Its Great North Run time again on 19 September and the Toon is full of budding half-marathon runners.

Last year my generous sponsors donated £1,424.49 including Giftaid (the highest amount ever donated to the JDC team) which was very gratefully received by the Jubilee Debt Campaign and Oxfam and helped their campaigning success. Due to a calf injury, I ran my slowest ever half-marathon in 1 hr 43 mins and 12 secs (3154th finisher) but raised more money than ever before.

This year I was injured earlier than usual (July) and have already spent far too much time at the physio. However, I’m hoping to improve on last year, break my slow slide into 100+ minute runs and finish in the first 2000. My (injury-affected) target is to beat 100 minutes and raise over £1200 – please donate generously. Your money really does help me to keep running.

Your sponsorship money will be split equally between the Jubilee Debt Campaign and Oxfam’s work on HIV/AIDS.

Jubilee Debt Campaign:

The JDC works to reduce global poverty by the cancellation of unpayable debt, by a fair and transparent procedure that ensures the good use of the resources freed up. DEBT RELIEF has arguably been the greatest campaigning success since the abolition of slavery (though we still have far to go). It has, to take just one example, helped to get 98% of its children into primary school, an increase of 97% since 2000.

Oxfam:

HIV/AIDS: In , about 4 million people are now receiving antiretroviral therapy - that's 20 times as many as five years ago. And remember, that's 4 million parents whose children will not be left orphans in a hard and callous world! Treatment to prevent HIV transmission during birth has risen from 10% to nearly 50% over 5 years. Great! But the fact that 50% are still untreated is a global obscenity, given the cheap and easy nature of this procedure. The money you raise will help increase that figure.

WHY GIVE TO JUBILEE DEBT CAMPAIGN?

The Commission for Africa found that Benin was using 54% of its first tranche of debt relief on health; in Tanzania, relief has put an extra two million children (mostly girls) into primary school; in Mozambique, it has been used to provide universal vaccination for children; in Uganda, an extra two million now have clean water; and so on. The fight against HIV/AIDS has been a major beneficiary of debt relief in many countries.

“The world has awoken” as a result of your efforts, said Kofi Annan. “A flame of hope has been kindled in the poorest countries of the world.... On behalf of the UN, I extend my deep gratitude to you all for your indefatigable efforts.” The great man continued with doubtless unintentional, but delicious irony: “Millions of people are indebted to you.”

Over 25 countries have received substantial debt relief since 2006 – we’ve got $2,400 million written off for in the last year - but at least 60 are in urgent need of it. Even after the recent write-offs, we will still be extorting over $100 million from them each day in debt repayments.

WHY GIVE TO FIGHT HIV/AIDS?

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, economics advisor to the UN Secretary General, was visiting the main hospital in , and the doctor suggested he stepped into the medical ward:

“There was no medicine in the medical ward. The ward had 150 beds - there were 450 people in the ward. These 450 people were fit into a room with 150 beds by putting three people in or around each bed. Two people were lying head to toe, toe to head, in each bed – strangers sharing a death bed. Alongside or underneath the bed there was somebody on the ground, sometimes literally on the ground or sometimes on a piece of cardboard, dying beneath the bed. The room was filled with moans. Family members were sitting by the beds, swabbing dried lips and watching their loved ones die.”

"We believe AIDS is the worst catastrophe ever to hit the world", says Carol Bellamy, UNICEF's Executive Director - small wonder, given that 40-45 million people are infected with HIV globally and 3 million die from AIDS each year. However, the tragedy extends far beyond the sick and dying. Over 18 million African children will have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Millions of children not yet in their teens now find themselves totally responsible for younger siblings; millions of weak and impoverished elderly people are left to care for grandchildren.

The fight against HIV/AIDS is being won, but far too slowly. The rate of new infections can be slashed, as it has been in ; transmission during birth and the development of full-blown AIDS can be blocked by drug use; the plight of the sick and dying can be mitigated; and the carers of orphans can be supported. The medical tools and the financial resources are available - all that is needed is the exercise of decency and will to deploy them.

DONATING VIA JUSTGIVING

On-line sponsorship is ideal for friends and family who live elsewhere – particularly if they are tax payers. Justgiving levies a small percentage charge on all donations, but, even so, tax payers who use the Gift Aid facility provided will increase the effective size of their donations by about 20%.

Please note that although the on-line system is set up in favour of Jubilee Debt Campaign in the first instance, JDC will send half the funds so provided to your chosen aid agency when everything’s done and dusted after the Run.

Thanks very much for your continued support and please let me know if any questions about the charities or the run,

Cheers

Hugh