The Mehta/Mirrlees (MM) Model

Fortune Forum founder, Renu Mehta working with Nobel Prize winning Economist Sir James Mirrlees, have devised a fiscal instrument, The Mehta-Mirrlees (MM) Aid Model, a global blueprint aimed at transforming the way we in the rich countries help those in the poor countries so that they can work themselves out of poverty and inequalities.

Poverty isn’t history and Climate change is here; two of the world’s greatest challenges that confront us all. Our humanity is on the line but Government Aid is currently inadequate to meet these threats because;

Firstly, not enough Aid is pledged; at present only around half of the money that’s needed annually to fix these problems (around $150b shortfall as estimated by the UN) is being pledged by richer Governments.

Secondly, only around half of that Aid reaches the people on the ground due to losses to theft, corruption, poor project design and excessive administration costs. Aid is often misdirected due to tying to political and commercial interests.

So, only around a quarter of what’s needed is getting through. We need bigger & better Aid. REAL AID.

The MM Model Manifesto

There are enough solutions and money to go round - The MM Model provides a fair way for Governments to co-ordinate both. Richer Governments are encouraged to:-

• Match donations made by individuals (matching from existing Aid budgets). Higher-income earners and Businesses are expected to contribute more. This could nearly double the money available.

• Set up a special fund to deliver aid to the best programmes, serving development priorities, not defence or donor-trade priorities. Governments that receive aid must be effective and accountable.

• ‘Track’ the money - Funds should be dispersed through an independent, co-ordinated, and competitive process for efficient delivery. NGOs/Charities and UN agencies would receive substantial funding from the new fund.

• Become more transparent about aid programmes and fully accountable to the public. This would build a new public confidence in Aid. The quality of aid is as important as the quantity of Aid.

This MM (Mehta/Mirrlees) Model, devised by Nobel Prize-winning economist, Sir James Mirrlees and Fortune Forum charity founder Renu Mehta, sets out to raise an additional $100 billion per year in REAL AID. It would help give the poor, almost half the world’s population access to food, shelter, education, water, healthcare, a cleaner environment and equality leading to a more dignified existence - To empower the worlds poorest economically, to let them work themselves out of poverty once and for all. We must help these people win their struggle.

The MM Model - Transforming Aid ®

Luminaries who have already backed The MM Model include;

Prof. Edmund Phelps, Nobel Laureate for Economics 2006, Columbia university,
Rajendra Pachauri, Nobel Peace Laureate 2007, Chair UN IPCC,
Prof. Noam Chomsky of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT,
Sir Ben Kingsley, Oscar-winning Actor
Paulo Coelho, Best-Selling Author & UN Messenger for Peace,
Deepak Chopra, Best-Selling Author,
Lord Rogers, Architect,
Lester Brown, Founder & President, Earth Policy Institute,
Vivienne Westwood, Fashion Designer,
Simon Pegg, Actor,
Waris Dirie, Model, Author, UN Special Ambassador,
Shabana Azmi, Actress and Goodwill Ambassador UNPFA,
Charles Kaye, Director, World Orchestra for Peace,
David de Rothschild, Adventurer and Ecologist,
Tristram Stuart, Environment and Food Conservationist
Valentino Achak Deng, Refugee and Activist

MM Model praise;

"More resources are desperately needed to fight crippling poverty and catastrophic climate change. I strongly encourage governments and people to work together to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. The MM Model provides a great leap for development, particularly if widely adopted. I hope world leaders will give it the attention it deserves."
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate 1984

“I sincerely welcome your creativity in exploring a dynamic, new financing mechanism in support of the MDGs. The public and private sectors working together can make a meaningful difference towards the MDGs, and your initiative (Mehta/Mirrlees Proposal) can serve as a model for others.”
Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General

“Let me again express my gratitude for your continued interest in raising more money for development”
Gordon Brown, Former British Prime Minister

“It is a political, economic and environmental reality that no individual or group, community or nation can live in isolation, given the interdependent world we now live in. I am happy to support the Mehta/Mirrlees Model because we must take practical steps to achieve these goals. If we succeed in meeting these goals we all will benefit, whereas failure will harm us all.”
His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Laureate 1989

“I am delighted to see your highly promising and powerful proposal to expand the financing mechanism for the United Nations Millennium Developments Goals. I very much hope that the proposal will be widely endorsed and accepted. It will make a big difference!”
Prof. Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate Economist 1998, Harvard University

“I am happy to endorse the Mehta-Mirrlees Model for encouraging private donations for development and seeing that they are well spent. The mechanism seems to me admirably simple and potentially highly effective.”
Prof. Erik S. Maskin, Nobel Laureate for Economics 2007, Princeton

“I have pleasure in endorsing your proposal to create policy changes that will gather new resources, so necessary if United Nations Member states are to meet their Millennium Development Goal Commitments as quickly as possible.”
Mairead Maguire Nobel Peace Laureate, 1976

“Let me echo my support to that expressed by others for the innovative proposal. Indeed we must find new ways to reach the poorest of our planet using all the means available and all our learning of what doesn’t work. Private sector contributors would be the ideal partner for helping us to innovate and implement new forms of ODA.”
Helen Clark, Former Prime Minister New Zealand, Administrator, UNDP,

“The Mehta/Mirrlees Model is an imaginative and practical proposal, both for increasing charitable donations to support the battle against world poverty and for spending those resources wisely and effectively. Meeting our shared development goals will be more difficult and more costly in an increasingly hostile physical climate. This proposal can contribute strongly to the extra development efforts we must make as a world to overcome poverty.”
Lord Stern, Stern Review, London School of Economics

“We welcome your attention to the need to increase aid flows, and the initiative you have shown in developing this concrete proposal”
Angel Gurria, Secretary General, OECD

"We have a shared responsibility for the human future, but it can be challenging to work out what our individual contribution should be. The MM (Mehta/Mirrlees) Model offers each of us something to do. It's that simple and that important."
Prof. Kwami Anthony Appiah, Philosopher, Princeton University

“The Digital Audio Player and downloading have delivered music to billions of people, but more importantly the MM Model could deliver Aid to billions of our brothers and sisters- now that’s what I call invention!”
Kane Kramer, Inventor Digital Audio Player, Chairman British Inventors Society

“I fully support your wonderful vision and initiative. Now is the time for such action to save humanity and for the wellbeing of the planet. The governments, NGOs, academics, artists, media and the business leaders need to come together to make Real Aid a reality.”
Satish Kumar, Peace and Environment activist, Editor in Chief, Resurgence magazine

"Surely something needs to be done for encouraging private donations from people who have all the wealth and need to now redistribute the same for accountable & sustainable development....Now that Renu has teamed up with Sir James Mirrlees, I am sure we shall see some REAL ACTION for REAL AID. "
Jeroninio Almeida, Founder, International Confederation of NGOs

“What cannot be in doubt that there is something behind this model of the greatest importance at this moment in our political, economic and global policy history.”
Michael Brophy was CEO, The Charities Foundation (CAF) 1982- 2002

“Under the terms of the Mehta/Mirrlees model, donors contributing through the Global Projects Fund (GPF) will in principle have confidence that their giving will be channeled successfully….This adds up to a profound move forward in creating a solid public-private partnership.”
Bernard Mercer, founding CEO of New Philanthropy Capital and Forests Philanthropy Action Network

MM Model policy implementation

The forthcoming international campaign to advance the MM Model will be taken up by and spearheaded by another, self-governing organisation/entity founded to promote worldwide adoption of the scheme. The implications of enacting the MM Model would mean millions of lives being saved and improved at a fraction of conventional charity fundraising costs. This, for us as a charity who has supported the incubation of the MM Model is the ultimate goal; echoing the universal sentiments of philanthropists, activists and NGOs around the globe to overcome crippling poverty and catastrophic climate change.

UN Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) at a glance -
Did you know what will happen this year if we fail to act?

Goal 1:   Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
1b people will go hungry and 2b people will go undernourished
Goal 2:   Achieve Universal Primary Education
The number of children of primary school age who are out of school is 73m
Goal 3:   Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Girls account for 55% of out of school population
Goal 4:   Reduce Child Mortality:
Annual deaths of children under 5 is 9.7m
Goal 5:   Improve Maternal Health
Every year 1m children are left motherless because of maternal deaths
Goal 6:   Combat HIV, Malaria and other diseases
Every year 2m people will die of AIDS, 1m will die of Malaria and 1.5m from TB
Goal 7:   Ensure Environmental Sustainability
1b people have no access to clean drinking water and 2b have no sanitation facilities
Goal 8:   Develop a Global Partnership for Development
30% of the population in developing countries has no access to electricity

* In 2010, the only 5 countries which met the UN MDG commitment of 0.7% of GNI were; Denmark, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.