wfn.org | [AACC] March Against Poverty G8

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ALL AFRICA CONFERENCE OF CHURCHES
CONFERENCE DES EGLISES DE TOUTE L AFRIQUE

The All Africa Conference of Churches

"The Spiritual Pulse of the African Continent."

Founded in 1963, The All Africa Conference of Churches is an ecumenical
fellowship representing more than 120 million Christians in 39 African
countries working to make a difference in the lives of the people of Africa
through ministries of advocacy and presence on the continental, regional,
and local levels.

www.aacc-ceta.org	Tel: 254 - 20 - 4441483, 4441338/9 · Fax: 254 - 20-
4443241, 4445835 · Email: secretariat@aacc-ceta.org

General Secretariat: Waiyaki Way, P.O. Box 14205 , 00800 Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya

MARCH AGAINST POVERTY ON JULY 1

The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) is appealing to all National
Councils of Churches and Civil Service Organisations to join in the
campaign against poverty in Africa by marching to the G8 embassies in their
respective countries to make their voices heard about the international
trade and economic policies that continue to impoverish the continent.

The march dubbed the march against poverty comes just before the G8 Summit
scheduled for July 6 in Scotland at which issues about poverty in Africa
will be discussed. The G8 Summit involves leaders of the world s richest
nations including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK and the
US. The Summit is an annual meeting that addresses a wide range of
international economic, political and social issues.

AACC s Program Executive on Social and Economic Justice, Battu Jambawai
says the march will stress the need for Africa to be able to articulate
their needs and have them reflected in international policies. She noted
that polices made at such meetings about Africa usually only benefit wealth
nations, leaving the continent at their mercy.

In preparation for the march, the AACC Social and Economic Justice Program
has disseminated booklets to be used in churches around Africa. The booklet
provides guidelines on how the church can be actively involved in the
campaign.

Included in the booklet are suggested actions the parishioners can take,
issues to pray for and selected Bible passages for reflection. These
booklets can be obtained from the AACC website or ordered from the AACC
Social and Economic Program.

Meanwhile, over 100 Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and CSOs met in
Nairobi on May 20 to discuss the progress on the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) as stipulated by the UN General Assembly in the year 2000.

Addressing the meeting, Mr. George Anyango, an official in charge of the
MDGs focal point at Kenya s Ministry of Planning and National Development,
said MDGs represent basic components of decent life and should therefore be
used by African governments to address poverty and problems of development.

Eradicating poverty and hunger is the first goal among the eight MDGs laid
out by the UN to be achieved by 2015. The other goals include achieving
universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing maternal
and child mortality, combating HIV and AIDS, ensuring environmental
sustainability and developing global partnership for development.