Archive for October, 2008
South Florida ONE volunteers were hot on the campaign trail yesterday, representing ONE at back-to-back rallies for Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama.
In the morning we went to the Everglades Lumberyard in Miami to hear Senator McCain speak. He was accompanied by fellow Republicans Governor Charlie Crist, Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart and Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Florida’s former Governor and current ONE Vote ’08 Co-Chair, Jeb Bush.
Just a few hours later Senators Obama and Biden held a campaign rally at the Bank Atlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale. Just when we thought we were not going to be able to get in, the security guards let us through and we found great seats just behind the stage.
With the election right around the corner, ONE volunteers are working harder than ever to maintain their strong presence on the campaign trail in Florida and to show the candidates that regardless of party affiliation, fighting global disease and extreme poverty must be a priority in the next administration.
-Sara Paterni
Oct 30th, 2008 10:11 AM UTC
By Field
We made it out to Samford University in Birmingham AL on Monday, October 27th. There were numerous volunteers that came out to the bus to help out by passing out literature and wristbands. Being parked in the circle, which was directly in front of the student center, made it almost impossible for the students to ignore us. Not to mention, pizza was served and as we all know is a huge hit, especially with the college crowds!
-Megan Schweizer
I’m another new addition to the policy team here at ONE, and will be sharing updates on global health and human development with you here on the ONE Blog. As my first post, I wanted to share some great news: According to health experts, Swaziland is poised to eliminate malaria. This would make Swaziland the second country in the “Southern African Development Community” (SADC) to eliminate malaria. (Mauritius was the first, with its last case of reported malaria in 1997.)
Swaziland has successfully reduced malaria cases from 45,000 in 2000, to below 10,000 in 2007. The success has prompted the Global Fund to allocate millions more dollars ($13.9 million in fact) earlier this month towards scaled-up elimination programs in the country.
While this news is still preliminary, it could mark a substantial achievement for this small African country, and for the global health community as a whole. If the disease remains eliminated in Swaziland for three consecutive years, the World Health Organization will certify the country a malaria-free zone.
The release of the “Global Malaria Action Plan” just a few weeks ago in New York has provided a real blueprint for eliminating malaria deaths worldwide. There have been many successes in the fight against malaria in the past few years, now with Swaziland as an addition to that list, showing that eliminating deaths is within reach if donors fully fund the Global Malaria Action Plan.
-Rena Pacheco-Theard
I’m a new addition to the policy team here at ONE and will be sharing the latest happenings from the world of trade, agriculture, and economic development with you. To start, I came across some exciting news about trade in Africa. Last week 26 African countries agreed to establish an African Trade Union – a free trade union that will assist in eradicating poverty in the region.
The Union is a merger between three of Africa’s trading blocs – the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), South African Development Community (SADC), and the East African Community (EAC). The union incorporates a significant portion of eastern and southern Africa; it includes 530 million people and has an estimated GDP of over $620 million.
This free trade union will provide the participating countries with easier access to new markets within Africa. Rather than paying taxes like tariffs on the goods countries export, or limiting the amount of goods they export because of quotas, countries within the union will be able to freely exchange goods with each other. The new, larger union will also give the member countries greater leverage in trade discussions with developed countries.
The opportunity for these African states to gain greater access to African markets, and to collaborate on infrastructure development like transport and communication systems – while advocating for Africa in the global market – are important steps towards eradicating poverty. As Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni commented at a meeting of the heads of state who chair the three merging trade blocs, “Bigger markets are a strategic instrument of liberating people from poverty.”
(more…)
ONE member Jeni Barrientos recently attended a conference last Friday on eradicating poverty sponsored by the UN. She passed along this account:
I was invited to attend a conference sponsored by the United Nations and ATD 4th World for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, and it was an amazing experience. The topic was “Human rights and dignity of people living in extreme poverty.” We heard heart-breaking stories from people that are living under these extreme conditions. There were stories from Peru, Haiti, Tonga, United Kingdom, and even from the USA. The one story that got me thinking was from a woman whose family was to poor to buy a whole onion, so she bought only a piece of an onion when she could afford to. This is a luxury for her to do. Can you imagine buying a part of an onion being considered a luxury? Basic food is a right, not a luxury.
The most interesting person that I met was a man named Michael Nyangi. He is a community leader in the slums around the Nairobi, Kenya area. He has started a micro-finance community based company called Lomoro Microfinance in 2003. He now has over 85 members and over 45 loans that have helped local entrepreneurs. His goal is to start a bank to help the poorest people in and around Nairobi, Kenya. He would eventually like to expand throughout Africa. He told me that about 100 people from his village accompanied him to the airport because he was “going to America.”
In the end the main point that came out of this discussion was that it is important, necessary, and vital to include those living in extreme poverty in every and all levels of policy making. Their input and ideas about what impacts their lives is important.
The day ended around 6:15 PM. I met many people from many countries and got to talk to them about the ONE Campaign. Many people knew about ONE. Those that did not, including Mr. Nyangi, now know about ONE. As I was leaving at the end of the day I was thinking about all these important people I just met. They are all leaders in what they do. And here I am, a mother of five, a grandmother of one, a widow and recent college grad from Pennsylvania, here at the United Nations with all these leaders. It just shows you that everyONE and anyONE can make a difference in this world, if we all work together as ONE.
-Jeni Barrientos. PA ONE Member
In an editorial in today’s Boston Herald, George and Jim McGovern ask both presidential candidates to focus more attention on alleviating hunger and poverty both in the US and abroad. They ask the next president to appoint a hunger czar which they describe as “a point-person in his administration to oversee and coordinate the various food, nutrition and anti-poverty programs that fall under the jurisdictions of many different departments and agencies – so we can develop a single, comprehensive and concrete plan to end hunger here at home and around the globe.”
Excerpts below, full piece here
The number of hungry people in the world is fast approaching one billion. More than 400 million are children. Here in the most prosperous nation on the planet, there are more than 35 million of our fellow Americans who can be classified as hungry. There is not a single community in our country that is hunger free.
This is a serious crisis that is getting worse. And what is maddening to us is that those in positions of power to fix the problem seem indifferent. Hunger is a political condition. We have everything we need – including enough food – to end hunger in the United States and around the world. However, we lack the political will to make ending it a priority.
Let’s rework our foreign aid programs and reprogram some of these tax dollars to focus instead on ending hunger. Rather than sending more and more weapons, let us send increased food or funding to grow, produce and buy food in-country. It will enhance our national security. It will also save more lives, create stability and get people in other parts of the world to view the United States favorably. This may be a radical idea in Washington, but we believe when people like us they are less likely to do us harm.
-Chris Scott
With the 2008 presidential election being held a week from today, it’s a great time to take stock of the progress made during the Bush administration and what challenges we’ll confront during the next administration.
Todd Moss, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, sat down for an interview about progress in US foreign aid under the Bush administration. He also discusses ideas for how the next president could potentially continue these efforts.
Excerpts below, full piece here
Q: What has the Bush administration done to strengthen U.S. engagement in Africa?
A: I don’t think it’s too strong to say that President Bush’s Africa policy is the most distinguished foreign policy legacy of the administration. Although few expected such interest eight years ago, the president has clearly been deeply and personally committed to strengthening U.S.-Africa relations. We have not only seen U.S. assistance levels to Africa skyrocket, but the whole debate about foreign aid and Africa has changed.
Q: How so?
A: A decade ago, Washington was still arguing about whether foreign aid was a waste or not and whether we had any real interests in Africa. Today, the discussion is about how to innovate, build partnerships, and fix our aid system. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) have been game-changers. Africa’s debt problem is essentially fixed. We have seen a huge spike in American trade and increased private investment. The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. has helped to launch more than a dozen private equity funds targeting the continent. American thinking on Africa has changed completely. It’s no coincidence that views of the U.S. are still overwhelmingly positive across Africa.
-Chris Scott
