Solving the climate crisis. Ending the global hunger crisis. Ensuring education access for all. Achieving gender equality. The world has a long to-do list in the mission to end extreme poverty NOW, and those are some pretty big issues.
So what specific policies and commitments should we be demanding at the top of our lungs on marches and from the rooftops? And who, exactly, should we be calling on to drive this action? Don’t worry, we’ve got that covered.
This year, Global Citizen is on a mission to empower girls, close the climate finance gap, alleviate the global food crisis, relieve crushing debts, break the systemic barriers that keep people in poverty, and lift up activists and advocates. And we know these are issues you care about, because you told us.
This mission will come to a resounding crescendo at the Global Citizen Festival on Sept. 24, the world’s longest-running global campaign calling for an end to extreme poverty, with millions of Global Citizens using their voices, amplified by the world’s biggest artists, demanding world leaders take action NOW.
Scores of artists and advocates are supporting our global campaign and will join us on stage in two iconic locations: New York City’s Central Park and Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday, Sept. 24. They’ll be joined by world leaders, philanthropists, and business leaders who will announce financial and political commitments to bring about the change we need to end extreme poverty NOW.
Germany, France, and the UK are all in the top 10 richest countries in the world. We’re calling on these countries' leaders to do more than they’ve ever done before — because our future cannot wait. Without meaningful action NOW, as many as 200 million more people may be plunged into extreme poverty by November.
So where do you come in? We need you to take action with us and Global CItizens around the world to show those decision-makers what issues matter to you and what change you want to see. As a Global Citizen, your voice matters. With every petition you sign, every tweet you post, and every email you send, you are putting the pressure on and saying: “Walk the walk. Don’t just talk the talk.”
If you take action now — which you can do no matter where you are in the world — you’ll be able to see with your own eyes the impact you’ve had when decision-makers take to the stage on Sept. 24 and make commitments to the causes that you care about.
Here’s what we’re asking for and how you can take action now to join the call:
Take Climate Action
What’s the problem?
Back in 2009, wealthier nations such as the UK, Germany, and France promised to deliver $100 billion in climate financing every year from 2020 to 2025, to support vulnerable countries in combating and preparing for climate change.
But that target still hasn’t been met. And we’re seeing the consequences play out already from Pakistan’s deadly floods, which have left a third of the country underwater, to the storms in Southern Africa, which have displaced at least half a million.
What are we asking for?
In a nutshell: we’re asking those wealthy nations to pay up.
Actions you can take:
Empower Women and Girls
What’s the problem?
It’s 2022 and there’s still not a country on Earth that has achieved gender equality. Far from it, in fact.
Women and girls make up the majority of the world’s poor and the majority of those who are food insecure.
What’s more, a third of the world's poorest girls, between the ages of 10 and 18, have never attended school, and in rural areas across the globe, 61% of girls do not attend secondary school. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more learning losses for girls than for boys, as well as an increased risk of facing child labor, gender-based violence, early marriage, and pregnancy.
But with the right tools and resources, women and girls can lift themselves and their families up and break cycles of poverty across their communities and the world.
What are we asking for?
Europe’s leaders need to commit to new investments in girls’ education, nutrition, and health — including sexual and reproductive health and rights — while also tackling the unpaid care work crisis.
Actions you can take:
Defend Activists and Open Civic Space
What’s the problem?
Every day, people around the world speak up against injustices they see. If you’ve ever signed one of our petitions or taken action with us, then you’re one of those people and you’re an advocate too. But a crackdown on free speech, authoritarianism, and repressive laws are threatening the power of individuals speaking out and asserting their rights to bring about change.
Zhang Zhan, for example — a citizen journalist who risked everything to report on COVID-19 when it first appeared in Wuhan — is in prison in China because of her work reporting on the outbreak. The Honduran Indigenous campaigner, Berta Cáceres, was murdered for her environmental activism in 2016. In Nigeria, Imoleayo Michael is facing prison for taking part in the 2020 #EndSARS protests. While in Colombia in 2022, Indigenous leader José Albeiro Camayo, one of the founders of the Indigenous Guard, an unarmed collective of land defenders, was assassinated.
What are we asking for?
Advocacy is the bedrock of creating change. Without the space to demand change, there can be no change.
We’re asking the G20 (an increasingly important forum where governments discuss many issues impacting us all) to create a clear and actionable plan to ensure civic space is fully recognised and prioritised at the G20 summit in November, 2022.
Actions you can take:
End HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
What’s the problem?
AIDS, TB, and malaria needlessly put millions of lives at risk around the world.
But the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria is fighting back. They raise and invest billions every year to fight the deadliest infectious diseases, challenge the injustice that fuels them, and strengthen health systems in more than 100 countries. The Global Fund has saved over 44 million lives since 2002.
But today, they’re facing their biggest challenge yet. The COVID-19 pandemic saw treatment access decrease and deaths from malaria and TB increase for the first time in years.
What are we asking for?
We’re calling on the UK, France, and the EU to step up by committing 30% more to the Global Fund to help the world get back on track and save 20 million lives.
Actions you can take:
Prevent a Global Hunger Crisis
What’s the problem?
Largely due to conflict, climate change, and humanitarian crises, the world is in the grip of a catastrophic hunger crisis, putting an estimated 193 million people in urgent need of food assistance.
What are we asking for?
We’re asking world leaders to act now to build resilient food systems and provide emergency support to prevent a crisis by taking action such as maintaining food aid levels to the World Food Programme, UNICEF, and others; opening up food stocks to ensure consistency and stability in global food supplies; supporting refugees around the world facing food insecurity; and preventing export restrictions that have the potential to impact net importing countries.
Actions you can take:
Got in the gist of action-taking? Take more now!
Global Citizen Festival is calling on world leaders, corporations, and philanthropists to do more than they’ve ever done before to End Extreme Poverty NOW. Through our global campaign and with stages in two iconic locations — NYC’s Central Park and Accra’s Black Star Square — we will unite leaders, artists, activists, and Global Citizens around the world on Sept. 24 to achieve an ambitious policy agenda focused on empowering girls and women, taking climate action, breaking systemic barriers, and lifting up activists and advocates. Wherever you are in the world, you can join the campaign and take action right now by downloading the Global Citizen app.
