1. INTERACTION PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tawana Jacobs, 202-552-6534 (Office), 202-297-1696 (Cell), tjacobs@interaction.org
Nasserie Carew, 202-552-6561 (Office), 202-341-3814 (Cell), ncarew@interaction.org
AS G-20 APPROACHES, DEVELOPMENT ORGS STRESS ECONOMIC RECOVERY HURDLES FACING
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Washington, DC (Sept. 16, 2009)—Today, members of the InterAction alliance called on G-20 leaders to
rapidly implement their previous commitment of $50 billion for the world’s poorest countries at next
week’s Pittsburgh Summit.
With rapidly decreasing donor country financial assistance and lower tourism, developing countries
need the G-20 to step up immediately to fill the gap. There is no stimulus plan for the poor; there is no
buffer to protect them from food, energy, and financial crises. “Ultimately, it comes down to the
willingness of nations to put money behind the pledges on behalf of the world’s poorest, who will not be
at the G-20 table,” said Samuel A. Worthington, President and CEO of InterAction. “We feel confident
that the U.S. movement is both from the right and the left, faith-based or secular, that is interested in
the global poor.”
As the global economy stabilizes and world leaders discuss plans for recovery, many developing nations
still feel the effects of the crisis disproportionally. The InterAction alliance urges world leaders to
remember developing countries. “The World Bank and other multilateral institutions need to rapidly
disburse funds and also must take additional proactive steps to ensure the money is going to whom it’s
intended,” said Nancy Boswell, President of Transparency International USA. She also stressed that
combating corruption within the international monetary system is as essential for the developing world
as it is the United States.
Both Boswell and Ritu Sharma, Co-Founder and President of Women Thrive Worldwide, emphasized
that while Americans are concerned about their own pocketbooks, “we have the resources to help
people both here and abroad at the same time.” For example, Sharma noted, “This year has been a
sobering milestone in terms of food security. The largest numbers of people ever are going to bed
hungry on a regular basis.”
Another critical need for the G-20 leaders to address is climate change, according to Ray Offenheiser,
President of Oxfam America. “[Climate change] represents a security risk to the U.S. and many other
nations,” Offenheiser said. While $50 billion might seem high now, “the cost would be higher in two
decades when we are paying for our indifference.”
The speakers pledged to be strong voices at the Pittsburgh Summit on September 24 and 25. Over 30
NGOs plan to be present and active. They hope President Obama will use the forum to advance a
stronger U.S. position in the developing world and lead by example on accountability. Worthington
closed the briefing by saying that the InterAction community forms a global conscience, and an
American movement: “There is a passion in America that goes across our entire political spectrum. The

2. simple reality is that Americans do care, we need to care, and in many ways, what our leaders do at
gatherings like the G-20 and the G-8 will shape the world we want to have for our children.”
Go to www.interaction.org to hear a playback of the briefing or read the transcript and learn more about
the InterAction alliance plans for Pittsburgh.
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InterAction is the largest alliance of US-based nongovernmental international humanitarian relief and
development organizations with more than 180 members. Our members operate in every developing
country, working with local communities to overcome poverty and suffering by helping to improve their
quality of life.