm of neglect? In this unfortunate decline, who is most affected? Can the humanitarian community really cope with all these emergencies, be they of human or natural origin, that seem to come at a fast and furious pace?
The humanitarian imperative demands that no-one be left neglected in an emergency, and it is incumbent on the humanitarian community, as well as on states, to do everything possible to rescue and restore every victim.
At least that’s the notion; the reality is quite different.
This edition of Global Future seeks to bring this very important issue back into the limelight.
It addresses the questions on when, why, how, and by whom emergencies are neglected. The reader may not find definitive solutions, but these questions will once more provoke thinking on the subject as it speaks to different audiences within the global community.
We hope that this edition presents a strong case for duty bearers and stakeholders alike to prevent emergencies from declining into the realms of the forgotten.
Contributors to this edition include: Dr Ben Wisner, Ms Emina Tudakovic & Mr Ron Pouwels, Mrs Sadako Ogata, Mr Ian Smillie& Dr Susan Moeller Read more...
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 | GLOBAL FUTURE - No 2 2008 |
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| The 2008 World Vision Award for Innovation in Advocacy
seeking champions in innovation and excellence in advocacy | |
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This award recognises diligent champions for social justice within the World Vision Partnership - those undertaking initiatives at community and local level, whose excellent work achieves practical change through advocacy. Patricio Cuevas of World Vision Lebanon is the winner of the 2008 award, recognising his work in the Anti-Corporal Punishment Project. "Patricio's determination put World Vision at the forefront of drafting a new law on violence against children," said John Githongo, Vice President for Policy and Advocacy. The project also research on corporal punishment at schools and training of teachers and educational staff. World Vision Lebanon has received a monetary award to scale up or replicate this winning advocacy project. The runner-up awards went to Jyothi Todd, the leader of Nai Kiran Children's Club in South Delhi, India, and to Paula Saez of World Vision Chile for her 'Yo Opino' project promoting children's participation.
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 | 2008 Advocacy Award promotional poster |
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| Disaster risk reduction
World Vision advocacy position paper | |
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The prevalence and impact of natural and man-made disasters is increasing, as are urbanisation, population growth and climate change. It is the poorest and most vulnerable who bear the brunt of disasters. The economic cost of reducing risk is far less than the cost of dealing with the aftermath of disasters, and risk reduction measures taken often have development benefits in their own right. Yet only 4% of current annual humanitarian assistance goes to risk reduction.
World Vision calls on the international community to:
- promote and ensure strong mechanisms to hold states accountable for implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action and DRR measures;
- ensure civil society involvement both as participants in DRR policy dialogue and advocates for DRR, through increased investment to capacity building;
- promote DRR as a critical measure for the protection of the vulnerable; and
- ensure that DRR takes into full account climatic changes and their impact on the poor.
Click here to read the briefing...
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 | World Vision position paper on disaster risk reduction |
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