Petition Tag - poverty

Occupy-Science and Occupy love groups with New World Organizations including New Arab Organizations request open documentation for future war crimes from corporations such as Monasato and the National army.

It is evident that Europeans history of gas chambers and genocide existed. History repeats itself.

SEE journal enzymes.at, Indictments, and events by Global Activity Generations - GAG=MUT

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Mothers are the primary carers everywhere in the world. Caring for children, sick, disabled and elderly people is work vital to society.

Carers are impoverished. Income Support is being abolished. Child Benefit, society’s commitment to children, is no longer universal. Carer’s Allowance is insultingly low and most carers don’t even qualify. 200,000 care workers are denied the minimum wage.

When mothers are impoverished, children suffer: hunger, ill-health, and more often taken into care.

Mothers are told they are ‘workless’ and that earning is more important than caring. They are pushed into jobs regardless of hours, pay or childcare provision. The right to have children is being challenged.

Mothers are forced into unpaid work to ‘earn’ their benefits (‘workfare’). ‘Workfare’ bypasses the minimum wage, driving down all wages, especially women’s, and undermining pay equity.

Having to fit caring around jobs results in overwork, exhaustion and ill-health. Grandparents must often leave retirement to help.

Employed mothers (or fathers) who take time off to care for children or relatives, lose pay, promotion and future pension.

When caring work is devalued, people, relationships and life itself are devalued. The result is inequity and social neglect, but also environmental destruction and war.

Demanding time and resources for caring aims to redirect economic and social policies towards people and the planet, and away from the uncaring market.

For Petition background: http://globalwomenstrike.net/content/background-petition-invest-a-caring-society-a-living-wage-mothers-and-other-carers

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When you look at all of the problems facing the world today--environmental exploitation, animal cruelty, hunger, poverty, greed, war, and many more--the fundamental problem can be seen as a fragmented mindset, one which perceives everything else as something separate from the self.

In the words of noted quantum physicist Dr. Amit Goswami:

"The ultimate disease--the root disease--is the illusory thinking that we are separate from the Whole. To heal the disease is to realize that we are Whole, that the separation is but an illusion."

Thus, the goal of this petition is to heal the fragmented mentality through promoting an ethical system based on the most fundamental, universal, unifying belief in the world: that everything emanates from One, Supremely Good and Beautiful Source, and, therefore, everything is essentially One.

This simple, universal belief has resounding ethical implications (e.g. we should treat all things with love, compassion, and respect), healing the world on a fundamental level.

This belief is so universal and so powerful, it is high time it receives its due honor and support.

So, please, take a stand with us and declare: We all are One!

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The Welfare Reform Act is draconian and against the working class.

The poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. It has caused poverty, ill health and social instability.

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Parenting Payment for Families - Not the Dole

The decision to force single parents from a parenting payment to Newstart will further impoverish over 100,000 struggling families when the youngest child turns 8.

In the New Year about 60,000 struggling families will lose at least $60 per week.

• Newstart (the dole) equates to $39 per day.

• Single parents supplementing their payment with paid work will lose up to $120.

• On Newstart single parents can only earn $32 p/w before income is reduced.

• Pension Education Supplement cannot be accessed on Newstart.

• Childcare available only for initial 2 year period. Cost increase from 10c to $1 an hour.

• 8 years old is just too young.

The decision to pass this legislation was at odds with the Senate Committee and the Joint Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, which stated that it could “deprive” single parent families and their children “of minimum essential levels of social security.

Both Committees have been ignored along with the voices of single parents.

We seek a fair go for all families. We call upon the government to overturn the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Fair Incentives to Work) Bill 2012.

It's not too late.

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Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament Assembled:

We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw attention of the House to the following:

THAT the government of Canada has recently made changes to the eligibility requirements for unemployment insurance (UI);

THAT these changes have been made behind closed doors without any input from the ordinary Canadian citizens who are affected by such policies and these changes will negatively affect the livelihood of numerous Canadians;

THAT the adopted changes will negatively impact Canadians nation wide, in particular they will impact those Canadians who live in rural areas in which the economy is dependent upon seasonal employment.

We feel that the adopted changes to the unemployment eligibility criteria will force people out of their specialized occupations into unskilled, low wage jobs. In addition, we agree that Canadian individuals will be forced to look for employment at great distances outside their area of residence causing them to incur unreasonable time commitments and travel costs.

Combined, we feel these changes may lead to increased poverty for unemployed individuals as well as the families which they support.

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The inhumane and social injustice this new programme of Universal Credit will do to disabled as well as able bodied people of the UK is inhumane and totally bears no justifiable cause to the economic situation that successive governments have created themselves, through their own mismanagement of economic policy .

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Le Canada a ete dans une crise qui s'ait degrader depuis le milieux des annee's 90 qu'ant il concerned le probleme des sans abrit, se probleme a ete causee par des mauvaise legislation qui ont ete introduit par le Gouvernment federal de ses temps aet na jamais ete addresser depuis se temps. le resultat de cela est que beacoup de nos concitoyens ont deceder dans nos rues et nous voulont une fin a cela. Le probleme de la pauvrete aux Canada a aussi degrader depuis plusiuers annees et nous voulont une fin a cela car nous croyont que tout les citoyens Canadiens on le droit a une vie decente.

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In the mid 90's the Federal Government of the day cancelled the National housing program Canada used to have, this decision created the housing and homeless crisis we now have to deal with and none of our federal Government to date have been dealing with this issue properly.

As a result the crisis has been growing at a steady pace and many of our most vulnerable have died because of it.

As well the poverty crisis in Canda has been growing at an alarming rate due to cut backs at both the both the Provincial and federal levels over the past several years.

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Έχουμε μείνει άφωνοι από την τραγική αύξηση των αυτοκτονίων στην χώρα μας. Διαβάζουμε συνέχεια κάθε μέρα και για καινούργιες αυτοκτονίες. Ας αναλάβουμε δράση, εμείς οι απλοί πολίτες αυτής της χώρας.

Πρώτα με την πρόθεση μας να σταματήσει αυτή η σφαγή του έθνους μας. Δεύτερον να υπογράψουμε όλοι μαζι απαιτώντας από την κυβέρνηση να κάνει δημόσιες ανακοινώσεις προστατεύοντας τους πολίτες της, να της θυμίσουμε ότι εξαιτίας των πολιτών υπάρχει κυβέρνηση, και να λάβει μέτρα για την ανακούφιση των συμπολιτών μας που υποφέρουν στην ψυχή τους για να φτάσουν να δώσουν τέλος στην γηϊνη ύπαρξη τους.

Υπάρχουν προτάσεις απλές και εύκολες ακόμα και με εθελοντές που θα μπορούσε να κάνει το Ελληνικό κράτος με σκοπό να προστατεύσει και να εκπαιδεύσει τους πολίτες του.

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Bill C-38, "An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and other measures" contains many changes that will affect Canadians.

Many measures contained in the current Budget Implementation legislation were not even mentioned in the March 29th Budget, and most have absolutely nothing to do with implementing the budget.

This Bill has been introduced as an Omnibus Bill. As such, it severely restricts the Parliamentary process by denying Members of Parliament and the Canadian public the ability to fully study or understand the drastic changes currently being made to our laws without proper study or scrutiny.

If passed in current form, this bill would undo decades of environmental law, profoundly degrade the Canadian government’s ability to defend our environment, and give the fossil fuel industry free rein to build pipelines and recklessly expand the oil sands, largely unchecked by environmental regulations or public participation.

The Bill also includes many changes to social programs which will expand inequalities, limit program access and increase Canadian poverty and personal suffering.

This Bill in its current form undermines democracy, the environment and the well being of Canadians.

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Over 70% of Nunavut families with children between the ages of 3-5 are food insecure. Poverty, climate change and high food prices mean that many families in Nunavut go hungry.

The UN Rapporteur recently issued a report about Canada's 800,000 families who are food insecure, calling food insecurity in our country a "great concern". The Conservative MP for Nunavut, Leona Aglukkaq, shamed Nunavummiut with her immature and out-of-touch response to the UN Rapporteur.

We, the people of Nunavut, deserve better from our federal government. Please sign this petition to ask for concrete, effective change that will address poverty and food insecurity in our communities.

Read the UN Rapporteur's report for yourself: http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/officialreports/201205_canadaprelim_en.pdf
Read the response by MP Leona Aglukkaq: http://www.leonaaglukkaq.ca/media_/riding-news/meeting-with-un-special-rapporteur

Read an analysis by Nunavut writer and activist Jack Hicks in "Northern Public Affairs": http://www.northernpublicaffairs.ca/index/hicks-aglukkaqs-shameful-response-to-un-food-envoy/

Please join "Feeding my Family" on facebook to read stories and see images directly from Nunavummiut about how food insecurity affects our communities.

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AID KENYA FOUNDATION-KITUTU COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER/KITUTU OVC CENTER:

AID Kenya Foundation, a nonprofit, and humanitarian aid and development assistance charitable foundation in Kenya.

The foundation is working with local communities, and collaborative partners to build the Kitutu Community Resource Center to empower rural-urban orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC), teenage girls/mothers, and in and out of school youth in the areas of education, health-care,sports, talent development, mentorship and vocational training.

Already, The Foundation, through the Humanitarian Aid & Development Assistance Program, supports hundreds of orphaned and vulnerable children and teenage mothers to access educational opportunities, shelter, health-care and psychosocial support; It further supports many teenage girls to get regular supply of sanitary towels just keep them in school and increase their self esteem; Kenya is currently experiencing a societal breakdown, where in every household, there is a teen mum some at the age of 12 with a baby or two.

The Center shall cater for OVCs and teen mums from across Kenya, and will have an a Community Outreach Program.

As a matter of urgency, the Foundation is building the Kitutu Community Resource Center/Kitutu OVC Center, with the following objectives:

1. Teaching teenage mothers on motherhood, nutrition, parenting and reproductive health;

2. Rehabilitate teenage mothers involved in alcoholism, drug and substance abuse;

3. Offer vocational trainings like tailoring, hairdressing, computers and ICT, arts, and Embroidery;

4. Create awareness on dangers and risks of teenage motherhood, HIV/AIDS and STIs;

5. Provide quality health-care to both the mother and child;

6. Distribute sanitary towels and pampers to schools, homes, and in public;

7. Offer a back-to-school reintegration program to embrace formal education by providing scholarships;

8. Provide guiding and counseling and psychotherapy;and

9. Build self-esteem, confidence and courage.

The Center will also host the Kitutu OVC Center for the kids of teen mums and support those OVCs who are enrolled in public schools supplying kids with pens, pencils, shoes, back packs, books, crayons, etc.

CONTACT:

For feed back or volunteer, partner or donate, contact, Tel. +254 729 32 44 29 or E-Mail: or < aidkenya@gmail.com > or .

DREAM TEAM: The following is the Dream Team Managing and Coordinating the Project:

1. Armstrong Ongera, Jr.-Executive Director
2. Patricia Kadesa- Project Manager
3. Melissa Cheruiyoti- Corporate/PR/ Communications Manager
4.Seba Nyakundi-Program Manager/Volunteer Coordinator
5. Sheila Shinto- PA & Chief of Staff


DONATION REQUESTS AND SOLIDARITY:

1. MPESA-0729 32 44 29

2. IN-KIND:

AID Kenya Foundation
P. O. BOX 5956-00200
Nairobi-Kenya.

NOTE: A volunteer or supporter, can donate time, and expertise, in creating awareness about the Center, as well as mobilizing resources, or volunteering on the ground.

3. WIRE TRANSFER:

Any Voluntary Donations can be sent by WU or wire transfer to the following Bank Account:-

A/C Name: AID KENYA FOUNDATION
A/C No. : 082-1430151
Swift Code: BARCKENX
Bank: BARCLAYS BANK OF KENYA
Branch: Haile Selassie Avenue,Nairobi,Kenya

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The inability of successive Ontario governments to honour its promises on poverty reduction has resulted in thousands of families to sink deeper into the traps of poverty.

Sadly, many thousands of children are trapped in poverty, suffering needlessly from hunger and not having the basic needs of life. The Universal Guaranteed Income Plan (UGIP) for low income families will eliminate the complex and untenable web of current programs like OW, ODSP, OCB, etc. Everyone in Ontario has a right to live at or above the Low Income Cut Off (LICO) level.

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Nearly one in two households are in fuel poverty in Northern Ireland. This is significantly higher than in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, where the fuel poverty levels are 13 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.

Since 2009, households in Northern Ireland have suffered two of the coldest winters on record and experienced significant increases in energy prices:

- The cost of heating oil has risen 63 per cent in the last two years;

- Electricity prices (Power NI and Airtricity) will rise by 18.6 per cent on 1 October 2011; and

- Gas prices have risen by up to 39.1 per cent for gas customers in Belfast and will rise by 28.4 per cent on 1 October 2011 for firmus energy customers in the Ten Towns2 licence area.

The overall cost of energy in Northern Ireland is double that of a household in Great Britain. The average annual heating oil and electricity bill here is £2,262. This compares with the highest annual dual fuel bill in Great Britain of £1,100.

A recent report by the London School of Economics suggests more people die per year as a result of living in a cold home than are killed in traffic accidents.

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Purulia District in West Bengal, is one of the most impoverished districts of India. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, the founder of Ananda MArga, had a vision to elevate the educational status and improve the standard of living in such areas through comprehensive education.

He founded Degree College at Ananda Nagar in 1956, providing education to around 60 villages that previously had little access to higher education. Ananda Marga College began as an all-boys school, but has recently expanded to include women, whose facilities are completely apart from the main campus, in a nearby village, to comply with mandates of Sarkar, of separate, not co-ed facilities for higher education.

The Ananda Marga global ruling organizational body recently had a vote to discontinue the women's branch, saying that the existing conditions are coeducational, when they are, by all means completely separate, circumstances that would force these women to give up any chance that they might have of being able to make real progress in their lives, and the lives of their families and villages.

We feel that is necessary to overturn or redo this repressive vote, and help the women continue and move forward in their education and their lives.

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The first increase in 15 years to people on income assistance in British Columbia was in 2007 in the amount of $50.00 per month, while the MLA's voted themselves a, reported, 28.78% increase that same year.

MLA's salaries are $101,859.00 per year with additional compensation of 50% of base salary if they hold a portfolio. The premier's salary is an additional $91,673.00 per year plus 50% of base for holding a portfolio, Total salary approximately $250,000.00 per year. increases have been received annually according to consumer price index with exception of 2010 and 2011, (source Provincial Comptroller).

With the electorate basically being their employer, when was the last time you could give yourself a raise?

With the recent world financial crisis people, dependent on legislated assistance are increasingly financially stressed to keep roofs over their heads or food on the table.

Current assistance for accommodation for housing for a single person is $375 per month; living allowance $235 per month. This is unreasonable and long overdue for review to reflect actual costs.

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The PUT FOOD IN THE BUDGET CAMPAIGN represents 30 communities across Ontario that promote the implementation of a $100 Healthy Food Supplement for all adults on social assistance in Ontario. The Supplement will serve as a down payment in closing the monthly income gap.

10, 000 + Ontarians and 50 MPPs of all political parties have completed the 'Do the Math' Budget Survey which calculates the monthly living costs for a single individual. The average monthly cost arrived at was $1,350. The current poverty line for a single individual is approximately $1,600/month. An individual on social assistance receives $592 per month. Once rent is paid, there is little if anything left, forcing thousands of Ontarians to rely on already over burdened food banks.

The basic needs allowance is set far below actual market costs. This negligence has created a widespread food insecurity crisis and increase in chronic illness related to poor nutrition. These issues are a cost to society, where as putting money in the hands of low-income individuals will immediately benefit our communities ("How paying people’s way out of poverty can help us all" Globe & Mail)

The government has created its Social Assistance Review to evaluate the true cost of living in communities across Ontario and we are asking them to establish a new benchmark for income adequacy in setting benefit rates. In the meantime, individuals living in deep poverty cannot afford to wait any longer to have a place to live and enough money to purchase healthy food.

The PUT FOOD IN THE BUDGET CAMPAIGN is in partnership with Association of Local Public Health Agencies, Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC), and Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.

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Please support this as it can help everyone and hurt no one. The cuts are due to the debts caused by the banks failing and they are hurting society in a very serious manner.

The banks failed in their own eyes and by their own standards. Yet we are bailing them out at great expense and harm to ourselves. Our social infrastructure and societys across the world are being harmed. It is not necessary. If we Drop The Debt no lives will be lost no one will die and no buildings will disappear.

These debts are just marks on a piece of paper, cyphers in a computer. The Banks dont have and never did have the money we are paying them, they cant loose what they never had. As we pay the debt we harm every school and hospital every social structure and every family and every job. No one is free of the harm. They did not have the money they are asking us to repay. So if they didn't have it, why are we paying it back?

No matter what wealth is, its in the people and their work, not the banks, but when these said banks bankrupt themselves, one way or another, we get to pay. Their wealth is our work. Now their "fictional" debts are paid with our real work and lives. Economics is not like physics or chemistry, it is not a science. It is invented and shaped only by humans. We can shape it any way we want. If the nature of our economics is hurting us then we can simply change the nature of those economics. We have that power.

Banks wont be damaged by Dropping The Debt because to the banks the wealth is virtual, it is flickers on a screen, not like a house or food or cars or anything real, produced by work. They will not loose anything they actually had. No houses will disappear, no schools will close, no roads will go un-fixed, Nothing real would be lost. So when the banks change society for the worse because they messed up we could simply Drop The Debt. Remember wealth is not created by the banks but by people, by our work. The banks only create debt.

Banks are a private business. They exist to, and do, make vast profits for themselves at our expense. If they mess up its nothing to do with us. We owe them no loyalty. We should not be hurting society to give them "back" money that they never actually had. We can change that. So I urge you to Drop The Debt.

We did it before with third world countries and it worked very well, no one died, and lives were improved across the globe. Lets do it again.

Please support this as it can help everyone and hurt no one.

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B.C.'s current income assistance rates for people with disabilities fall well below the poverty line.

The current benefits program does not provide sufficient financial assistance for recipients to obtain adequate food, shelter and clothing or to obtain supports for their meaningful participation in community. The program offers limited support for people who wish to find work.

People with disabilities face serious systemic and attitudinal barriers when it comes to accessing employment opportunities and earning an independent income.

As a result, many adults with disabilities require income support to meet basic living costs and to compensate for the extra costs involved in living with a disability. The social effects of poverty, including isolation, loneliness, and alienation from community life, contribute to both physical and mental health problems.

The savings created by limiting access to disability supports create greater costs in other parts of the social service system. Keeping people with disabilities poor is a false economy!

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To Rob Ford and the Toronto City Councillors,

We, the residents and the workers of Toronto Community
Housing Corporation (TCHC), and their supporters, are
demanding a halt to the privatization the TCHC.

Privatization of the TCHC would place our community in
the hands of big business profiteers who would likely
increase rent, neglect their obligations to repairs and layoff
maintenance staff as to increase their profits. Furthermore,
privatization can mean the widespread destruction of our
housing to build condo or other commercial enterprises.

Canadians have a right to affordable and quality housing.
This means that beyond just preventing privatizations, we
need a massive increase in funding to public housing. We
must end repair backlogs, decrease rent rates, provide
adequate subsidies to those in need and massively expand
the TCHC. The expansion of housing would provide
tremendous employment, particularly for local youth, and
must be paid at union wages.

In light of the recent scandal, we believe that TCHC
tenants are best able to end corruption or any abuses of
power thought direct democratic control. No to corporate
ownership! For democratic tenants control of the TCHC!

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I want to make poverty history in Africa, in fact I want to make poverty history all over the world, but it takes one step at a time.

Did you know that:

* 315 million people – one in two of people in Sub Saharan Africa survive on less than one dollar per day;

* 184 million people – 33% of the African population – suffer from malnutrition;

* During the 1990s the average income per capita decreased in 20 African countries;

* Less than 50% of Africa’s population has access to hospitals or doctors;

* In 2000, 300 million Africans did not have access to safe water;

* The average life expectancy in Africa is 41 years;

* Only 57% of African children are enrolled in primary education, and only one of three children complete school;

* One in six children die before the age of 5. This number is 25 times higher in sub-Saharan Africa than in the OECD countries;

* Children account for half of all civilian casualties in wars in Africa;

* The African continent lost more than 5,3 million hectares of forest during the decade of the 1990s;

* Less than one person out of five has electricity.

Out of 1.000 inhabitants 15 have a telephone line, and 7,8 out of 1.000 people surf on Internet.

(Thank you FOOD4AFRICA for those statistics.)

It's unfair and unjust for all this to go on and us, in class 1 countries to do nothing about it.

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Jamie Oliver rightly encourages people to eat healthy food. However, on the back of his campaign to improve school meals he has enjoyed fame and fortune. He has made a killing advertising Sainsburys produce but has managed to avoid one little fly in the healthy eating ointment.

What he does not draw our attention to in these ads, is the food that people living on or below the poverty line are forced to buy from supermarkets such as Sainsburys. The Basics range micro-meals etc.

Whilst it is easy for the wealthy well groomed and well dressed Oliver family to eat rich organic produce and appear in very white Christmas ads, real working class people and the unemployed have no choice but to eat, clean themselves and wear whatever they can afford.

Its time the Oliver family, faced the reality of living on the dole with nothing but Sainsburys Basics for breakfast lunch and dinner. Bathing in Basics range, wiping in Basics Range and drowning their sorrows in Basics Range. Then going to work or the job centre dressed in clothes bought in Sainsburys. After six months of this, lets see who is pontificating and preaching!

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Devon County Council receives a government grant (called Supporting People) to support vulnerable people. This includes helping to prevent homelessness, as well as helping homeless people get off the streets and have a better future.

This grant has only been cut by around 12%, but DCC intends to cut services supporting people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness (mostly run by local charities) by up to 40%! This is extraordinary disproportionate and against instructions by government Ministers.

Vulnerable people WILL lose their homes as a result of these cuts, which take effect in April 2011. Young people WILL be forced to stay in abusive and unsafe situations because there will be nowhere else to go. Supported housing projects helping people get back on their feet WILL be closed or dramatically cut back their services.

This will create untold human misery to people whose lives are already difficult enough.

But even if you have no heart, these cuts make no economic sense. If homeless people are deprived of housing and support, their lives will become more chaotic. Crime will go up. Antisocial behaviour will go up. Drug and alcohol misuse will go up. Mental health problems and hospitalisations will go up. A&E admissions will go up. More people will be in prison.

The list of consequences of these badly thought out plans goes on, and every one creates problems for the wider community and extra costs to the taxpayer. These cuts will COST money, lots of money, not save it.

All this will happen unless we, the voting public, make our views known. So join this cause, and let's tell DCC councillors what their voters think.

Positions
1.These are difficult times. But, as DCC's leader has said, we have to protect the most vulnerable at this time. This includes those at risk of homelessness

2.£1 spent on housing support saves over £2 in the long run through reduced crime and antisocial behaviour and improved physical and mental health

3.Central Government has only cut Devon's funding by 12%. It is grossly unfair to target homeless people with cuts of up to 40%

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Without Carers, Social Services and the NHS would be overloaded to the point of collapse, but especially with the economic downturn, Carers themselves are overloaded to the point of collapse.

This petition is to raise awareness of the unfairness inherent in the benefit system that continues to keep Carers on a very low income and penalises any attempt at self improvement.

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Poverty is on a rise in Ontario which has a grave impact on anyone who is living below the low income cut-off point. Individuals who are in receipt of Social Assistance are barely making ends meet. The rates are not enough to cover basic living expenses although the legislation states that funds are provided to those in need to meet their basic needs.

Individuals who are not living in low income housing in particular have a difficult time with the low rates they are given as well as the low rates they are provided with for rent. In order to keep a roof over their heads necessities such as food, and adequate clothing for the changing seasons are neglected.

More and more families are depending on food banks which are vastly depleted of their food supply based on the growing amount of people having to access the food bank on a daily basis.

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Cleaners, carers and other people working for Southwark Council contracts are currently paid less than the basic amount you need to get by in London - the London Living Wage. This is currently £7.85 per hour, or about £15,000 a year.

In 2008 the Green Party introduced a policy, supported by the Labour Party, to pay workers the living wage as contracts came up. But it has never been implemented.

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According to UNICEF, 21% of Zimbabwean children are orphans – the highest proportion in the world. At the same time Zimbabwe has one of the lowest GDPs, ranked 176 out of 180 countries by the IMF in 2008 and estimated at just $200.

Furthermore, Zimbabwe is recovering from internal conflict that still prevents much aid from reaching it, particularly in the rural areas (lowest ODA for Basic life skills for youth and adults, primary education and early childhood education in Africa - DAC CRS 2007 and UNICEF 2007 data).

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A radical reform of child benefits, including ending payments to more than seven million families when their children reach the age of 13, is being considered by the Government’s new poverty adviser.

Frank Field, appointed by the coalition last week, is also looking at taxing child benefit and allowing parents to receive payments of up to £25,000 in the first three years after a child’s birth. In an interview with The Times, the former Labour minister said that the benefit, which costs the taxpayer £11 billion a year, should be linked more closely to the child’s age.

It is paid to every family until a child is 19 if he or she is in full-time education. Even the wealthiest parents get the £20 a week for their first child and £13.40 for each subsequent one.

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