SA’s Heartbeat Pledges Active Participation in Millennium Development Goals

Monday, 08 February 2010 14:16

Johannesburg, 8th February, 2010 – Heartbeat, a non profit organisation that exists to alleviate the suffering of orphans and Vulnerable Children by facilitating change in communities, has become a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders (YGL) community and has announced its pledge to reach at least 100,000 children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in the developing world by 2015, in support of the Millennium Development Goals that were announced in Davos, Switzerland last week at the World Economic Forum.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world’s goals that are dedicated to advancing the wellbeing of the billion poorest and most marginalised people on the planet still living on less than $1/day. To date, over sixty Young Global Leaders from an array of key industries and fields have pledged to kick-start a grassroots movement to make the Millennium Development Goals a reality. Announcing a ‘People’s Plan of Action’ this week at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, Young Global Leaders are putting their resources together to tackle what world leaders have already agreed are the globe’s key challenges of extreme poverty.

Dr. Sunette Steyn (nee Pienaar) founder and Executive Chairman of Heartbeat which relies on corporate donor funding, says that her organisation’s pledge initiative will be achieved through holistic service provision, addressing the stated MDGs on poverty, primary education, gender equality, child mortality and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB.

“We have also pledged, through the Academic University of South Africa, to contribute to research culminating in an article, entitled ‘Strengthening Global Partnerships for Achieving the MDGs in Sub-Saharan Africa’ for the UN MDG Summit in September 2010, thereby supporting goal 8, building a global partnership for development,” says Steyn.

While globally it is estimated that 18 million children have lost one or both parents due to HIV, in SA specifically it is estimated that 3.1 million children are orphans signifying an estimated 18% of our children. “To avoid another ‘lost’ generation in South Africa, it is commonly agreed that what is needed is active multi-sector response due to the fact that Government and NGOs alone are not able to adequately respond to this catastrophe, and we believe that together, it can be done,” she adds. “With the help of partner organisations and donors Heartbeat can address the parental, educational, physical, psycho-social, health, and nutritional needs and rights of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) via material provision, education, children’s empowerment, access to basic rights and capacity building.”

Steyn says that Heartbeat is proud to be part of the global YGL initiative and that partnering with organisations as varied as Facebook, the African Leadership Academy, Women for Women International and the GAVI Fund, Young Global Leaders are taking the lead in formulating initiatives aimed at eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, achieving universal primary education, combating HIV/Aids and malaria, promoting gender equality, and promoting environmental sustainability. The collective work of the Young Global Leaders aims at contributing to MDG Goal 8: creating a global partnership.

Believing that each person and each organisation can make a difference, the Young Global Leaders community of the World Economic Forum are dedicated in supporting the Millennium Development Goals and will work to have maximum involvement from people all over the world in this effort. Every idea counts – and every effort helps – in making the world more equitable and fair for the next generation. The coming nine months will be critical in making the September 2010 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) summit at the United Nations a success – and for the following five years the Young Global Leaders will continue to work to achieve success by the 2015 mark.

A cross-section of partnerships in both the public and private sector, along with individuals and organisations will be developed in the coming months and years to make 2015 a year to be proud of. Steyn reports that the YGL pledge today is one of many initiatives under A People’s Plan of Action which, they say, demonstrates the type of creativity, dynamism and commitment that is needed around the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals – and they are achievable.

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