At the conclusion of our recent trip to Mozambique and Zambia, I traveled with fellow field organizer Kim Smith to northern Zambia to Meheba Refugee Camp with FORGE, an organization that works hand-in-hand with refugees.

Meheba Refugee Camp has been in existence for over 30 years. It is about 700 square kilometers and has about 14,000 refugees, mostly from Angola, Congo, and Rwanda. Sadly there is no running water, no electricity, and no doctors.

A youth orientated organization, FORGE partners with refugees on a host of projects such as micro-finance, nursery schools, a women’s center, and has helped to build the world’s largest library in a refugee camp.

We stopped in at the FORGE Health Service center that was set up to aid in basic health care. Mr. Burton, the refugee that works there, told us how he helps to facilitate health care for people that are suffering from burns, insect bites, malnutrition and dehydration, and malaria.

We also stopped in at Kunachi Nursery School for refugee children that FORGE set up and operates. All the children were very eager to try out there English with us and sang a few songs.

Sadly, I noticed that during lunch, many of the children had nothing to eat, as food security is major issue in Meheba that is now being compounded by the global food crisis.

Many of the refugees in Meheba have fled their home countries due to wars and violence, and have seen horrific tragedies in their lives. Yet through it all, they are overcoming hardships and poverty and with the help and resources from FORGE, combined with more attention and better policies from the outside world, we can help to create a better partnership between our country and some of the most neglected and marginalized people on Earth.

-Matthew Bartlett

Tomorrow ONE Vote ‘08 is having their summer kick-off event in Des Moines with Jason Walsmith and Mike Butterworth of the Nadas.

“One.org is about aid and funding to relieve world hunger, poverty and AIDS. If our music can help even in a small way, then any amount of effort is well worth it.” – Mike Butterworth, lead singer and guitarist

To make global poverty a central issue in this year’s presidential election, we meet the candidates everywhere on the campaign trail and ask them tough questions about battling extreme poverty and global disease. The summer kick-off event is a celebration of our successful pre-caucus efforts and a look to our future during the general election season.

The event will feature an exhibition of photos from ONE Vote ‘08 all over the country, and world. Following the event there will be a free concert for ONE members by Jason Walsmith and Mike Butterworth of the band the Nadas.

If you live in the Des Moines area I hope you can join us! Wear your ONE shirt and bring your friends!

RSVP here.

See you soon!

-Libby Crimmings, ONE.org

This will be my first year attending CARE’s National Conference in Washington on June 18 and 19, where CARE supporters from around the country travel each year at their own expense for an amazing and energizing few days. We’ll hear inspiring speakers like Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, David Gregory of NBC News, and Senator Richard Durbin. And we’ll be joined by CARE Ambassadors Christy Turlington Burns and Sheila Johnson, who are lending their famous faces to help get our message across to influential policymakers.

Participants will have a chance to hone their organizing skills, meet legislators face to face, and learn about crucial issues that CARE is working on – such as equal access to education for girls; access to small business loans that enable women to create economic opportunity in their communities; and global efforts to ensure healthy pregnancies and childbirth.

It’s been my great privilege to work for CARE for the past five years. In my job as a press officer I have traveled to almost 20 of the 70 countries where CARE works, meeting the dedicated field staff and community members who make possible daily progress toward our vision of a world without extreme poverty.

The Conference will be my first chance to meet firsthand our volunteer advocates — the activists who work tirelessly to mobilize Americans to influence U.S. policy. It’s their enthusiasm and dedication that help CARE tap into this country’s power to bring about positive change in the world.

The excitement and energy are already building, and I have no doubt this will be the most successful Conference ever. Along with ONE and our partner organizations, we are eager for a few days of big strides toward a better world. Won’t you join us? For more information go to: https://my.care.org/care/events/2008conference/

-Rick Perera, CARE

The top seven reasons to come to Bread for the World’s Lobby Day on June 17:

1. There’s nothing like sweating in your Sunday best in DC’s summer heat as you traipse about Capitol Hill.

2. It’s fun to hear your senator or representative ask, “The Global Poverty what?”

3. Uplifting worship service, preceded by free wine at the reception!

4. Boxed lunches: Mmmm, delicious….

5. And if it rains, you may be able to don a trash bag as a poncho.

6. Talk in ordinary English while sounding wonky (the language of Capitol Hill.)

7. How else can you make a difference in million of lives in one day?

Register here to join us and we guarantee you the ultimate Washington experience.

-Kimberly Burge, Bread for the World

Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Senator John Warner of Virginia have all signed-on to the Lugar-Sununu letter to the Senate leadership asking for immediate action to get PEPFAR reauthorization to the Senate floor. This letter is critical to our efforts to get PEPFAR going and put saving lives ahead of politics, and we’re excited to have their support. They join Senators Lugar, Sununu, Smith, Dole, Hagel, Corker and Collins.

Want to get involved? If you live in Texas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Utah, Mississippi, Wyoming, Georgia, Iowa, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Minnesota, Virginia or Missouri, we need you to write to your senator or senators and ask them to sign the Lugar-Sununu letter and get PEPFAR going: http://www.one.org/pepfarletter

If you’re not in one of those states, you can still ask your senators to co-sponsor PEPFAR here: http://www.one.org/pepfarsenate/

-Aaron Banks, ONE.org

Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) has signed-on to co-sponsor the reauthorization of PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. That brings the number of co-sponsors on our Senatometer up to 9!

Co-sponsors:

Joe Biden (D-DE)
Richard Lugar (R-IN)
Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
John Kerry (D-MA)
John Sununu (R-NH)
Gordon Smith (R-OR)

Don’t see your senators’ names? Sign our petition and ask them to be champions for fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB in the developing world: http://www.one.org/pepfarsenate

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) has signed the Lugar-Sununu letter to the Senate Leadership in support of getting PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) reauthorization to the Senate floor for a vote ASAP. Collins joins, Senators Lugar, Sununu, Smith, Dole, Corker and Hagel in showing broad support for overcoming any obstacles to PEPFAR reauthorization this year, and keep America’s promise to lead the world in fighting global AIDS.

-Aaron Banks, ONE.org

Yesterday, ONE members in 16 states launched a campaign to get PEPFAR going in the Senate. PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) is America’s primary vehicle for working with countries in the developing world to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB. In its first five years, PEPFAR has saved millions of lives, and now it’s up for reauthorization for five years and $50 billion dollars, a substantial increase in America’s commitment to battling these deadly, but treatable diseases. Unfortunately, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) and six other senators are blocking all action on the bill. Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and John Sununu (R-NH) have written an urgent letter seen below at the bottom of this post) to the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, asking them to do whatever it takes to get PEPFAR reauthorization to the floor of the senate.

Coburn’s concerns should be debated out in the open, not hidden behind a procedural block. There is a now a serious chance that PEPFAR reauthorization won’t happen until next year. Millions of people across the developing world can’t wait that long. The challenge to us is to convince key senators to sign that letter and show that there is strong, bipartisan support for reauthorizing PEPFAR this year, and continuing America’s commitment to moral leadership in the fight against global AIDS.

Live in Texas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Utah, Mississippi, Wyoming, Georgia, Iowa, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Minnesota, Virginia or Missouri? We need you to write to your senator or senators and ask them to sign the Lugar-Sununu letter and get PEPFAR going: http://www.one.org/pepfarletter

If you’re not in one of those states, you can still ask your senators to co-sponsor PEPFAR here: http://www.one.org/pepfarsenate/

Make sure to follow our progress on the PEPFAR Co-Sponsor Senatometer

You also learn more about PEPFER here: http://www.one.org/pepfar

April 30, 2008

The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mr. Majority Leader and Mr. Minority Leader:

We are writing to urge you to act expeditiously in scheduling floor time for the consideration of S. 2731, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008.

As you know, the programs the Act would reauthorize — the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and tuberculosis programs — have had an enormously positive effect in combating these diseases in Africa and throughout the developing world. PEPFAR is on schedule to achieve its topline goals of supporting treatment for 2 million AIDS patients with life-saving antiretroviral therapies, preventing the transmission of 7 million new cases of the disease, and supporting care for 10 million people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children. Through its multilateral efforts, the U.S. will have also supported the distribution of 46 million mosquito bed nets to protect families from malaria.

Since its inception, PEPFAR has enjoyed broad bipartisan support and strong cooperation between the Executive and Legislative branches. PEPFAR also has served as a powerful demonstration of U.S. leadership and compassion throughout the world. As the President witnessed during his recent trip to Africa, U.S. investments in PEPFAR are paying major dividends both by creating a more positive global perception of the United States and by bringing stability and hope to strategic regions across the globe.

By passing this legislation in the next few weeks, we will enable the President to take this commitment to the G-8 meeting in Japan in early July and to use it to leverage additional commitments from our international partners. Moreover, we need to act now in order to send a clear message to PEPFAR recipients that the United States is fully committed to continuing the success of this program and to expanding our efforts to fight the pandemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Thank you for your consideration, and we hope that you will act swiftly to bring this critically important piece of legislation to the floor.

Sincerely,

Senator Richard Lugar
Senator John Sununu
Senator Elizabeth Dole
Senator Gordon Smith
Senator Bob Corker
Senator Chuck Hagel

-Aaron Banks, ONE.org

Update: We’re now up to 14 signers to the letter.

Senator Richard Lugar
Senator John Sununu
Senator Elizabeth Dole
Senator Gordon Smith
Senator Bob Corker
Senator Chuck Hagel
Senator Thad Cochran
Senator Mel Martinez
Senator Orrin Hatch
Senator John Warner
Senator Susan Collins
Senator Olympia Snowe
Senator Arlen Specter
Senator Norm Coleman

New statistics from the GSM Association reveal that cell phone usage is taking off across Africa. The GSMA reported that African cell operators added 70-million users in the past year (a growth rate of 33%) and expanded cell phone coverage by an area the size of France. Around 66% of Africa’s population is now reached by a mobile phone signal, up from 62% in 2007. Some African countries, such as Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, already have coverage rates well above 90%.

Cell technology has enabled poor African countries to bypass the messy infrastructure and expensive start-up costs of setting up fixed-line systems. As a result, wireless technology is reaching isolated rural areas where fixed lines were never able to penetrate: while the number of African cell phone users reached 282 million in 2008, there are still only 35 million fixed lines on the continent.

For Africa, these new connections have the potential to reap widespread development benefits. Where roads are bad, fixed lines nonexistent and email rare, cell phones are forging communications links that are vital to economic and social progress. Everyone from farmers to health ministers to market vendors is coming up with innovative ways to harness cell technology. In Kenya, for example, the Kenyan Agricultural Commodity Exchange (KACE) linked up with Safaricom, the country’s largest cell phone company, to help farmers access market prices over their phones. For about 20 cents, farmers can use text messaging to get current prices for goods at markets throughout Kenya, allowing them to reduce transaction costs and bypass middlemen, who often charge below-market rates.

Donors are getting the hint that cell phones can help overcome deficits in Africa’s health infrastructure. PEPFAR, for example, is working with African health ministries and the private sector to set up the Phones for Health program, a $10 million initiative that will allow health workers to use cell phones from the field to input health information to a central database. The program is modeled after TRACnet (http://www.pepfar.gov/pepfar/press/84654.htm), an impressive web-based system in Rwanda that collects and disseminates antiretroviral treatment program reporting, drug shortages and CD-4 tests across the country.

In the long term, coverage and usage must expand significantly if African countries are to realize the full economic potential of cell technology. Evidence indicates that high levels of cell phone usage can fuel economic growth and even attract foreign investment. One widely-cited study found that a developing country with an average of 10 more cell phones per 100 people has 0.59% higher GDP growth than an otherwise identical country. Seizing upon this opportunity will require prioritization by both the international community and African governments, who must continue to combat regulatory bottlenecks that constrain the competitiveness of cell operators across the continent.

-Nora Coghlan, ONE.org

Many think that TB has been eliminated from the U.S., but this is far from true. The poster on the left was created by the Red Cross in 1919, promising that tuberculosis would be “The Next To Go.” But this dreaded disease has not yet gone.

One-third of the world’s population is infected with the bacteria that causes TB, and one in ten of those infected develop active TB disease.

What is the U.S. doing to stop TB? Not enough. U.S. and global efforts to combat TB are falling short.

The U.S. House of Representatives is now considering the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act, which would greatly expand our efforts to combat TB, including the development of new, effective drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines.

How can you help? Tell your legislators to co-sponsor the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act (H.R. 1532). Call 1-800-828-0498.

Your immediate action can help curb the TB pandemic.

The current TB vaccine was introduced in the early 1900s, and over time, its effectiveness has greatly diminished. What is more, strains of TB have developed that are resistant to all of our major anti-TB drugs.

Take action now. Call 1-800-828-0498. Tell your Representative to co-sponsor the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act (H.R. 1531) to prevent the spread of drug resistant TB in the U.S. and to develop new medical tools to fight TB.

Please note that while ALL legislators need to hear from you, it is especially important to call if you are from key, target states(Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia). Click here to find your elected official.

Thank you for fighting TB with us.

Summary of the bill

-Christine Kim, Families USA