News

In a groundbreaking experiment in alleviating global poverty, for the past six years the U.S.- based charity GiveDirectly has been providing thousands of villagers in Kenya with a "universal basic income", delivered every month, with the commitment to keep the payments coming for 12 years. The charity has expanded the program and is currently running basic income programs in some of the poorest parts of Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Liberia. Every eligible adult in a target region receives a monthly cash transfer specifically sized to lift them above the local extreme poverty line, usually between $30 and $60. This money is not a loan, but cash with no strings attached. Giving money so that people can choose how to use it recognizes that, within a community, every person has different needs. It enables families to buy what they need and have a consistent source of income, allowing them to invest in themselves and their children.  To hear directly from those benefiting from the program, watch this 3-minute video and learn how seven families in a village in Malawi spend their basic income transfers.  

A team of independent researchers has been studying the impacts of the Kenya project.  This past week they released their preliminary results.  Click here to learn more about the project, considered the world's largest and longest study on Universal Basic Income, and click here to read a summary of the early findings.

“This is a hard-fought historic agreement. It shows recognition that loss and damage is not a distant risk but part of the lived reality of almost half the world’s populations and that money is needed to reconstruct and rehabilitate if we are not to let the climate crisis reverse decades of development in moments.”  -- Avinash Persaud, Special Envoy to Prime Minister of Barbados

At the opening plenary of COP28, a Loss and Damage Fund to help the world’s poorest and most vulnerable nations pay for the irreversible impacts of climate change was adopted, with founding pledges from the UAE, Germany, UK, Japan and the USA.  Click here to find out more.

In a statement issued to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, called for leaders everywhere to take firm, concrete action to put all the human rights of girls and women – especially their right to twelve years of safe, quality education – at the forefront of the international agenda.

“It is time to be loud and clear that no woman or girl can be subjected to any violation of their dignity, rights, freedoms and their person.”

Read Ms. Sherif’s statement here.

November 25^th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the start of the United Nations UNiTE Campaign: 16 Day of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence.  Over the next two weeks, across the country, many GRANs are participating in actions to raise awareness in their communities.

In south-eastern Ontario, GRANquinte is raising awareness and encouraging people to donate to organizations supporting those affected by gender-based violence.  Click here to read more about GRANquinte's efforts and here for UN Women's call to action.

According to UNICEF, despite global progress, at the current rate it will take another 300 years to end child marriage around the globe. Three of the world’s most influential women, Michelle Obama, Melinda French Gates, and Amal Clooney, have now joined forces to combat this human rights issue with greater urgency. They have announced a collaboration between their foundations with the intention to end child marriage. "It is an issue that can be solved tomorrow. If all the world leaders got together and made it a priority, it wouldn’t take 300 years. It could happen in less than a generation.” – Michele Obama

Read more about this collaboration here.

Canada has pledged $35.5 Million over the next three years to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to help fund a new program called Nature Positive Food Systems for Climate Change Adaptation in East Africa. The multi-year program will help those living in rural areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zimbabwe use nature-based solutions to adapt to climate change and improve food security. 

You can read more about the recent funding announcement here. 

And click here for a 6-minute CBC radio interview with Michael Salomons, the Nature+ Program manager for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Climate Action Network International has issued a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.

"Climate Action Network joins those who are rallying across the world in solidarity with Palestinian, Israeli, and all families who have lost loved ones in this latest conflict. We stand with those who grieve and fear for their loved ones, and join the call for peace and safety, where the rights of all are respected without distinction. ... We join the calls for an immediate ceasefire, respect for international humanitarian and human rights law,  the provision of humanitarian access and support...."

You can read the full statement here. 

Update -- October 31, 2023 -- Climate Action Network Canada (CAN-Rac) has added their voice.  You can read the Canadian statment here.

GRAN is a member of both these organizations.  We support the call for a ceasefire, the protection of human rights, and respect for international humanitarian law.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often with its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners. The organization also seeks to prevent hardship by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and championing universal humanitarian principles.  To understand what International Humanitarian Law has to say about food security, starvation, and the prevention of hunger and famine in situations of armed conflict, read this article prepared by the ICRC.

World Food Day takes place each year on October 16^th. This annual event is about raising worldwide awareness of hunger, and promoting action for the future of food, people, and the planet.

This year, World Food Day shines a spotlight on water as the foundation for life and food. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of managing water wisely, as the availability of this precious resource is threatened by rapid population growth, urbanization, economic development, and climate change.

Today, 2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries. Many are smallholder farmers who already struggle to meet their daily needs, particularly women, Indigenous Peoples, migrants, and refugees. World Food Day 2023 looks at solutions to produce more food with less water, while ensuring that water is distributed equally, our aquatic food systems are protected, and nobody is left behind.

We all have a role to play. Governments, the private sector, academia, farmers, civil society, and individuals need to work together for a food and water secure world.

Click here for a 1-minute video from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, celebrating World Food Day 2023 -- and here for eight actions you can take to save water.

"Ageing is a triumph of development. People are living longer because of better health care, nutrition, sanitation, education and economic well-being. Although an ageing world poses social and economic challenges, the right set of policies can equip individuals, families and societies to address these challenges and to reap the benefits. ... Older people are an asset, for their skills, talents, experiences, perspectives and resilience."  -- United Nations Population Fund

Seventy-five years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first document articulating the fundamental human rights that are meant to be universally protected. This year, International Day of Older Persons highlights the importance of protecting these rights for older persons, as well as sharing and learning from intergenerational models for the protection of global human rights.

Click here to read the UN Secretary General’s message for International Day of Older Persons 2023.