World Poverty Day begins

David Cameron began the day with a joint letter in the Independent on Sunday with economist Jeffrey Sachs about the role that educated women play in ending poverty. In order to assist this Cameron advocates targeted action to support women, for example by tackling maternal mortality and ensuring that action on women and development is on the agenda at G8, G20 and UN summits this year.

In a letter to directors of UK international development NGOs Gordon Brown has outlined his agenda on global poverty for 2010 if re-elected including a push for every child in the world to have access to healthcare and primary school education by 2015 – assisted by a $200bn global aid deal at the Millennium Development Goals Summit in September.

Nick Clegg spoke at a church in Surrey about his party’s commitment to tackling world poverty and our moral duty to do so.

Later David Cameron is to visit a development NGO in Birmingham and the BBC have reported Gordon Brown will visit a church in London as part of World Poverty Day.