AFJN is honored to announce that Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, world-renowned development economist, will address the attendees of our 25th anniversary celebration.  He will speak on the topic, “United States Policy and Africa: an Assessment of the Current Administration and Imperatives for the Next.”  During his distinguished career, Professor Sachs has campaigned tirelessly for Africa, advocating debt relief and increases in foreign aid. He was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in both 2004 and 2005 and recently published a New York Times Bestseller, The End of Poverty.

Throughout his career, Dr. Sachs has investigated the causes of economic growth, famously propounding possession of natural resources andgeographic factors as being critical. He has also written extensively on financial crises.  His especially successful advice for Poland has led to a widespread acceptance of his economic therapy.

While advising Kofi Annan, he led the way in calling for complete debt relief for Africa and massive increases in foreign aid . Yet these are only a small part of Professor Sachs’ relentless crusade to help the impoverished on the continent and meet the Millennium Development Goals. These issues and others are boldly tackled in his recent New York Times Bestseller “The End of Poverty,” which provides an optimistic vision of what would occur if rich countries truly committed to ending poverty.

Professor Jeffrey Sachs now heads the Earth Institute at Columbia University, an organization dedicated to providing resources for sustainable development and the betterment of humanity. This role is especially appropriate for someone with such willingness to get his hands dirty by visiting project sites and extensively detailing his proposed projects.

AFJN is thrilled to present Jeffrey Sachs, who has done so much for Africa and whose work promises to do much more. We hope that you will join us at the Holiday Inn in Rosslyn, Virginia for this event and the rest of our 25th anniversary festivities from April 18-21, 2008.  Continue checking this website for more details.

From March 9-12, nearly one thousand people from church communities all over the United States came to Washington for Ecumenical Advocacy Days. AFJN members joined their sisters and brothers in a weekend of workshops, worship and preparation for lobbying the new members of Congress. Of the one thousand gathered at the Doubletree Hotel, nearly one hundred and fifty had come specifically to reflect on issues facing the people of Africa. On Monday morning the 12th, hundreds of committed Christians headed up to Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Congressional staff to demand greater justice for the children of the United States and the world.