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Last year saw major new commitments by the G-8 to increase aid and reduce debt in Africa. Yet the UN World Summit pointed to Africa’s faltering progress towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals.

1) What is the role of African, G-8 and business leaders in making the promises of 2005 a reality?
2) Can broad public support to alleviate poverty and disease on the continent be maintained?
3) How will the completion of the Doha Round trade talks impact Africa?

• Bono, Musician, DATA (Debt, AIDS and Trade in Africa), United Kingdom
  
  
• Niall FitzGerald, Chairman, Reuters, United Kingdom; Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum
  
  
• Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria
  
  
• Paul D. Wolfowitz, President, World Bank, Washington DC
  

Check out this article about ONE in the Hartford Courant

Since April, 1.6 million Americans have joined ONE (and ye shall know them by their identifying white wristbands). Already in this state, 25,600 citizens have joined, according to ONE spokeswoman Meighan Stone. All five Connecticut House members supported a bill introduced in November that would increase support for international child survival. Gov. M. Jodi Rell declared Dec. 10 “State of One Day.” Proper attention from policy makers, says Save the Children President and CEO Charles MacCormack, “offers millions more children the chance to grow up to celebrate their fifth birthday.” Every year, according to Save the Children, more than 10 million children under age 5 die from preventable or treatable diseases such as measles, tetanus, diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria. Malnutrition contributes to more than half of these deaths.

Writing a check is a wonderful, charitable thing to do. But proactively changing a vote, helping to build a country’s infrastructure and offering preventive medicine is even better. The president is mulling over his 2007 budget requests now. He should hear from you. Burke says, “In the end, that’s going to help these children.”

In the next three weeks, the President will make crucial decisions
about next year’s budget, including how America will best use our
resources to help educate, feed and treat those most in need. As ONE,
we’re asking that the U.S. give an additional 1% of our budget over the
next five years so we can keep our life-saving promises to fight AIDS
and poverty.

Ask President Bush to fund the promises made

What could just one more penny of every dollar do? By giving an
additional 1%, the U.S. would be able to help prevent 10 million
children from becoming AIDS orphans and send 100 million children to
grade school.