Today in a New York Times op-ed, Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, calls for President Obama to lead the U.S. in enabling developing countries to weather the financial crisis. Specifically, Zoellick calls for Obama to use the April G20 global summit meeting as an opportunity to pledge 0.7 percent of the U.S. stimulus package to a vulnerability fund designed to assist developing countries who cannot afford bailouts and deficits. Obama should then encourage other developed countries to do the same.

“The United States could begin by pledging some $6 billion of its own $825 billion stimulus package — just 4 percent of what was provided to American International Group. With this modest step, the United States would speed up global recovery, help the world’s poor and bolster its foreign policy influence.” says Zoellick. Developed countries contributing 0.7 percent of their gross national income (GNI) for official development assistance (ODA) will fulfill the long-standing U.N. target that has been frequently re-pledged by the developed world, including at the Monterrey conference in 2002.

With an estimated 100 million additional people pushed into poverty by the financial crisis, decreasing foreign direct investment (FDI), and declining exports, developing countries need help now. The vulnerability fund will assist countries in establishing safety-net programs like food-for-work programs and seed and fertilizer projects. In addition, it will help countries invest in infrastructure projects, like building roads, which both create jobs and prepare a country for productivity and growth. The fund will also assist small and medium enterprises that are often worst affected by such crises because they neither access credit, nor do they get bailed out.

Developed countries have stepped up in the last year, calling for increases in aid and supporting programs that assist the developing word. But it is not enough, as Zoellick stresses, “Poor people in Africa should not pay the price for a crisis that originated in America. The total aid from developed countries is about $100 billion a year, a modest sum in light of developing countries’ needs. The United Nations target for aid is 0.7 percent of an economy. The United States contribution is about 0.2 percent, although polls consistently show the American public is willing to contribute much more.”

-Beth Adler

Yesterday in downtown Atlanta, over 30 ONE members rallied together at City Hall to receive and celebrate a proclamation declaring Atlanta a City of ONE. After a lively press conference at noon, we all headed to the Council Chamber for the official presentation ceremony. We were also joined by representatives from our partner organizations CARE, Bread for the World and RESULTS, as well as Kennesaw State’s ONE Campus Leader, Audrey Ruark, and Amanda Meng from the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta.

ONE members Nancy Bauer and Kristi Wooten addressed the City Council and received the plaque, officially making Atlanta a City of ONE – a great example of how the work of a few strong-willed and motivated individuals can make a HUGE impact in raising awareness for the world’s poorest people.

Way to go ONE Atlanta! More to come including statements from local and federal Atlanta political leaders and video!

-Chris Berg

Financial Times-WFP halts food shipments to Somalia
The World Food Program has halted its food shipments to Somalia in a high-stakes attempt to press local warlords to rein in violence that has killed two of its employees this month. Peter Goossens, Somalia country director of the United Nations agency, said the WFP would distribute the food left in its Somali warehouses but he warned that it would run out by early March if it was not replenished by fresh shipments. He said the WFP would only reopen its “pipeline” when it had received security guarantees from local administrations, warlords and armed militias that control the areas where it operates.

The Zimbabwean-GLOBAL: A new and improved PEPFAR under Obama?
A columnist writing in The Zimbabwean writes that expectations are high among Africans that President Obama will make the fight against HIV/AIDS and other treatable diseases a top foreign policy priority. While America’s global AIDS program, PEPFAR, is highly popular on the continent, the article explores the possible changes and improvements that President Obama could implement in the years ahead.

Mail & Guardian (South Africa)-Zimbabwe’s children struggle to survive
Beyond the cholera outbreak, the growing humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe has had a devastating impact on children living with HIV. UNICEF’s executive director Ann Veneman, who visited Zimbabwe recently, told journalists that the collapse of the health services system, the closure of government hospitals and the economic and food crises have made it difficult for children to access healthcare. Zimbabwe has a higher number of orphans than any other country in the world, and children living with HIV have had nowhere to turn for treatment.

-Steve Wilson

As we continue to monitor the situation in Zimbabwe, there are a couple developments today worth noting:

Word has come that South Africa will host a regional summit on Zimbabwe. This announcement follows a failure in talks between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on forming a power-sharing government.

“The summit of heads of state and government is expected to be attended by all (Southern African Development Community) member states,” the South African Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Zimbabwe is a member of SADC and the statement said the MDC was also expected to attend the summit.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, Mozambique’s President Armando Guebuza and Thabo Mbeki, SADC mediator and former South African president, met the two Zimbabwean sides in Harare last Monday but no agreement was reached.

A unity government is seen as the best chance of preventing total collapse in once prosperous Zimbabwe, where prices double every day and more than 2,000 people have died in a cholera epidemic.

Last week the Executive Director of UNICEF Anne M. Veneman visited Zimbabwe to meet with Mugabe and other key stakeholders The discussions “underscored the humanitarian impact on women and children.”

“The cholera outbreak is the tip of the iceberg,” said Veneman, the first head of a UN agency to visit the country in three years. “The economy in Zimbabwe is crumbling, with the highest inflation rate in the world at 231 million percent. Over half the population is receiving food aid, health centers have closed and when the school term starts there is no guarantee that there will be enough teachers.”

The Executive Director visited a cholera treatment clinic and a care center that is part of a UNICEF supported program that helps 250,000 orphans and vulnerable children.

-Chris Scott

The effort to eradicate polio received an influx of $635 million today to intensify vaccination campaigns in India and Nigeria over the next five years. Rotary International, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the governments of Germany and Britain provided this new money for the two countries that account for more than 80 percent of the remaining 1,633 polio cases. This is good news for the polio eradication effort, which has suffered setbacks, but could help polio to join smallpox on the list of eradicated diseases.

Polio has proved to be a challenging disease to eradicate. Polio often lies ‘silent’ in the body, which means that people may not show signs of illness and thus may not know they are infected. The virus can spread widely through a community during this time. Since polio causes paralysis in only 1 of 200 people, public health authorities may not be aware of the infection until it has spread extensively. Also, to successfully eradicate polio, all three strains of the virus must be eliminated. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) uses a vaccine that contains weakened forms of all three strains. This vaccine can successfully immunize people against future exposure to the polio virus and eventually lead to eradication.

Recognizing this potential, in 2005 the G8 committed to contribute $829 million between 2006 and 2008 to the polio eradication effort. Since then, donors have begun to close the financing gap. ONE’s 2008 Data Report describes this progress, and notes that the United States, followed by the UK and Japan have been the largest G8 donors to the GPEI. Hopefully, with this new $635 million donation to the fight against polio, eradication can become a reality.

-Lisa Fleisher

On Sunday, I attended an inaugural celebration in DC of our newly-confirmed Secretary of State. At the event, Secretary Clinton focused a portion of her speech on the disproportionate effect of poverty on women and children throughout the developing world.

Clinton said for women in the world’s poorest countries, “the glass ceiling is poverty that limits their dreams,” and reminded the crowd to resounding applause and cheers that women’s rights are human rights. In her brief remarks, she spoke of her observations traveling in Africa of women organizing in their communities and asked when we will start counting their contributions. She passionately spoke of her dedication to universal basic education and health care around the world.

The energy of the crowd suggested high hopes for the new Secretary of State who enters the office as a champion of ONE’s issues.

-Lauren Conn, ONE Regional Field Organizer

Our friends at UNICEF just passed along this great blog post written by Clay Aiken. Enjoy!

I’m Clay Aiken, and I am a UNICEF Ambassador.

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is proud to be a partner of ONE. ONE has mobilized millions of Americans to speak up about the importance of tackling global poverty – saving and improving lives around the world.

I’ve had a chance to see many wonderful children, full of laughter and hope, in even the poorest places around the world. And I’ve seen the incredible work of UNICEF to help those children and their families survive and thrive. But I have also seen children sick and dying from lack of basic nutrition and medicines. And I cannot forget that despite UNICEF’s work, 25,000 children die every day, mostly from preventable causes. I believe that number should be “zero”– no child dying unnecessarily.

All of us can help to save children’s lives – individuals, nonprofits, corporations, and governments.

So I am asking President Barack Obama to launch a Presidential Initiative to Accelerate Child Survival. And I am asking YOU to join me, by signing a petition to the President.

ONE supporters care about helping the most vulnerable people on our planet. Please join me in telling the next President of the United States that Americans want him to make global child survival a top priority. For more information and to sign the petition, go to:
http://volunteers.unicefusa.org/activities/advocate/presidential-initiative-to.html.

-Clay Aiken, UNICEF Ambassador

-Photos courtesy of UNICEF/Nick

Last Sunday, Adrienne and I spent an unforgettable evening at the African Diaspora Inaugural Ball, hosted by the African Diaspora for Change. The gala benefited two great causes, the Batonga Foundation and First Book. The entertainment included an all women’s Brazilian drumming group, an energetic East African Dance troupe, a live South African band and performances by Les Nubians and Grammy Award winner and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Angelique Kidjo.

I was really moved by the attendees’ commitment to the ball’s theme, “I Am the Change: Educating, Empowering and Engaging the Next Generation of Leaders.” The organizers of the ball have been – and still are – working very hard to ensure that their voices are heard by those in power. As many of their members are new to the political process, I’m once again inspired by the possibilities that exist in America, and reminded of the power that each of us, as ONE members, yield when we raise our voices in unison.

On Monday, Adrienne, Laura and I had the honor of attending two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Inaugural Balls to celebrate the inauguration of our 44th president and honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on his national holiday. A portion of the proceeds went to charities providing scholarships for HBCU students. Laura attended the larger of the two events, the 2009 HBCU Presidential Inaugural Gala at the National Postal Museum. Co-hosted by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), the Thurgood Marshall Fund, and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), presidents and chancellors of HBCUs, Members of Congress, corporate and philanthropic leaders, academic professionals, students and alumni communed to celebrate the national holiday and the inauguration of our new president. Spirits were vibrant and celebratory at both events. We encourage all HBCU students to participate in ONE Campus Challenge!

-Ranna Lanagan

Picture: With our new friends, Asnakech Teklemariam, ONE member Meskerem Abebe, and Yaine Teklemariam

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just arrived at the State Department in Foggy Bottom where she addressed her staff of over a hundred. During her remarks, she commented on the Obama Administration’s plans for global development which Obama himself touched on during his inaugural address.

Here’s a clip of her comments on “defense, diplomacy, and development.” (Transcript below.)

President Obama set the tone with his inaugural address, and the work of the Obama-Biden Administration is committed to advancing America’s national security, furthering America’s interests, and respecting and exemplifying America’s values around the world. There are three legs to the stool of American foreign policy: defense, diplomacy, and development, and we are responsible for two of the three legs. We will make clear, as we go forward, that diplomacy and development are essential tools in achieving the long-term objectives of the United States, and I will do all that I can, working with you, to make it abundantly clear that robust diplomacy and effective development are the best long-term tools for securing America’s future.

-Chris Scott

Today Atlanta will officially become a ONE City thanks to the hard work and dedication of ONE members in Georgia. We’ll be posting shortly with first-hand accounts and photos from people on the ground in Atlanta so be sure to check out the ONE blog periodically for updates!

-Chris Scott