International Aid

the Web Editors 9-20-2017

Rescuers and people work at a collapsed building after an earthquake hit Mexico City. REUTERS/Henry Romero

“We pray for all those impacted by the devastating earthquake in Mexico. And we pray for those working tirelessly on rescue and recovery efforts. May God grant them strength and courage in the days and weeks ahead.”

HIV / AIDS icon illustration, Cienpies Design / Shutterstock.com

HIV / AIDS icon illustration, Cienpies Design / Shutterstock.com

I wonder what would happen if the daily barrage of negative, misleading political campaign ads were replaced just for a day by a one-minute clip from the opening ceremony of the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., last week.  

This replacement ad would feature a beautiful, regal woman from Nigeria sharing a heartfelt and poignant ‘thank you’ to the American people for literally saving her life by providing access to antiretroviral drugs — medicine that creates a modern-day “Lazarus effect” in people whose immune systems have been ravaged by AIDS — and also ensures that her daughter was born HIV-free. I wish every member of Congress could have heard these words, a ‘thank you’ that echoes what many nations in sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing as they work to turn the tide of this deadly disease.  

This one mother and child from Nigeria are only a snapshot of the millions of lives that have been transformed by American generosity and leadership through life-saving investments in the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria — which have increased the number of Africans on treatment from a shameful 50,000 in 2002 to more than 4 million today. 

Adam Russell Taylor 11-09-2011
Children in the Kenyan village of Asembo Bay are the 99 percent!

Children in the Kenyan village of Asembo Bay are the 99 percent!

Right now, in cities around the world, there is a growing protest movement putting the issue of economic inequality squarely on the public agenda. Regardless how you feel about this movement, I believe there is another "99 percent" we need the G20 – and urgently Congressional leaders – to remember and prioritize.

Nearly 8 million children under the age of five die every year due to preventable malnutrition and disease. But they are not dying in the United States, Germany or here in France.  

According to research by World Vision’s Child Health Now campaign, 99 percent of those entirely preventable deaths take place in developing countries. The 99 percent of the children that die under the age of 5 are too often invisible and don't have a voice at major global summits such as the G20 or in the corridors of Congress. These children constitute the real and too often forgotten 99 percent.

David Cortright 11-03-2011

Afghanistan Girl
During interviews with more than a dozen Afghan women leaders, researchers, international aid workers and former Afghan government officials, we learned of persistent dangers and threats to the country's future.

Afghan women face continuing repression. They are witnessing the erosion of previous gains as Taliban control spreads in the countryside and reactionary warlord influence increases within the Kabul regime. The government's own security forces are often responsible for violations of women's rights. Check back in a few days for a more detailed account of what we learned.
The withdrawal of foreign forces will produce an economic crisis for the government of Afghanistan, which remains almost completely dependent financially on the U.S. and other foreign governments, especially to pay for its huge 300,000-person security forces. I wrote about this funding failure in an earlier post.
A new security agreement between Kabul and Washington is likely to call for the continued presence of U.S. military forces in the country beyond the 2014 transition deadline. This is seen as necessary to provide security for Kabul, but it could also have the effect of prolonging the insurgency and impeding prospects for reconciliation.

It was clear from what we heard that maintaining security requires more than deploying a large number of troops.

Jack Palmer 10-21-2011

400px-Oxfam_East_Africa_-_Women_and_children_waiting_to_enter_Dadaab_camp
As Christians are we not obligated to help those who area most in need? Should we only focus on those in our own country who need our help, or does God's command us to ignore borders?

How might the words of the biblical prophet Isaiah resonate with us today, when he says: "If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."

Thanks to Sojourners supporters and our partners, there is a full page ad in Politico today asking Congress, "What Would Jesus

Jim Wallis 2-17-2011

Congress is working on the federal budget for the rest of the fiscal year 2011.

Chris LaTondresse 2-16-2011
President Obama released his budget proposal Monday, officially staking his position in what
Jim Wallis 2-10-2011

House Republicans announced a plan yesterday to cut $43 billion in domestic spend

Jim Wallis 4-14-2009
In an op-ed piece in Monday's Wall Street Journal, on
Leonard Rodgers 1-09-2009
As I write this, I am en-route to Egypt on a commercial aircraft with 1/4 ton of priceless kits containing basic medical equipment but no drugs or over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.
Eugene Cho 6-09-2008

Don't forget the situation in Burma.

Teresa and her husband, Rich, have been at my church for about four years now. Like several of our members, their faith in Christ and desire to live out the gospel not only humbles me but helps shape the depth and direction of our church. Teresa started a blog titled