The euro crisis makes itself felt in development assistance

The euro crisis makes itself felt in development assistance
Landgrabbing and pension funds hit, especially in Africa
The generosity of the super-rich in the ARD
First The euro crisis makes itself felt in development assistance

An article by Markus Schönherr reported in the daily newspaper New Germany today, that many EU countries, according to shorten ONEs DATA report their spending on development cooperation in crisis due to the €. Some financially unstable countries such as Spain and Greece reduced its 2011 development budget accordingly by 30-40 percent. Other crisis-weakened countries, e.g. Ireland, were ahead of Germany but in spite of their difficult situation in its development commitments. The EU15 had promised in 2005, 0.7 percent of economic output in 2015 to invest in development aid. Germany is far behind with 0.39 percent. Therefore see ONE of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which can be reached by 2015 at risk. On the question of how difficult it was amid the crisis, more assistance to developing countries can afford to, commented Tobias Kahler, Germany chief of ONE. "Our solidarity with the individual states of the euro crisis, Germany's promise is where the poorest people in the world in proportion," How beautiful gentleman writes, Germany had for Greece within a few days about twenty times higher than the amount mobilized for Africa in ten years.

Second Landgrabbing and pension funds hit, especially in Africa

An article by Tobias Schwab in the Frankfurter Rundschau reported yesterday by the phenomenon, Landgrabbings' which applies in particular to Africa. When, Agriculture Investment Summit 'in London last week, would advise hedge fund managers, board members of pension funds and the food industry over the apparently profitable business. The land-matrix - a project of several research institutes - documents the sale and leasing of agricultural land by foreign investors. Especially many deals seen the project in Ethiopia, Sudan, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and the DRC where the population suffers from hunger themselves sometimes. Above all, pension funds would be denounced by NGOs. These funds manage money for the company pensions of millions of employees and are, according to the Spanish development organization, Grain 'is now on an investment of up to $ 15 billion worldwide. Through these operations were often small farmers forced off their land. Even this would not invest in the soil contribute most to the local food and there is little evidence that they create jobs, so land-matrix.

Third The generosity of the super-rich in the ARD

Many newspapers, like the daily mirror, focus online or the online world report today about the documentary "The conscience of the super-rich" by Gisela Baur and Ralph Gladitz and the campaign "The Giving Pledge". Under this action, would have the Milliadäre Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, the 400 richest people in the United States called on to donate half of their assets. As the Tagesspiegel reported already 70 you would have donated a total of $ 200 billion. About this "billion promise" Baur and Gladitz have made a film, which will now be seen in the ARD. The film shows, among other things, that the private donations and the willingness to speak publicly about it, is an American phenomenon, the world online. Buffet had called up European millionaires to help ensure that disappear poverty, hunger, infant mortality and education crisis. The European super-rich did not, however, relieve the State of its work and supported rather specific individual projects.

Keywords: Africa, Ethiopia, DR Congo, development cooperation, the EU, agriculture, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mozambique, Zambia, Sudan, Tanzania, What we read