What I Saw Tonight
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I just returned from Sidney Harman Hall here in Washington, DC where Bill and Melinda Gates presented the Living Proof Project.
A lot of you watched the speech live here on the ONE Blog so I won’t rehash the event detail for detail, but what I saw tonight was probably one of the most compelling and crystal clear cases for US investments in global health I’ve ever witnessed. Smallpox eradicated, polio reduced 99 percent, measles reduced 93 percent, terrific progress made in the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria– it was truly inspiring to see these facts laid out by two people who are playing such a pivotal role in encouraging the US government to do more.
But with so much to be optimistic about, Melinda Gates probably put it best when she said “the world is getting better. But it’s not getting better for everyone, and it’s not getting better fast enough.”
The presentation was interspersed with some fantastic footage chronicling US global health investments on the ground. It’s no secret that video is often the best medium to really capture some of these powerful stories, and the crowd’s reaction definitely demonstrated that.
I just have to share this one that documents the results of Rotavirus vaccine in a clinic in Nicaragua. Even though I’d seen it before, I still find it really striking.
The Gates cited several specific examples of programs that are making great strides in global health– from the Global Fund and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, to the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the promise of the Millennium Development Goals.
It was fitting that the Gates chose to make this presentation in DC given the importance they placed in the US Government’s ability to make an enormous impact. As Bill Gates put it, though foundations like the Gates Foundation can act as catalysts, governments in rich countries “have the money, the expertise, and the leadership to deliver the interventions that will save millions of lives.”
There’s a lot more I could add, but I’ll choose instead to end it the same way the Gates did tonight– by pointing you to www.livingproofproject.org so you can see for yourself what I saw tonight and spread the word in your community about all the great work that’s being done thanks to US investments in global health– and how much is still left to do.
You can watch the presentation in its entirety in the below blog post.
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The ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with frequent contributions from volunteers, members and partner organizations.
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October 28, 2009 at 3:46 am
It did my heart well to watch and listen to this wonderful couple. They have light in their eyes and it’s evident. I thank them for their care and concern. We are a Blessed Country, and it is wise for all of us to care about our fellow man, woman and child. I am grateful, for Bill and Melinda Gates. Thank you.
October 28, 2009 at 7:37 am
Bill and Melinda Gates have donated billions for the continued torture of animals in research laboratories across the world. What hypocrites – or what a boon to the legalized animal cruelty that is inflicted upon helpless animals by the lofty, self proclaimed elite of science –Animal Abusers in “White Coats”. How sad that the Gates ignore the cries for mercy coming from behind the thick doors of research labs. Shame on them and their billions of dollars and glorious lives that they cannot extend compassion to the most vulnerable among us, the creatures of our planet.
October 29, 2009 at 9:21 am
LOOKIE HERE AMERICA
I hope and pray for an end to world hunger just like the next guy. But turning the US into a 3rd world dung heep refugee camp is NOT the way to do it and now its put the taste of revolution/secession/civil war into the land from coast to coast to coast.
So Bono needs to change the final line in the song “Bullet the Blue Sky” from; …”into the arms of America.”, to….into the arms of salvation; or something.
There’s a point where too much diversity becomes divisive and; no thanks to Clinton the penile and his 6 amnesty programs, thats what’s been happening for nigh on 25 years.
Some will have to be declared to be “more American” than others.
How and why?
Go to tatepublishing.com and order your copy of:
SOS-USA