“The Millennium Development Goals are the big challenge of our generation, and they can be met in our generation,” said Humanitarian Response Council director-general Asif Farooq.

The 23-year-old third-year economics and statistics student helped co-found the ambitious campus group, the HRC, because sustainable development research is lacking at U of T. Its mission is to raise awareness and funds needed to tackle international issues such as global public health, poverty reduction, and key ecological concerns such as environmental degradation.

“U of T publishes nearly the highest number of research papers annually in North America, second only to Harvard. It is a billion-dollar research institution, but if you look at the material you find, barely any of it is based on issues that directly impact the developing world. U of T should be addressing these concerns,” said Farooq.

“Columbia, George Washington University, Harvard and others all have multiple projects in the developing world, but in comparison the U of T has little.”

With the help of Professor Jeffrey Sachs, advisor to the UN Secretary-General on the Millenium Development Goals (MDG), the HRC plans to lobby the university to create a sustainable development program to boost research, with the ultimate goal of establishing an institute.

Each year the HRC plans to help raise awareness on a different global issue.

“This year, we are focusing on malaria in particular, because over 8,000 people die daily of malaria and it’s easily preventable if they have access to bednets,” which kill disease-carrying mosquitoes.

“They cost seven dollars per net, but since they don’t have the money, they die. We plan to have a charity fundraising dinner later on this year that will be co-organized by other campus groups, and we’ll use the proceeds to buy bednets for people in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Farooq.

On November 1, the HRC is hosting an event at Trinity College’s Seeley Hall called “The Challenge of our Generation,” set up to help raise donations for victims of the South Asia earthquake. Co-organized by the Hart House Debate Club, the International Relations Society, and the Association of Political Science Students, the event will include a documentary on the MDG, a debate entitled “Be it resolved that the G8 Countries should Commit 0.7 per cent of their GNP and Show Concrete Effort to Pursue MDG,” and a discussion panel including faculty members from the political science and economics departments.

“Many students on campus that I’ve talked to believe that G8 countries shouldn’t be responsible for helping reduce poverty in poor countries because those are assets that could be spent on their own populations. That’s a wrong idea, but I think both sides should be represented so students can make their own decisions.

“Personally, I believe people are interconnected and our lives are interdependent, so the HRC is trying to show that and bring people together.”

As for the HRC’s ultimate goal of establishing a sustainable development institute, Farooq is optimistic but recognizes the challenges that lie ahead.

“The HRC has already written a report on a sustainable development institute including policies and goals that we’ve had approved by Professor Geoffrey Sachs. It’s a big project and it needs a lot of support from high levels at the university, including money and a commitment to research, but we think it’s worth a try.”