In a few days, ONE and our partner organization, (RED), will be headed to Ethiopia and Ghana with a diverse delegation of policy and business leaders to see how strong African leadership and smart donor policies and investments are helping everyday Africans fight their way out of poverty.

You may recall we took a similar trip to Rwanda last summer with an impressive bipartisan group led by former US Senators Tom Daschle and Bill Frist. This trip will have a similar focus. The delegation will explore a wide spectrum of issues and hear from a variety of Africans in an effort to learn which policies and investments are achieving results, what programs and approaches are not working and what more is needed.

The delegation will visit health, agriculture, education and trade projects and meet with government leaders, program implementers, entrepreneurs, intellectuals and everyday Africans. In Ghana, we will spotlight how (RED) proceeds and the power of (RED) consumer action are helping to provide lifesaving treatment to thousands of people who are HIV positive.

We’re very fortunate to be joined on this trip by Josh Bolten, former Chief of Staff to President Bush and ONE Board member; Tony Lake, former National Security Advisor to President Clinton, professor at Georgetown and Board member of US Fund for UNICEF; former Senator John Sununu who was a key supporter of U.S. anti-poverty initiatives; Sandy Berger, former National Security Advisor to President Clinton and a major actor in the debt relief efforts of 2000; Maggie Williams, former Hillary Clinton campaign manager and advisor, Tony Fratto, former Deputy Press Secretary to President Bush; Bo Cutter, a former budget and economic advisor to Presidents Carter and Clinton and currently the Chairman of the Board of CARE; Hunter Biden, a Partner at Seneca Global Advisors, as well as business and creative leaders like Juliet Flint from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Tom Freston, ONE’s Board Chairman and former CEO of Viacom, MTV executive Bill Flanagan, (RED) executives Susan Smith Ellis and Seb Bishop and Google executive Megan Smith.

We’ll all be sharing our experiences throughout the trip and when we return, so watch this space and follow along.

-David Lane, ONE President & CEO