“Let’s say no to poverty” in Azerbaijan

Nearly 2000 people attended a festival in Barda, central Azerbaijan, to mark the launch of a national campaign in the country to end poverty.

Organized by Oxfam, together with local partner organisations and other allies, the festival, held in April, encouraged members of the public to support the call for world leaders to do more to tackle poverty. People from more than 20 villages gathered to watch a spectacular line up of entertainers and to hear more about the campaign. A member of the local government authority attended the event and spoke of his support for the campaign. The deputy of the Executive Committee of Barda, Khasay Mehdiyev, called on the crowd to take action. He said: “I would like to ask you all to raise your hands in support of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. Let’s say NO to poverty!” White wristbands, the symbol of the campaign, were distributed amongst young and old people, women and men, who wore them to show their support for the campaign. This campaign is just one part of a huge movement called ‘Global Call to Action Against Poverty’ – a worldwide coalition of people and organisations committed to forcing world leaders to live up to their promises, and to make a breakthrough on poverty in 2005. In Azerbaijan, the campaign is focusing particularly on access to primary health care services, especially in poor rural areas such as Barda. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan’s health system has been severely under resourced. Many people who live in isolated villages simply do not have a health clinic in their village or cannot afford to pay for treatment and drugs. Many of the people who went to the festival know the struggle of accessing health care all too well. The festival was a chance for them to make their voice heard on this issue – and it was plenty of fun too. The programme included musical soloists, acrobatic performances, and theatre. The highlight was a special dance by Freedom, a ballet company from the capital Baku. Festival rarely take place in rural regions such as Barda, so this one attracted great attention from local residents and the national press. Oxfam hopes that national leaders will be taking notice too and is calling on national-level decision-makers to make further policy reforms providing primary health care services to poor people in rural areas. As part of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, the Oxfam team in Azerbaijan is already planning further activities for White Band Day on 1 July, a global day of campaigning just before the G8 meeting of world leaders takes place in Scotland.