Headed to Rwanda
July 8th, 2008 at 5:14 pm | posted by David.LaneLater this month, the ONE Campaign is set to reach out to senior advisors and key political voices from the Democratic and Republican parties as we continue to make the case that aid works, that American leadership can help a generation of people break the brutal cycle of extreme poverty. To drive that point home, we’re headed to Rwanda with an impressive roster of folks. We’re fortunate to have people who understand what’s at stake, both in terms of the lives which are on the line from poverty and preventable disease, and in terms of the benefit for America’s renewed leadership role in the world through expanded investment and assistance in these terribly poor countries.
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The trip will be led by former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle and Bill Frist – the two men who, for the past year, have co-chaired our ONE Vote ’08 effort. They’ll be joined by people like John Podesta (who was Chief of Staff to President Clinton and heads the Center for American Progress), Mike Huckabee (former Governor of Arkansas who expressed support for the ONE platform when he was running for the GOP nomination), and John Kasich (former member of the House of Representatives who worked as House Budget Committee Chairman). Cindy McCain will join the bipartisan trip as well. Mrs. McCain has a solid history of work in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable global disease. She’s served on the Board of Directors to ONE-partner CARE International since 2005. She founded the American Voluntary Medical Team in 1988, organizing trips for medical personnel to provide emergency care to disaster-struck or war-torn regions. She also serves on the boards for the non-profits Operation Smile and the HALO Trust.
The American people have made an incredible difference in the lives of millions of people struggling to survive extreme, brutal poverty. Our next president has the opportunity to finish the job – to finally erase preventable diseases from the planet and eliminate the kind of suffocating poverty which claims thousands of lives a day. We know the way, but we need our next president to show the will. That’s why we’re bringing this group of people to Rwanda. Each of them is in a unique position to help shape the policies and priorities of the man who could be our next president, and we want the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases to be front and center.
In Rwanda, we’ll visit places where PEPFAR is providing funds to save lives at risk from HIV/AIDS. We’ll stop at a school to hear from the students about the importance of their education to break free from extreme poverty. We’ll hear from farmers about their efforts to grow more crops and address the food crisis by growing their way out of it. All told, it will be an eye-opening trip, and one that we hope pays off with stronger policy commitments to the issues we care so much about – ending poverty and disease — from the two leading presidential candidates.
We’ll send updates from the trip and let you know how things are going.
-David Lane
July 9th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Thank you Mr. Lane for taking the initiative to take these powerful voices to Rwanda. As you know it takes a political will to change what seems impossible. PEPFAR has helped but the work is far from over.Our next president needs and should witness the work done to fight poverty in the fields. Rwanda has been a good example of what can be achieved when American political works at its best, or at least tries. There is a need for Rwandans to tell their own stories, and I applaud One for leading this effort. This team will get to hear and see those whose lives have been saved, and there is no book or report that could describe what this team will be able to witness.
July 15th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
A coalition led by One members’ Concern Worldwide, the IRC, and World Relief is making tremendous inroads to combat the 14% child deaths rates in Rwanda, largely caused by malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia. With $4 million in USAID Child Survival funding we are working with six districts reaching 20% of Rwanda’s children under-five with community-level prevention and treatment of these leading killer diseases. Since its inception 18 months ago 145,803 children have been treated for malaria and 6,741 for diarrhea by community based health works trained, equiped and supervised by our project, Kabeho Mwana (”The Living Child”). Recently we broke major ground towards mortality reduction by adding pneumonia treatment to the community health workers’ range of services. Sinc February this year, 736 children have been treated for pneumonia in Kirehe District alone.
We invite the ONE Vote 08 Delegation to visit this program in Kirehe District, a 90 minute drive from Kigali. There they could see and hear first hand the impact of this work directly from the families that it serves.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Showing these leaders the lifesaving work that is happening on the ground in Rwanda–and why these efforts must be continued and expanded by the next President and Congress–is smart and neccessary advocacy work.
I think this article in The Nation sums the value of the ONE Rwanda Trip up well: http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080709/cm_thenation/45335629&printer=1;_ylt=AjtjA2eUlSxMUCCiAcv8h0A__8QF
I’m looking forward to hearing more once the delegatoin gets to Rwanda.
July 17th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
IntraHealth International is thrilled to welcome this impressive delegation to Rwanda! Working hand-in-hand with the Government of Rwanda, IntraHealth is proud to be a member of the large team of development partners working to support Rwanda’s health system.
Rwanda’s national health care system has made dramatic improvements over the past couple of years, with strong leadership of the Government of Rwanda. Under-five child mortality has dropped from 152/1000 in 2005 to 103/1000 in early 2008; and infant mortality from 86/1000 to 62/1000 in the same period. Rwanda also has achieved unprecedented increases in the use of family planning nationwide, from 10% in 2005 to 27% today. Malaria prevalence also has decreased; in 2005 malaria represented nearly 40% of all cases in health centers, and just two years later, only 15% of clients in health centers came because of malaria-related symptoms,
Change happens quickly in Rwanda, thanks to the progressive policies and programs supported–and often demanded–by the Government of Rwanda, and thanks to the transparent use of government and donor resources. US government resources, including those from PEPFAR and the Presidential Malaria Initiative, have contributed greatly to both to reducing transmission of HIV and of malaria, and to supporting and strengthening the overall health care system.
So much positive change has taken place in Rwanda that it’s impossible to attribute improvements to specific programs or partners. But maybe it’s not necessary to attribute, focusing instead on the overall impact on the quality of life and the number of lives saved collectively when resources are appropriately used. Rwanda’s health care sector is setting a great example, and it is inspiring to be a part of it!
July 28th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Transparency and private sector donations play a big part!