Keep this guide handy as you read the paper or watch the news. In a glance, it will allow you to become a more active participant in your local, county, state or federal government. Inside, you will find contact information for the elected officials who represent the six counties of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, from the president down to your local city council member. A quick description of the purpose and function of the different branches and levels of government will make it easier to determine the best person to contact when an issue moves you to action. Colorful maps will help you locate your ward or legislative district, and photos of your elected officials will make their faces more familiar.
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"This study will be an especially useful tool to Louisiana legislators, activists and philanthropists because it provides an evidence-based portrait of living conditions in the state. It looks at our health, our education and our economic status, leading to important conclusions about how we must proceed to create a better Louisiana that is characterized by communities of opportunity," said Flozell Daniels Jr., President and CEO of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. "The report makes it clear that we cannot forge ahead while leaving so many people behind. It is not only unjust; it is also ineffective."
"A Portrait of Louisiana" is the second state-specific report produced by the authors of The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008-2009 since its release last summer. It applies the American Human Development Index—a single measure of well-being for all Americans based on indicators in three key areas: health, education and income—to life in Louisiana. Using U.S. government statistics on longevity, educational attainment and enrollment, and earnings, the American Human Development Report revealed where America is today and set a benchmark against which we will be able to assess where we are tomorrow. In countries around the world where similar studies have been done, Human Development Index findings have proven that strategic investments in health, education and employment boost people's well-being as well as national prosperity.
Some surprising findings of "A Portrait of Louisiana" include the following:
"This report explores actions needed to build an infrastructure of opportunity so that all in Louisiana can be productive citizens and reach their full potential," said Sarah Burd-Sharps, co-author of both this report and the American Human Development Report. "Doing so is critical to the economic growth and future competitiveness of Louisiana in the knowledge-based global marketplace of tomorrow," added co-author Kristen Lewis.
"In Louisiana, where we work with 16 state and local organizations such as the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, this report clearly illustrates the conditions residents were struggling with even prior to the hurricanes of 2005—limited access to education, lower incomes, and shorter lives—and argues for a comprehensive solution for recovery," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, which helped to fund the report with the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and the Foundation for the Mid-South. "And it comes at a crucial time, given the financial challenges facing the state and nation, to help policymakers prioritize how to use scarce funds."
"A Portrait of Louisiana," like the American Human Development Report, was published by the Social Science Research Council. Go to measureofamerica.org for the full text of the report and interactive maps of Louisiana.
]]>However, we must also soberly assess the challenges yet before Louisiana. This report paints an often troubling picture of long-standing human disparities, some of which have been exacerbated by natural/man-allowed disaster and the global economic crisis. The report's Human Development (HD) Index is a user-friendly method of comparing the condition of communities. This analysis has great potential to guide policy-making processes and to support data-driven thinking that moves beyond the assumptions of historical parochialism.
This report was developed by the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF) in partnership with Oxfam America and other organizations committed to fully recovering the lives of Gulf Coast citizens.
]]>"Rebuilding USAID is critical to effective delivery of US foreign assistance to fight poverty—which is recognized as key to America's strategic and security interests. We are working hard to build momentum to get reform passed this year." said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.
"Over the last two decades, USAID has had its legs cut out from under it—its resources and staff have been slashed while more development capacity has been shifted to the Department of Defense. Along with rebuilding USAID, the US must shift its focus from development projects that meet short-term political and security goals back to long term development goals that not only help more people escape poverty, but in the long run, create greater stability and good will for the US. Rebuilding USAID gives the US and its development policy a start down the right path."
Currently, USAID has little capacity to strategize and create comprehensive development plans for the countries in which it operates says Oxfam. The bill addresses this issue by establishing USAID mission directors as responsible for coordinating all development and humanitarian assistance efforts in the field, under guidance of the Chief of Mission.
"This bill is a welcome move by Senator Kerry to help reinvigorate US foreign assistance," said Offenheiser. "Kerry is creating a scenario that will allow USAID development professionals to do what they do best—work closely with local communities and governments to deliver long-term programs that help to alleviate poverty and build prosperous communities."
"Transparency is also key to getting the most out of US development aid. Without good information, recipient governments can't plan, poor people can't hold their governments accountable, and the US taxpayers can't see results. Development professionals, aid recipients and US taxpayers need to see exactly where money is going and what the expectations are, so that there is greater accountability and success. Success means more positive change in the lives of poor people."
Key themes addressed by the new legislation include rebuilding USAID's capacity to think and implement strategically; giving the agency new tools to measure, evaluate and innovate to achieve smart development; promoting transparency and flexibility; and investing in human capital.
The aid reform debate in Washington has gained momentum in the last few months. Secretary of State Clinton recently announced that the State Department and USAID will be undertaking America's first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), in order to streamline the aid system and to put development on par with national security and diplomacy in foreign policy debates and decisions. In Congress, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) has introduced the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009 (HR 2139), which has more than 90 bipartisan co-sponsors.
]]>In a panel co-hosted by Oxfam America and Foreign Policy, journalist Andrew Mwenda of Uganda, Reconstruction Minister O. Natty B. Davis, II of Liberia, and environmental activist Wore Gana Seck of Senegal urged U.S. leaders to make U.S. foreign assistance more supportive of effective states and active citizens. In particular, the panelists called for a U.S. aid approach that is more transparent, more consistent with the needs of citizens and local governments, and more focused on giving recipient states the power to manage their own development.
"Getting to better development assistance will require that donors such as the U.S. keep a close eye on the critical task of building government capacity and institutions directly," said O. Natty B. Davis, II, Reconstruction Minister of Liberia. "This will ensure the efficacy of aid and its ability to deliver results that can have a real impact on the lives of the people in these countries in as short a time as possible."
The panel reflected growing momentum in the foreign aid reform debate in the U.S. Before leaving for Ghana, President Obama was quoted in an AllAfrica.com interview saying, "Our aid policies have been splintered among a variety of agencies... Trying to create something steady [and] basing our policies on what works and not on some ideological previous position—is going to be very important."
Last Friday, Secretary of State Clinton announced that the State Department and USAID will be undertaking America's first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), in order to streamline the aid bureaucracy and insert development more coherently into debates over national security and foreign policy. In Congress, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) has introduced the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009 (H.R. 2139), which has more than 75 bipartisan co-sponsors.
"It is a good sign that the administration and congress are talking about development in a strategic way," said Paul O'Brien, Director of Aid Effectiveness at Oxfam America and one of today's panelists. "But if new strategies are going to deliver for the world's poor, they must be poverty focused. Effective development isn't about fixing short-term political or security problems—it is about putting people in charge of their own lives. The best signal the U.S. can send to show it is serious about development is to nominate a USAID Administrator who will help rebuild the agency and bring back its capacity to be a true partner in development."
]]>"Resuscitating Doha is essential to right the rigged rules of trade, but what's been simmering on the WTO stove will simply not deliver for poor countries, said Oxfam America president Raymond C. Offenheiser. "The financial crisis, which started in developed countries but is taking its worst toll on developing countries, should be the impetus for a change in course."
In a new report released today called "Empty Promises," Oxfam details how the Doha Round has become an exercise in prying open developing country markets rather than an effort to rebalance decades of unfair agricultural and industrial trade rules. In the midst of a global economic crisis, a food crisis, and a climate crisis, nations with the least blame and with the least capacity to cope with the consequent effects must not have to pay even more to enable their economies to develop, according to the report.
Over 50 million people stand to lose their jobs, remittances are collapsing, and growth in sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to fall by 70 percent this year trapping 90 million more people in poverty, because of the crisis. Food prices meanwhile remain high for poor consumers: by the end of 2008 a further 109 million people had been added to the ranks of hungry, topping 1 billion people worldwide. As the world experiences the sharpest drop in trade in 80 years, a "development" trade deal—as originally promised—remains crucial, according to Oxfam.
"Now is the time for WTO members to come back to the negotiating table, recognize that the current crisis provides an opportunity to address urgent development needs, and change the course of negotiations, much as they did nearly eight years ago in Doha," said Offenheiser. "At this time of desperate need for a change of course, the Doha Round has to step up to deliver on its development promise. There is little credit left for another failure."
The welcome political commitment from the G8 could lead to a fresh start to negotiations, but it cannot be business as usual. In the past eight years, developed countries have used the talks to continue to push to open up new export markets. Developing countries have resisted, saying they were promised a deal that would give them space to protect their farmers and new industries, an end to rich country trade-distorting agricultural subsidies, and more access to rich markets for their farmers and industries.
The widespread food price crisis has shown that food and livelihood security cannot depend solely on market forces. Development, rather than liberalization, has to be the central objective of negotiations and trade rules must respond to the needs of the most vulnerable people first and foremost, according to Oxfam. It is the responsibility of WTO member states to analyze the role of trade in the recent global crises so that the Doha negotiations take into account the new global context and contribute to a solution, rather than exacerbate the problem.
"What's on the table is no silver bullet since it continues to favor the richest and biggest farmers and industrialists in the US and Europe and sidelines the needs of the poor," said Offenheiser. "We have seen what can be done when countries find the resolve to avert problems at home, and this resolve must be translated to the multilateral trade agenda so that the much-needed conclusion of the Doha Round can be achieved in a manner that addresses developing country needs first and foremost."
]]>"We applaud the Members of the House of Representatives who did the right thing and voted for this historic bill that takes a major step toward addressing global warming emissions and adaptation to climate change.
"While there are troubling shortcomings in the bill, it begins the critical process of putting us on a clean energy pathway here and around the world, and finally addresses the immediate needs of vulnerable communities everywhere who are being hit first and worst by the negative impacts of climate change. The bill is also a critical first step toward reasserting US leadership and building credibility to negotiate a global climate change agreement in Copenhagen.
"Thanks to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairmen Waxman, Markey, Rangel and many others, this bill begins to give the US some credibility at the international negotiating table.
"As Representative McGovern stated in his floor statement, 'Devoting portions of revenues from a cap and trade system to investments in international adaptation to those countries most vulnerable is a clear signal to the world that the US is ready to lead in combating global climate change.'
"The world will now watch as the debate shifts to the Senate. Oxfam America looks forward to working with Senators to strengthen this bill further.
"Doing so would help create the kinds of business and job opportunities critically needed to build a greener and more sustainable US economy. Doing so would strengthen our national security, save lives and build more secure livelihoods for vulnerable communities facing droughts, food shortages, flooding, health risks and other disastrous consequences from global warming."
]]>Much has been written about the relationship between African-Americans and Latinos and the tensions that arose when they were forced to compete for the same limited resources in a post-Katrina New Orleans. But little is known about what the two groups have in common—and how those shared experiences, attitudes, and goals could bring them together to help rebuild their community.
In late 2008, Oxfam America commissioned Bright Moments, who subcontracted with Dr. Silas Lee & Associates, to conduct a survey of the racial attitudes of African-Americans and Latinos living in New Orleans. "Building Common Ground" is a summary of those findings. The purpose of the survey was to measure how African-Americans and Latinos rated the quality of their lives, race relations with each other, experiences with discrimination, perceptions of each other, support for an African-American and Latino alliance, and effective strategies for such alliances.
The results reveal that the majority of African-Americans and Latinos agreed that they face similar issues of discrimination3 and agreed that it's important for their two groups to put aside their differences and work on overcoming those issues. It is on this common ground that we seek to build.
This publication is available in English and Spanish.
]]>The new study, Building Common Ground, reveals vast similarities in the post-Katrina experiences of two groups often considered separately in discussions on hurricane recovery and rebuilding. While the study revealed many of the tensions and misconceptions that existed between the two groups, it demonstrated that there is very fertile ground upon which African Americans and Latinos can forge new relationships to combat some of the challenges they face together.
The results of the study will be presented Tuesday at 6 pm at Xavier University and will be followed by a panel discussion. Lydia Camarillo, Vice President of Southwest Voter Registration Education Project will deliver a keynote address following opening remarks from Xavier University president Dr. Norman Francis. Members of the panel include:
In one key finding, 83 percent of African Americans and 86 percent of Latinos said building alliances are important to achieving social and economic equity in New Orleans.
"Too often we talk about tensions between African-Americans and Latinos," said Ilana Scherl, Gulf Coast Field Representative for Oxfam America. "This study demonstrates that African Americans and Latinos face common challenges which limit their opportunities to succeed in society."
The study's results were driven from a survey conducted in late 2008 by Dr. Silas Lee & Associates of African Americans and Latinos living in New Orleans. Hundreds of residents were interviewed and participated in focus groups to gauge the issues and concerns affecting these communities.
The study found striking similarities, including:
The report also identified some of the obstacles and opportunities for working together on the issues both groups experience:
Most importantly, both groups recognized the importance of working together on common issues, with one focus group participant saying "We have to be here, and we have to get along. How can we start the dialogue?"
"This survey goes a long way to deconstructing some of the myths that have sprung up after Katrina," said Dr. Silas Lee. "Contrary to popular belief, significant percentages of both African Americans and Latinos not only believe that the two groups can and should work together, but are willing to take steps to continue to the process of recovery together now."
"Building Common Ground: How shared attitudes and concerns can create alliances between African Americans and Latinos in a post-Katrina New Orleans," was published by Oxfam America. Read the full text of the report and detailed results of the survey.
]]>The bill is historic as it commits to curbing global warming pollution, puts our nation and others on a clean energy development pathway, and addresses and finances the needs of vulnerable communities both at home and abroad who are on the front lines of climate change.
"Getting the Waxman-Markey bill out of the Energy and Commerce Committee is a history-making effort in enacting US climate and clean energy legislation," said Jim Lyons, vice-president of Oxfam America. "But while this bill is a giant leap in US climate change legislation, it is too small of a step towards what's needed for a global climate deal in Copenhagen this December."
Last minute attempts to eliminate important international provisions in the bill were rejected. If passed, these amendments would have seriously undermined the United States' leadership role in the international climate negotiations and would have shortchanged significant business opportunities abroad for America companies.
"Poor countries didn't create the problem, but they have to deal with the consequences. It's in America's best interest to help the most vulnerable adapt to global warming's consequences and cooperate with them to pursue clean energy pathways," said Lyons.
"Developing countries have made it crystal clear that without real cooperation and resources, there won't be a global climate deal," said Lyons. "A substantial increase in resources for the most vulnerable countries will be essential for the President to strike a global climate deal."
]]>"This bill is yet another important step in Chairman Berman's effort to fundamentally reform the way the US fights global poverty," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. "Much important work still remains to be done to reform US policies and programs for global development. However, this bill moves us forward along the path to. reform."
H.R. 2410 would expand the number of Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) at both the Department of State and USAID, providing the US government with increased human capital to meet global challenges. The bill specifically includes authority for the Secretary of State to hire 1,500 FSOs and for the Administrator of USAID to hire 700 new FSOs over the next two years. Additionally, the bill includes authorities to make it easier to attract and retain personnel with the specialized skills required for supporting long-term poverty fighting efforts.
Oxfam America is also very pleased that the investment to modernize the Foreign Service includes a focus on using diplomacy to actively prevent, mitigate, and respond to international crises in a timely manner.
"An additional 1,500 State Department recruits, equipped with adequate training and a focused mandate, could go a long way in improving US diplomacy to address humanitarian crises," said Offenheiser.
To this end, the bill also requires the US government to outline a specific plan for the development of a government-wide strategy and the strengthening of United States civilian capacities for preventing genocide and mass atrocities.
"For too long the United States has responded to situations of mass atrocities in ad hoc and uncoordinated ways. Unless the US civilian agencies plan for contingencies and build capacity, our moral outrage will never be translated into effective action," said Offenheiser.
Oxfam America welcomes Chairman Berman's efforts, and calls upon Members of Congress to actively support broader reform to rebuild America's efforts to effectively combat global poverty and put poor people and governments in charge of their own development.
In April, Chairman Berman and Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced H.R. 2139, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009. H.R. 2139 focuses on three critical areas of foreign assistance reform: creating a US national strategy for global development, refocusing its monitoring and evaluation approach, and increasing transparency on where assistance dollars are going. Oxfam America supports H.R. 2139, and hopes to see the United States design and implement a National Strategy for Global Development.
]]>"We commend Chairmen Waxman and Markey for moving forward critically-needed comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation. They should be recognized for their efforts to create momentum toward a clean energy and climate-resilient economy.
"We thank the Chairmen for including critically-needed financing to meet the needs of vulnerable communities worldwide to prepare for unavoidable impacts of climate change and move toward a clean energy development pathway. But we are disappointed that not nearly enough resources are provided for adaptation in the immediate term to address the serious impacts already occurring around the world.
"A substantial increase in resources for the most vulnerable countries will be essential for the President to make progress on fostering a global climate deal in Copenhagen this December. Without this commitment, a global agreement on climate will be in serious jeopardy.
"Immediate investments in climate-related disaster preparation will preempt much greater costs—as much as seven times greater—in future years and are key to avoiding global conflicts and instability. A recent report by Oxfam calculates that the number of people around the world affected by climate-related disasters annually will increase by more than 50 percent, to 375 million people by 2016.
"The bill also places a mandatory limit on global warming pollution, the cause of increasing climate-related harm for vulnerable communities. While the long-term emission targets are robust, the short term targets fall short of what's needed. The bill only aims to reduce US emissions by roughly 3 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, despite recommendations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that industrialized countries together reduce their global warming emissions by 25-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. The more ambitious the emissions cuts, the less the damage vulnerable communities will face.
"There is considerable momentum in Congress right now to address the threats of climate change and transition our economy to clean energy, thereby creating new clean energy jobs and opportunities for US businesses.
"We look forward to working with members of Congress to strengthen the bill and ensure that the President has the necessary tools to broker an equitable and effective global climate agreement in Copenhagen this year. We also look to the White House to help Congress forge an aggressive energy and climate bill that gets the job done and protects those in need."
]]>"Congressman Berman has long sought to make reform of US government global development programs a priority," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America. "Reform is necessary to restore America's leadership in fighting global poverty. Both he and Congressman Kirk should be applauded for identifying reform as one of America's top foreign policy challenges."
"With the right reforms, the US foreign assistance system can help poor people get the tools they need to lead their own development, spur economic growth and create a more prosperous world for everyone. This bill is an important first step to making sure the United States has the right tools to fight global poverty."
The bill, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009, focuses on three critical areas of foreign assistance reform: creating a US national strategy for global development, refocusing its monitoring and evaluation approach, and increasing transparency on where assistance dollars are going.
"Creating a national strategy for global development will help coordinate our disjointed US foreign assistance system, establish poverty reduction as its primary goal and provide developing countries and their citizens more ownership over their own development agenda," said Offenheiser. "By taking the time to listen to the poor people and countries we are trying to help, and by giving them more control over their own futures, US foreign assistance is more likely to make a long-lasting impact."
Tracking funding and ensuring assistance dollars are getting to people in need is one the biggest challenges facing US foreign assistance programs said Oxfam. There has been little chance to date that developing countries could get critical information needed to plan effectively for their own development projects. The portions of the bill focused on transparency promise US taxpayers and developing countries long-awaited clarity on how foreign assistance dollars are being distributed.
"Greater transparency in US foreign assistance programs is an important step to creating true partnerships with developing countries and their citizens," said Offenheiser. "When developing countries get access to information they need to effectively plan their own futures, they are empowered to work alongside the US as equal partners."
The monitoring and evaluation portion of the bill is a promising effort to change an antiquated model of gauging success. For too long, the US has focused on counting things like how many individuals went through a one-off agricultural training workshop rather than how much more food was produced locally to meet the needs of a community.
"Washington needs to stop bean-counting when it comes to judging the success of US foreign assistance. We need to be looking at how many more girls are getting an education because of US foreign assistance, and how their lives are improved, not just how many pencils are sharpened or textbooks are bought."
"President Obama has already expressed a commitment to making our foreign assistance dollars as effective as possible. Chairman Berman's 'down payment' on foreign assistance reform helps us get there," said Offenheiser.
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