Global Call to Action Against Poverty

"In September 2003, prominent activist on women and children’s issues, Graca Machel, hosted a group of southern non-governmental issues in Maputo, Mozambique. It was here, with other prominent civil society activists such as CIVICUS Secretary-General Kumi Naidoo that the idea of a Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) was first aired. GCAP, which today can arguably be said to be one of the most ambitious civil society campaigns consisting of 900 organisations from 70 countries went on, a year later, to launch a campaign and issue a declaration which is now known as the GCAP Johannesburg Declaration.

"The goals of GCAP range from ensuring the increase in aid from G8 countries, to maximising efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through to debt cancellation for developing nations and the removal of trade barriers that bring about unfair trade practices. GCAP has adopted the white band as its official international symbol – a symbol that has been seen on the hands of millions of people in several countries and the white band wearers keep on increasing thereby highlighting that the war against injustices brought on by poverty is not confined to a few activists but is, in fact, a global phenomenon."

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