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In 2014, after unprecedented destruction and suffering in Gaza, international donors pledged $3.5bn and a change in approach. Six months later, reconstruction and recovery have barely begun, there has been no accountability for violations of international law, and Gaza remains cut off from the West Bank., This AIDA briefing paper outlines an achievable course of action to address the root causes of the recurrent conflict and put international engagement with Gaza back on the right course.

2005 is already an extraordinary year. The tsunami in the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004 caused widespread devastation, killed hundreds of thousands of people, left millions homeless, and plunged already poor countries into even deeper poverty. While the disaster has caused great devastation, the global wave of solidarity and public generosity that followed it offers grounds for hope. The outpouring of aid to those affected showed just what the international community is capable of when it acts in unison. The destruction caused by the tsunami was more than a ‘natural disaster‘: the impact was made far worse by the prevalence of extreme poverty and marginalisation in the region, and it is generally recognised that the affected countries will need significant support for many years if they are to recover. But it should also be recognised that the lack of international action to reform debt, aid, and trade policies has a similarly devastating impact on poor countries and requires the same level of solidarity and determination by the world community. Every week, poverty kills more people than the Asian tsunami. The question is: was the reaction to the tsunami a one-off event, or will the concerns of the poor be a continuing priority for the rich world? In this paper we consider the heroes and villains in the EU’s 25-member bloc. We ask: are they collectively doing enough to make sure that the EU seizes the opportunity to make poverty history?

The year 2008 is halfway to the deadline for reaching the Millennium Development Goals. Despite some progress, they will not be achieved if current trends continue. Aid promises are predicted to be missed by $30bn, at a potential cost of 5 million lives. Starting with the G8 meeting in Japan, rich countries must use a series of high-profile summits in 2008 to make sure the Goals are met, and to tackle both climate change and the current food crisis. Economic woes must not be used as excuses: rich countries' credibility is on the line.

European austerity programmes have dismantled the mechanisms that reduce inequality and enable equitable growth. With inequality and poverty on the rise, Europe is facing a lost decade. An additional 15 to 25 million people across Europe could face the prospect of living in poverty by 2025 if austerity measures continue. Oxfam knows this because it has seen it before. The austerity programmes bear a striking resemblance to the ruinous structural adjustment policies imposed on Latin America, South-East Asia, and sub-Sahara Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. These policies were a failure: a medicine that sought to cure the disease by killing the patient. They cannot be allowed to happen again. In A Cautionary Tale: The true cost of austerity and inequality in Europe Oxfam calls on the governments of Europe to turn away from austerity measures and instead choose a path of inclusive growth that delivers better outcomes for people, communities, and the environment., Oxfam has also produced a series of country case studies on the damaging effects of austerity. These cover France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the UK, and are available to download below., "Oxfam's report, A Cautionary Tale: The true cost of austerity and inequality in Europe, makes an important contribution to assessing the high and long-lasting costs of these ill-conceived policies.", Professor Joseph Stiglitz