World Bank and International Monetary Fund The World Bank and International Monetary Fund is waiving more than 90% of Burundi’s approximate US$1.4 billion total debt. |
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France French President Nicolas Sarkozy authorizes an aid package of US$736 million to help ease conditions for the people of the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. |
Cao Dewang Cao Dewang, one of the wealthiest businessmen in China, announces plans to set up a US$600 million foundation for charities. |
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) The US Agency for International Development (USAID) donates US$86 million to the Philippines for better education programs. |
Japan Japan contributes approximately US$17 million to the United Nations Development Program to support the Disarmament and Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) project in Sudan. |
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Netherlands, and Southern Sudan The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) donates US$13.5, the Netherlands donates US$9 million, and the Southern Sudanese government contributes US$3.4 million to Southern Sudan. |
Spain Spain has released €10 million of a three-year €30 million donation to assist the African Union for peacekeeping and security. |
Chinese President Hu Jintao Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered a US$22 million aid package to Tanzania and the Zanzibar islands |
African Development Bank The African Development Bank donates more than US$9 million to support the National Health Development Program of Guinea Bissau. |
Woolworth stores in Australia Australia’s Woolworths stores plan to donate US$3.3 million to farmers coping with severe weather. |
Japan Japan announces an additional donation of US$3 million to help cyclone victims in Myanmar |
China China donates US$1.4 million to Comoros |
United Nations In 2008, the United Nations contributed US$125 million in aid to Sri Lanka. |
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, USA New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched “PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York” to reduce global warming, and committed US$375 million to support tobacco-free lifestyles globally. |
IKEA Swedish furniture company IKEA is donating US$48 million to UNICEF to some of India's most disadvantaged areas. |
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donates US$12.5 million to bring mobile phone banking to less fortunate countries. |
United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) The United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) donated US$12.3 million to less fortunate farmers in the Tajikistan. |
China China will provide an additional aid of US$11.5 million for development projects in Senegal. |
Japan Japan has pledged a US$6.9 million food donation to assist in providing rice in certain disadvantaged districts of the nation. |
United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) The United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) provides a US$8 million donation and a US$8 million loan to Niger |
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) The United States Agency for International Development is donating US$5.1 million to Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Mali to assist in agriculture. |
The United Nations Children's Fund The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) donates US$5 million to Zimbabwe’s health services. |
European Union The European Union launches a €3.3 million 3-year gender equality program in the Mediterranean region. |
Under Secretary-General John Holmes and the United Nations United Nations Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes pledged US$5 million for the development of Colombia’s Chocó region. |
Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency announced a US$2.5 million donation to Sri Lankan. |
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) The United States Agency for International Development allocates US$1.5 million for Afghan farmers. |
Belgium Belgium donates more than US$1.1 million to support agricultural and socio-economic projects in Rwanda. |
New Zealand After US$290,000 aid, New Zealand pledged an additional US$265,000 to aid the flood affected people of the Solomon Islands. |
Solidarity Service International (SODI) The German organization Solidarity Service International (SODI) is providing US$550,000 to help safely clear unexploded ordnance in Quảng Trị, Âu Lạc (Vietnam). |
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban Award-winning Australian actress Nicole Kidman and her husband, musician Keith Urban, donated US$330,000 to the victims of Australia’s wildfires. |
HSBC Bank HSBC Bank donates more than US$400,000 to Singapore to develop the island of Pulau Semakau. |
Dr. Bukola Saraki Dr. Bukola Saraki, Nigeria’s Kwara state governor, donates US$54,000 in aid to communities affected by last year’s flood. |
Thailand Thailand donates US$10,000 to Jamaica’s Mustard Seed Communities. |
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) The United Nations Children's Fund builds a hospital in the town of Pottuvil, Sri Lanka. |
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles American singing and acting star Beyoncé Knowles donates her entire salary from her role in the film “Cadillac Records” to Phoenix House, the largest non-profit drug and alcohol prevention and treatment service in the US. |
Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Nissan, Ford, Toyota, Holden, BMW, and Audi Automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Nissan, Ford, Toyota, Holden, BMW and Audi have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid Australian wildfire victims. |
Egypt Egypt provides Kenya with 183 metric tons of food to people most affected by the current drought. |
Labor Union of Truckers of Argentina The Labor Union of Truckers of Argentina donates 18 tons of food to Palestinians in Gaza. |
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is sending staff and relief supplies to Somali refugees in Ethiopia. |
Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz President of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA) Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz sends 432 tons of drinking water to Palestinians in Gaza. |
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) distributes relief supplies to 20,500 storm-affected residents in southern Madagascar, and also provides classroom tents and school supplies for 9,000 affected students. |
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment in Dubai offer medical treatment to injured Palestine children. |
United Nations World Food Program The UN World Food Program is distributing food vouchers to 120,000 people in Burkina Faso to access affordable food. |
Noor Dubai Noor Dubai, a United Arab Emirates-based charity, helped restore the vision of 30,000 persons in one week at its free cataract treatment camps in Sudan and Bangladesh. |
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) plans to provide relief materials to help about 9,000 families in Pakistan. |
The Prostheses Foundation of Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother The Prostheses Foundation of Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother of Thailand has given over 30,000 prosthetic legs, made from recycled materials, since 1992. |
Cuba and Venezuela Cuba and Venezuela sponsored the Vision Now program which provides eye surgeries to over 57,000 people from 15 island nations, including Barbados. |
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has completed the construction of 200 earthquake-resistant and child-friendly schools in Indonesia's Aceh-Nias. |
The Parliament of Bahrain Members of the Parliament of Bahrain have voted to ban all sales of alcohol, including duty-free at the Bahrain International Airport, and the Bahrain-owned airline, Gulf, had discontinued serving alcohol on all flights. |
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Professor Dominique Maraninchi President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and the health ministry launched a campaign urging people to stop drinking wine and reduce their meat intake to minimize the risk of cancer. According to the country’s National Cancer Institute’s president, Professor Dominique Maraninchi, any amount of alcohol is not good for one’s health. |
Dr. Huang Yunbao Dr. Huang Yunbao, a member of the China Democratic League, associate professor in mathematics from the School of Science at the Hangzhou Normal University and vegan, recommended that the government encourage citizens to reduce meat consumption as part of Hangzhou city’s Energy Conservation and Emissions Mitigation Plan. |
Doctors for Developing Countries Doctors for Developing Countries, a German non-profit organization, has carried out over 3,800 medical missions in developing. |
The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Science Foundation The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with the support of the US-based National Science Foundation, released the music video “Take Aim at Climate Change” to bring awareness to the current crisis and provides solutions. |
Ministry of Education of Formosa (Taiwan) Formosa’s (Taiwan) Ministry of Education asks all learning centers to comply with the Tobacco Hazard Prevention Act which prohibits smoking in universities, colleges, primary and junior high schools, and indoor and outdoor youth-related areas. |
United Nations World Food Program The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) purchased 550,000 metric tons of food from local farmers in southern Africa for humanitarian purposes in 2008. |
His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia approves over 204,000 new teaching positions that will better the conditions of many teachers. |
Japan Japan built the first primary school for children with visual impairment in Dessi, north-central Ethiopia. |
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announces a housing project to stimulate the construction sector, including one million homes to be built by 2010. |
US Christian music stars Christian music stars in the USA collaborate to produce “CompassionArt: Creating Freedom from Poverty,” a new album with proceeds being donated to 16 charities. |
Let the Animal Live Let the Animals Live, an Israeli organization dedicated to animal welfare, sends food and medical aid for animals in Gaza, Palestine. |
International scientists Over 150 scientists from 26 countries signed the Monaco Declaration which calls for immediate global action by policymakers to reverse ocean acidification caused by CO2 absorption. |
California, The Trust for Public Land, Truckee Donner Land Trust, Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, Sierra Business Council, and The Nature Conservancy California’s state funds and private partners’ contributions - The Trust for Public Land, Truckee Donner Land Trust, Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, Sierra Business Council, and The Nature Conservancy – have enabled the purchase of almost 2,000 acres in the northern Sierra Nevada and Yuba Country which will be permanently safeguarded. |
Shivaji Pandey Shivaji Pandey, Director of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO) Plant Production and Protection Division, recommends the natural farming method known as Conservation Agriculture which benefits the environment by storing CO2 in the soil. |
Liège, Belgium The city of Liège, Belgium, offers shelter for homeless citizens and their canine companions at a local soccer club. |
Brett Perry Bretty Perry used a bodyboard to rescue three people when they were pulled offshore by a strong current in South Australia. |
Thomas Coppola and Victor LaRoue, USA Neighbors Thomas Coppola and Victor LaRoue came to the assistance of Dan Fyvie to rescue his Rottweiler, Ossa, who had fallen into the freezing lake. |
Two unnamed Philippine citizens Two Philippine citizens in the island of Palawan rescued a stranded endangered, vegetarian sea cow, also known as a dugong, by pushing him back into the lagoon. |
Steve Karas and Paul Amos, USA 51-year old Steve Karas of Massachusettsdonated his bone marrow, saving the life of 1-year old Matthew Welling, and inspired Paul Amos, president of American Family Life Assurance Company to initiate a registry drive that now has 1,100 employees who agreed to become bone marrow donors. |
Duke the Labrador mix, USA Duke the Labrador mix’s unusual barking alerted his human friend, Ellen Lurz of Maryland of a brush fire and prevented a major house fire. |
Toyota, Japan Japanese automaker Toyota was honored with the 2009 ecoENERGY awards by Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency for the company’s fuel-efficient Yaris and hybrid, Prius. |
China China donates office equipment to assist the Republic of Congo its presidential election in July. |
California State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez In the US, California State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez introduces a bill in the State Senate to end the painful and unnecessary process of tail docking for dairy cows. |
Herald newspaper in New Zealand The Adopt Me series of New Zealand’s Herald newspaper was successful in finding loving homes for 250 animals. |
Peter Hughes Peter Hughes, the former sustainable energy advisor to the United Nations, designed the “electro-kinetic road bumps” that generate electricity as they slow traffic, installed in London UK. |
Dr. Pamela Ronald, Dr. David Mackill, Dr. Julia Bailey-Serres Dr. Pamela Ronald, at the University of California, Davis, USA; Dr. David Mackill, of the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines; and Dr. Julia Bailey-Serres at the University of California, Riverside, USA, have produced a non-genetically modified flood-resistant rice plants that could survive being submerged in water for 17 days. |
Enterprise Rent-A-Car The US-based Enterprise Rent-A-Car has designated 80 hybrid auto rental branches, including locations at 10 of the United States’ busiest airports, and adds 5,000 new hybrid cars to its fleet. |
President Felipe Calderon of Mexico Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon inaugurates the country’s first wind farm with additional future installations planned. |
Dart River Jet Safaris Boat touring company Dart River Jet Safaris in Queenstown, New Zealand, commits to protect local endangered bird species; the company was also the recipient of the Green Globe Benchmarked Bronze status for its exemplary environmental standards and community commitment. |
Center for Biological Diversity The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity in San Francisco, California, USA, has opened the Climate Law Institute to add a global warming perspective to all its programs. |
Jimmy Cargill An Australian man risked his life to re-enter his burning house to save one of his dogs, unfortunately, he was overcome by smoke and his neighbor, Jimmy Cargill, pulled him out to safety. |