George W. Bush’s trip to Africa is likely to be crowded out of the headlines by the presidential campaign. Too bad. President Bush’s bold program to fight AIDS has been, arguably, the most successful initiative of his administration in solving problems and improving America’s image overseas. The candidates who wish to succeed him – as well as Congress which decides how taxpayer money is invested – would do well to take note.

Under Bush, the United States has taken a leadership role in the global fight against AIDS, greatly increasing funding for AIDS prevention and care. But PEPFAR hasn’t just thrown money at the problem; it has empowered communities and private organizations to find local solutions.

In Zambia, World Vision works with a consortium of aid organizations to mobilize and support 120 community – and faith-based organizations. To date, PEPFAR has committed $57 million to the program. But this public funding is being leveraged to attract an equal amount of private aid. Churches and businesses throughout the U.S. have provided Caregiver Kits, containing basic supplies needed by 15,000 Zambian volunteers who are looking after adults and children affected by AIDS. World Bicycle Relief is supplying bicycles for 23,000 caregivers, orphans, and other vulnerable children. Churches, communities, private organizations, businesses, and governments are working together to help those in need, especially children.

While they distance themselves from President Bush on other issues, the presidential candidates should consider this private-public partnership model for tackling problems that affect our world today. And despite the distractions of an extraordinary election year, Congress must move swiftly to reauthorize PEPFAR at the increased level requested by Mr. Bush, making sure at least 10 percent of that aid reaches children.

-Rich Stearns, President of World Vision

Later today, President Bush heads to Africa to visit five countries — Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia. Here at ONE, we are going to watch this trip closely and try to provide you with unique insight and analysis. We’ll have voices from Africa, from Capitol Hill, and from people on the ground providing aid to the African people. We will provide policy briefings for each day of the trip. And ONE will be part of the trip, with our team on the ground in Rwanda and Ghana providing their first-hand views of what’s happening.

This is an exciting moment. In large part because of the advocacy work done by ONE members and other organizations involved in the fight to save lives, President Bush and the Congress have made major strides.

The number of Africans surviving HIV/AIDS thanks to life-saving medical treatment has increased ten-fold.

There are 4.7 million bed nets protecting African children from malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

There are more jobs and greater opportunities, especially for women and families to break away from the cycle of brutal, extreme poverty.

And there are new governments who are working hard to increase democracy and opportunity for their people in countries like Liberia, where President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has made transparency and accountability a driving force in her government reform plan. ONE members played a big part in winning the cancellation of Liberia’s debt by the IMF just a few months ago.

These are major improvements of which we can all be proud. But none of us should be satisfied.

President Bush’s trip to Africa is an opportunity to take a hard look at what still remains to accomplish. Yes, we have achieved a great deal, but 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africans continue to live on less than $2 a day. Experts report that, last year alone, 35 percent of all people living globally with HIV lived in Southern Africa, where 32 percent of all global new HIV infections and AIDS deaths occurred. Tens of millions of people still go hungry each day. In this region alone,13,150 children under age 5 died from preventable childhood diseases and malnutrition.

While in 2000 the U.S. joined 188 other countries to sign onto the Millennium Development Goals, we are falling behind in reaching their 2015 targets.

A few days ago, we asked you to lend your voice to a new challenge for the candidates, calling on them to visit Africa and see first-hand the opportunities and the challenges that people in those countries face. Already, more than 52,000 people have signed that petition, and we are not finished yet. In the next few days, we will take these petitions and deliver them to the presidential candidates, and see if they are willing to step up and make fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease a real priority. If you haven’t signed the petition, add your voice today.

Check back each day as we chronicle President Bush’s trip to Africa. And let us know your thoughts. Join the discussion here on the ONE Blog.

-David Lane, CEO and President of ONE

“President Bush has every reason to be proud of what he and so many others have accomplished in Africa. From AIDS treatment once thought impossible, to millions of bednets to keep kids from dying of a mosquito bite, to new African jobs created with trade policy, to billions in old debts erased. And back in Washington, a political shift has taken place with Democrats and Republicans working shoulder to shoulder to partner with the people of Africa as they work to lift their continent out of poverty, putting 29 million children in school in the last five years, with the help of debt cancellation.  These are accomplishments the next President must build on.  It’s true that American generosity is on the rise, but it’s also true that despite recent set backs in Kenya, there’s a new Africa to match it.  I hope that the next President, whoever that is, will get to experience first hand this beautiful and entrepreneurial continent that is rising to all of the challenges being sent its way. 

I do regret that the current President and First Lady can’t escape the constant nagging of Irish rock stars, whether at home or abroad… He’s apparently picked one up on this trip too.”

Hi, ONE members! My name is Taylor and I work in the press office here at ONE headquarters in Washington, D.C. Yesterday I did something I absolutely hate – I went to the doctor and got shots. Why? Because later this week I will be traveling to Africa with President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and legendary Live Aid and Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof.

Bob and I will be visiting sites in Rwanda and Ghana where US-funded programs are providing life-saving medicine for HIV/AIDS, putting kids in school, creating desperately needed jobs and giving hope to millions of people. These programs are the direct result of YOUR support. When we get to Africa, Bob and I will be sending you reports on what we’re seeing and how your money and support are working to improve the world.

Also, I’d urge all of you to check in here as much as possible over the next week. Ginny, who runs our blog, has asked some very special guests to provide great content during the Africa trip. I know you’ll enjoy it – and I look forward to writing to you again soon. Thanks for your support – keep it up!

-Taylor Royle

After hearing that President Bush plans to travel to Africa at the end of this week, ONE members started signing a petition.

We’re hoping to have 50,000 signatures by the time the president lands back in the States on the 21st, and in just 24 hours, 34,441 ONE members have already signed on. If you haven’t already added your name to the petition, I hope you will. These final weeks of the primaries are some of the best moments we have to focus the attention of the next president of the United States on Africa and the developing world.

I also hope that you’ll keep checking back to the ONE Blog during the next week, as we’ll be posting updates and guest posts here all throughout the president’s trip. The president’s trip creates an unique opportunity to focus the media and country on Africa- and I for one hope ONE and our allies can make the most of it.

Ginny

President Bush leaves Friday for a week-long trip to Africa. In Rwanda, Benin, Tanzania, Ghana and Liberia, he’ll see the positive impact of the programs ONE members have lobbied for. To make sure the next president is committed to working with Africa to end extreme poverty and disease, we’ve launched a petition to the presidential candidates asking them to pledge to visit Africa in their first term. You can sign it here: http://www.one.org/visitafrica

You can also check out John McKinnon’s preview of the trip in the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120251366075155091.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

President Bush starts a victory lap across Africa next week, celebrating his little-noticed but successful fights there against AIDS and malaria. But he also will be running hard to avoid the shadow of a growing number of political crises and controversies in the region.

As Mr. Bush enters his final 12 months in office, advocates are praising his campaign to battle disease and promote economic growth in poor countries, especially in Africa. It has emerged as a bright spot in a foreign-policy legacy marred by controversy over the Iraq war.

Bono, the Irish rock star turned global gadfly, once said that Mr. Bush has done “an incredible job” with his AIDS campaign. As it nears the end of its first five years, it has put 1.4 million people on life-sustaining therapies at a cost to the U.S. of more than $15 billion. The Bono-affiliated ONE campaign broadened its praise last month, saying Mr. Bush deserves credit for his fights against malaria and extreme poverty in the region. The White House hopes the trip will lock in congressional support for his initiatives, particularly as he is seeking a doubling of funding for combating AIDS to $30 billion over the next five years.

We’ve gotten word that President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush will be traveling to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia on a trip to Africa from February 15 – 21. As a ONE member, I’m always encouraged when those leading U.S. foreign policy are able to see how that policy is playing out on the ground.

When the trip starts, I’ll do my best to pass along whatever we hear is happening each day, and our policy folks will help fill in some background information on some of the programs and countries that the president and first lady will be visiting.

-Virginia Simmons