After spending the better part of 20 years under house arrest, the Burmese political icon and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi will enter Burma’s parliament — and not a minute too soon. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) party should have claimed 80 percent of the seats back in 1990, but the country’s military government annulled that year’s election results, opting instead to suppress Suu Kyi and other opposition party leaders. This week, NLD supporters rejoice publicly for the first time in what Suu Kyi calls a “triumph of the people.”
This “triumph” marks another turning point in the country’s recent transformation. After two decades in power, the junta officially ceded power last year, stunning a disbelieving international community as leaders finally agreed to release political prisoners, curtail violence with rebels, and allow for more press freedom. In another unexpected yet welcome move, former general President Thein Sein hailed the election as successful, and one of his advisers admitted that Suu Kyi could be awarded “any position of responsibility because of her capacity.”
***UPDATE 4/5/2012: Voting start time and number of prizes have changed. See changes below.***
Ever wondered who came up with the name MDG? Well, that could be you…
Acronyms. Here in the fight for global poverty, the acronyms often feel endless. GAVI. PEPFAR. And the problem is that people often don’t know what they mean.
Today, we need your help fixing one of these mouthfuls. GAFSP. The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. It has a powerful mission, but a pretty clunky name. In fact, most people have never heard of GAFSP, as you’ll see in this video:
So our goal is to get ONE members like you to rename GAFSP before the G8 in May. Why? Because we want to make it easier for people to understand this powerful program and help make sure it gets the funding it needs.
How does GAFSP work? Countries (like Ethiopia and Liberia) devise their own agriculture plans -– to build irrigation canals, to start farmer training programs, to do whatever they think will work. Then, national governments and donors from around the world (US, Canada, Spain) provide funding to help put these plans into action. Pretty life-changing stuff.
March Madness? How about tax madness? Ah, tax season. Whether it’s money you owe, or a refund coming your way, I’m sure you know how much it is. But if you’re like most us of, you likely don’t know where your tax dollars actually go. Think about it. Do you know how your tax dollars are spent? Don’t be discouraged, neither did I.
There’s so much talk in the news about social security, Medicare, and foreign assistance spending. It got us wondering how much we contribute to each. Well, thankfully we’ve now got a simple way for you to find out.
Today, we’re launching our new Interactive Tax Tool that shows you where your tax dollars go. Just enter your household income and you’ll see your tax money break down into eight categories -– national defense, social security, health, unemployment, Medicare, interest on US debt, foreign assistance and other. It’s not exact — it assumes you file as a single without exemptions — but you get the picture.
Most importantly, ONE’s tax tool reveals how only a small fraction of the US budget has already dramatically improved the lives of the poorest people on the planet, and how you personally have contributed to that effort. Together, Americans have helped put 5 million people on AIDS medication, halved malaria deaths in 11 African countries and saved the lives of 15 million children. Pretty amazing stuff.
Time and again, research has shown us that when people see how much good is being done for so little, their opinions on foreign assistance change. As a matter of fact, there’s no single message that effectively changes more skeptics into believers than the living proof of what has been accomplished for so little. The problem is, not enough people have seen this proof. That’s where you come in.
I’m asking you to not only check out the Tax Tool yourself, but to share it with all your friends. And ask them to share it with their friends too. Because the more people who see the proof that foreign aid is working, the more people will stand up to protect it. And after all, that’s what ONE is all about.
Watch Enough project’s video below (WARNING: Contains some graphic scenes, viewer caution is advised).
ACT NOW: Click here to find out how you can take action with Enough.
“We’ve seen what happens when there are no witnesses”
This powerful sentence launches a startling new four-minute video from George Clooney and the Enough Project documenting their recent trip to the Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. While filming in the mountains, they witnessed rocket attacks and aerial bombardment by the Sudanese government against the Nuban people in South Kordofan.
It’s been a good few days for Millennium Development Goals. Not one but two targets were reported as met last week, which means that we have reason to celebrate. First, the Economist reported on March 3 that global poverty in 2010 was half the level it was in 1990, meaning that in spite of the worldwide economic downturn, fewer people are living in absolute poverty. And on March 6, the United Nations reported that in 2010, 89 percent of the world’s population enjoyed access to safe drinking water — 1 percent more than the 88 percent requirement published at the Millennium Summit in 2000.
These accomplishments translate to much more than a mere check mark on the world’s proverbial to-do list. For the first time since 1981, the number of people living in absolute poverty is dropping — which means better opportunities for longer, healthier lives the world over. The fulfillment of the safe drinking water goal is crucial: Most deaths from diarrheal disease — which claims 3,000 children’s lives every day — are due to poor drinking water and shortcomings in sanitation and hygiene. As more people gain access to good water, fewer will suffer from diarrheal disease.
But even as we break out the balloons, we must keep in mind that these great achievements represent only the beginning. It’s terrific that there’s been such progress benefiting those who live on less than $1.25 per day, but according to the Economist, roughly 2.44 billion people still live on less than $2 per day, with 1.16 billion living on between $1.25 and $2 per day. Let’s take advantage of the momentum we’ve built and continue fighting for what’s right: happy, healthy lives for everyone.
A big thank you to all our ONE members for all you do to make the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) a reality. If you need a refresher on your MDGs, you can brush up here and, as always, feel free to offer your questions and comments below.
Today Africa lost a faithful champion, and ONE lost a true friend in the fight against extreme poverty.
In the early hours of the morning, Congressman Donald Milford Payne (NJ-10), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health and member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), lost his battle with colon cancer.
He was a fighter to the end, and his family, the state of New Jersey and the United States have much to be proud and grateful for a life spent in the service of humanity. Congressman Payne was a giant in US policy toward Africa and long considered the expert and guardian of Africa policy in the US House of Representatives. Since his arrival in Congress in 1988, when the Cold War was ending and US policy toward Africa was at an all time low, Congressman Payne was the member who — at every hearing and every opportunity — would ask “What about Africa?” When most policymakers dismissed the continent and challenges it faced, he remained optimistic, energetic and unapologetic, always asserting that “Africa matters.”
“Farming is the future. Famines should be consigned to history.”
A group of smallholder farmers and ordinary African citizens marched to State House in Tanzania today, to deliver a petition signed by more than 16,000 African ONE members. This was the first time Tanzanian President Kikwete had received a continent wide petition, and the first time ONE had delivered a petition on African soil.
ONE members and partner organizations march to State House
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
