War On Want

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Make Poverty History

2005 was a remarkable year. Never before has poverty dominated the public arena to such an extent. Never before have so many people taken to the streets to call for a fairer world - a world without poverty.

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But despite all we achieved in 2005, the UK government failed to meet the challenge of MakePovertyHistory and more action is needed. The 225,000 people who took to the streets in Edinburgh and millions of people who took part in Make Poverty History are an inspiration to us to continue our campaign unabated.

War on Want will continue to call our government to account for its promises to the poor and continue to campaign for trade justice.

War on Want has one fundamental belief that drives everything we do: poverty is not inevitable. We act to resist its widespread existence both in the UK and globally through working in cooperation with partner organisations. We believe that the war on poverty will be won by tackling it on two fronts:

On the one hand we campaign against the structures that keep people poor, such as unfair trading rules and irresponsible corporate practices. We lobby on behalf of those who are marginalised and forgotten, and call for global justice and new trade rules in a world dominated by the negative side effects of globalisation.

On the other hand we believe that poor and marginalised people can only break out of the poverty trap if they have the power, skills, and knowledge to stand up for themselves with confidence.

  • We call for justice for the people of the Western Sahara!
  • Our partners support rural people in extreme poverty in Mozambique
  • Our partners provide education for illiterate women in Bangladesh

That is why War on Want works with organisations throughout the world facing the devastating effects of poverty every day. During the last 50 years we have built up a network of longstanding partners whose strong commitment and knowledge are the foundation stones of our work.

We believe that only in partnership with the people who experience and fight poverty on a daily basis can we find methods that work in the long run.