Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The New York Times - September 12, 2006
Celia W. Dugger
Mr. Soros's money will, among other things, pay for fertilizers and improved seeds to raise crop yields, classrooms to improve literacy and health clinics to reduce deaths in 33 villages in 10 African countries. The hope is that poor subsistence farmers will begin earning more income by selling crops at market.
The strategy, which Mr. Sachs has been pursuing through his nonprofit group, the Millennium Promise, since 2004, is to tackle the myriad problems of poverty all at once by providing villagers with relatively inexpensive technologies and approaches, including mosquito nets that prevent malaria and stoves with chimneys that reduce deadly indoor air pollution.
Mr. Soros's contribution is a philanthropic departure for him. He has largely focused on fostering democracy and good government. But he said in an interview Tuesday that he believed that this undertaking had humanitarian value for the participating villages, as well as some chance of building a successful model that could be copied.
"It requires the support or at least benevolent attitudes from the governments concerned," he said. "In my view, most of the poverty in the world is due to bad governance. And whether the project can overcome that is a big question. If it succeeds in 5 of 10 countries and can be scaled up, that would be a tremendous achievement."
Mr. Sachs said he believed that just as donors' spending on global health in recent years had reduced deaths that could be prevented with vaccines, mosquito nets and AIDS drugs, so it could help jump-start economic growth in rural areas through the distribution of fertilizers, higher-yielding seeds and inexpensive small-scale irrigation methods.
Mr. Sachs began the experiment with a single cluster of villages in western Kenya, but it has since expanded to 79 such clusters in a dozen countries. About 400,000 people live in the areas receiving assistance.
His nonprofit group estimated that the cost of the package of village-level investments was $110 per person a year for five years. Millennium Promise is putting up $50 a year of that cost, with the balance coming from African governments, other donors and the villagers themselves.
060912
NYT060913
Copyright © 2006 - The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved. All New York Times articles contained on the AEGiS web site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of The New York Times Company. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. However, you may download articles (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal, noncommercial use only.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .