Children in Ethiopia

MONTREAL – A former UN water advisor is warning that water and sanitation should be much higher on the core MDG priority list given they are essential to reaching the other goals.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, US President Barack Obama, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and more than 140 leaders have now gathered in New York City for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals summit, which runs September 20-22.

The Millennium Development Goals include the goals of halving the proportion of people who cannot reach or afford safe drinking water and halving the number who do not have basic sanitation by 2015. Presently, over 900 million people lack access to drinking water and 2.6 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation. Read the entire story.

Here’s a brief video we did at CrossWalk this past weekend. I am talking about CrossWalk’s upcoming series “Going Glocal” and interviewing CrossWalk member Tamra Handysides about Stand Up 2010 and the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

Some more good stuff from Jan Paulsen, President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists:

I was in Chicago over the weekend for the North American launch of U2′s 360 Tour. It was everything I anticipated. I can’t wait to see U2 again at the Rose Bowl in October. Chicago Tribune’s rock critic, Greg Kot calls it “One of the best stadium shows of the last decade.” If you want to read more about the opening concert check out Tom Martin’s review in the the L.A. Times music blog, Pop & Hiss. Don’t worry I’m not going to attempt a review.  I want to share a few thoughts about U2 and the ONE Campaign.

I saw U2 in L.A. on their Vertigo Tour in 2006. Bono’s passionate appeal to join the ONE Campaign moved me join the fight against global poverty and AIDS. During the past three years I’ve remained involved with the ONE Campaign in many ways. I also encouraged our congregation to take action as well. So I was curious what U2 would do to promote the ONE Campaign this time around, especially considering the global recession.

On the way into the concert I stopped by the ONE Campaign HQ. There were lots of ONE volunteers going around with notebook computers encouraging people to join ONE. They were also taking photos of people kissing for ONE’s “Kiss the Future” campaign, kinda cheesy if you ask me. The photos are displayed on the round video screens at the end of all the concerts.

During the concert U2 approached the issues from a much different angle than I expected. The challenges to end poverty and AIDS were absent, instead Bono did a monologue about the difference the ONE Campaign has made for millions of people in Africa. He thanked Chicagoans for their part in making it happen, starting with Pastor Bill Hybels. U2 disappeared and a video segment opened with a speech from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. You can see it here at ONE’s On the Road with U2.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we’re going to continue to mobilize people to action for Africa in the midst of the political-economic turmoil we are facing as a nation. It’s hard to talk about people dying across the ocean when people are loosing their homes across the street. Ok … I know, there’s no comparison. Still I’ve been wondering if the momentum for change may be slipping away. I think U2 sensed this trend and decided to focus on the good rather than the bad for the 360 Tour. For a nation where so many seem to be struggling financially, their approach was filled with hope and promise. Something we all need a little more of right now.