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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Jennifer Tong, Communications Director
jennifer@jubileeusa.org / (o) (202) 543-0692

President Obama Visits Africa as Corporate Tax Avoidance and Debt Crisis Trap Millions of Africans in Poverty

Faith Community Prays Trip will Focus on Poverty

WASHINGTON

President Obama is traveling to the African nations of Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa from June 26-July 3. See Jubilee USA's Director's press statement below and read Jubilee's recommendations to the President and backgrounder here.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, a faith-based antipoverty organization, releases the following statement:

"It's an incredibly exciting moment as the President and First Lady visit Africa after the momentum of the G8 meeting that focused on corporate tax avoidance and poverty. We hope the President will use the trip to focus on corporations avoiding taxes in Africa. Corporate tax avoidance in much of sub-Saharan Africa amounts to a theft from the poor.

"The faith community prays that the President will shine a light on the debt crisis that is keeping millions of people poor across the continent."

Read Jubilee USA's recommendations here.

Jubilee USA Network is an interfaith, non-profit alliance of religious, development and advocacy organizations. We are 75 U.S. institutions and more than 750 faith groups working across the United States and around the globe. We address the structural causes of poverty and inequality in our communities and countries around the world.

(202) 783-3566