Remarkable People

The Project

MASSIVEGOOD uses the power of micro-philanthropy to help put a stop the millions of preventable deaths from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. We give you the choice to give a micro-donation towards major global health causes every time you make a travel reservation. Created by the Millennium Foundation, MASSIVEGOOD gets travelers and the travel industry involved in global health in a meaningful way.

MASSIVEGOOD is a charity movement, powered by GOOD-Doers: both everyday travelers and celebrities. MASSIVEGOOD is also a private-public coalition, bringing together leaders in the travel industry with global health organizations. But at the heart of our story is an innovative piece of system-agnostic donation technology that can be easily integrated into any internet-based sales environment, so travelers can give with a simple click. MASSIVEGOOD has attracted a host of supporters:

President Bill Clinton and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon were the first to click on MASSIVEGOOD at the United Nations on March 4th, 2010. Fierce competitors in the travel industry threw their support behind our initiative, including the three major “GDS” companies that create booking systems for airline tickets. In June 2010, we launched in Spain, our first market, and deployed the MASSIVEGOOD donation box throughout the domestic travel industry.

MASSIVEGOOD is one of a handful of “innovative financing” projects created since 2000 to inject more funds into underfunded public health causes. It is the first to harness the support of the general public through micro-contributions on a voluntary basis.

What We Do

Working with more than 3,000 local partner organizations, we work with people living in poverty striving to exercise their human rights, assert their dignity as full citizens and take control of their lives.

We focus our efforts in these areas:

Development

We work with and through partners and communities on long-term programs to eradicate poverty and combat injustice.

Emergencies

We deliver immediate life-saving assistance to people affected by natural disasters or conflict, and help to build their resilience to future disasters.

Campaigning

We are part of a global movement for change. We raise public awareness of the causes of poverty and encourage ordinary people to take action for a fairer world.

Advocacy

We press decision-makers to change policies and practices that reinforce poverty and injustice.

Policy research

We can speak with authority as a result of thorough research and analysis, and the real experience of our partners in developing countries.

Oxfam’s commitment to human rights

We believe that respect for human rights will help lift people out of poverty and injustice, allow them to assert their dignity and guarantee sustainable development.

When we speak about having a rights-based approach, this is what we mean.

We believe that everyone should have the right to:

A livelihood

Oxfam works at many levels with partners and communities in support of their right to a decent living.

We argue for better working conditions and better protection of the natural resources on which poor communities depend. We campaign for fairer trade rules at the global level, and for better policies at the national level. We work with partners and communities to implement programs that lead to self-sustaining livelihoods, with a strong focus on women.

Basic services

Being healthy and educated is an essential step along the route out of poverty.

Yet millions of people have no access to health services, schooling or safe water. They are constantly at risk from illnesses that are easily prevented or treated, or are unable to read and write, which means exclusion from their society. We campaign for more and better aid, with a focus on basic services. At the program level, Oxfam provides health training and clean water supplies, as well as funding schools and teacher training.

Be safe from harm

War and natural disasters cause untold suffering for millions of people around the world and keep them locked in poverty.

In disasters, people are at greater risk of violence, disease and abuse. We save lives in emergencies by providing shelter, clean water and sanitation. And by working with local partners, we help communities to rebuild and to better prepare themselves for future disasters.

Be heard

People living in poverty often have little influence over decisions that affect their lives.

Oxfam supports partners and communities to understand their rights and to speak out about their needs and concerns. And, with others, we get people in power to listen and act.

Be treated as equal

People who are marginalized – because they are women, disabled or members of a religious or ethnic minority – are more likely to be poor.

We combat such discrimination, and work with these groups to ensure they have the means to enjoy equal access to jobs, essential services and influence.

About Us

The International Red Cross is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any discrimination based on nationality, race, sex, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.

The movement consists of several distinct organizations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organs. The movement's parts are:

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963).
• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates activities between the 186 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies within the Movement. On an international level, the Federation leads and organizes, in close cooperation with the National Societies, relief assistance missions responding to large-scale emergencies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC.
• National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 186 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country according to the principles of international humanitarian law and the statutes of the international Movement. Depending on their specific circumstances and capacities, National Societies can take on additional humanitarian tasks that are not directly defined by international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are tightly linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services.

Who we are

© UNICEF/HQ92-0017/Charton

A Kyrgyz nomad girl from the north west province of Xinjiang, China.

UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. We have the global authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality.  That makes us unique among world organizations, and unique among those working with the young.

We believe that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress.  UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path.  We believe that we can, together, advance the cause of humanity.

We advocate for measures to give children the best start in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future.

We promote girls’ education – ensuring that they complete primary education as a minimum – because it benefits all children, both girls and boys. Girls who are educated grow up to become better thinkers, better citizens, and better parents to their own children.

We act so that all children are immunized against common childhood diseases, and are well nourished, because it is wrong for a child to suffer or die from a preventable illness.

We work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people because it is right to keep them from harm and enable them to protect others. We help children and families affected by HIV/AIDS to live their lives with dignity.

We involve everyone in creating protective environments for children. We are present to relieve suffering during emergencies, and wherever children are threatened, because no child should be exposed to violence, abuse or exploitation.

UNICEF upholds the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  We work to assure equality for those who are discriminated against, girls and women in particular. We work for the Millennium Development Goals and for the progress promised in the United Nations Charter. We strive for peace and security. We work to hold everyone accountable to the promises made for children.

We are part of the Global Movement for Children – a broad coalition dedicated to improving the life of every child.  Through this movement, and events such as the United Nations Special Session on Children, we encourage young people to speak out and participate in the decisions that affect their lives. 

We work in 190 countries through country programmes and National Committees. We are UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.