Who wants to read a policy brief on investing in women for
the 302a allocations of the current budget and appropriations bill? If you do,
you should probably lobby with the Chicago Oxfam Action Corps. If you don’t, here
is the ask for our current petition:
Oxfam America launched a new petition ten days ago, asking
Congress to support poverty-focused aid, especially to invest in women
world-wide. While this premise is simple, the topic is complex and features
research to deem value in investing in women and to show efficacy of specific
programs.
Currently the FY2015 budget is going through Congress. Oxfam
is focusing on the State, Foreign Operations and Related programs funding. This
includes budget for assistance to fight poverty and placate disaster situations
internationally. We want to maintain, if not grow, the amount of budget going
towards Development Assistance and Humanitarian Assistance. Both combine
proactive treatment towards poverty and reactive assistance when disaster
strikes. As research shows, both are effective and contribute to saving lives.
Specifically Oxfam targets Congress to
- Keep full funding for Feed the Future at $1.2 billion, to invest in self-sufficiency of women and farmers everywhere
- Address climate challenges by investing $190 million for climate adaptation programs at USAID
- Build resilience while saving lives when rebuilding communities struck by disaster in requesting $2.1 billion for International Disaster Assistance
At a glance these amounts seem large for the budge. It
certainly deals with more than the average salary of a citizen. However, all
this funding pertains to less than 1% of the budget! We live in a world of
billions of people and we won’t meet most. But when we share a table of
resources with strangers, it’s best to strategize an effective approach to
allocating resources, investing in the future, and taking a seat at that table
for billions of people. It is logical to continue investing in effective
programs while investing in people who just need an opportunity, and it is kind
hearted.
Please join us and support women farmers everywhere by
investing in the right progams that showcase efficiency and allow individuals
to flourish in a fruitful way.
Sign the petition online here
Questions?
Contact Chicago@oxfamactioncorps.org
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