Kristof's Advice to the Humanitarian World

By Heifer International

October 3, 2019

Last Updated: September 24, 2010

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote an op-ed article this week, on the heels of the United Nations meeting to discuss global poverty. It's been 10 years since the U.N. adopted the Millennium Development Goals, and we're not doing so well on some of them. So Kristof offered three suggestions to organizations working to end hunger and poverty:
"First, boast more. ... In fact, here’s the record: antipoverty work saves around 32,000 children’s lives each day. ...
"My second suggestion is to focus not just on poverty relief but also on wealth creation. The best way to overcome poverty isn’t charity but economic growth, trade rather than aid. ...
"My third suggestion: punchier marketing. Humanitarians tend to flinch at the idea of marketing, thinking that’s what you do with toothpaste. But it’s all the more important when lives are at stake."
Does any of this sound familiar?