On Thursday, August 6th, Secretary Clinton continued delivering her message of good governance to Kenyans when she spoke at a public forum hosted by the University of Nairobi. She once again expressed dissatisfaction with the progress made by the Kenyan leadership in addressing governance issues, especially after the post-election violence. She focused on corruption and told the audience that the public has a significant role to play in the fight against corruption by being watchdogs and exposing corrupt practices. She used Iran as an example of the use of technology in forcing government reform and encouraged the Kenyan youth to use social tools on the internet, such as Twitter and Facebook, to report cases of corruption. Secretary Clinton was asked for a response to Prime Minister’s Odinga’s statements earlier in the week where he said Kenya did not need a lecture from the west on governance, she said that ignoring Kenya’s internal issues was the easy option but the U.S. government’s criticisms were from a friend to the Kenyan people.

In addressing public concerns that even when corruption is exposed, charges are never acted upon, Clinton insisted that this should not stop the pressure, as the discourse would eventually force change. In this context she said that only Kenyans could figure out what would work for them, once again echoing President Obama’s messages in Ghana about the need for home grown solutions.

Sec. Clinton left Kenya on Thursday and continued her Africa tour in South Africa where on Friday, August 7th, she announced that the U.S. and South Africa would work more closely together to push reforms in Zimbabwe so that the power sharing agreement would be fully implemented. She noted the important role of South Africa on the continent, as well as their sound economic policies which leave them well positioned to propel growth throughout Africa. Because of President Obama’s high prioritization of Africa, the administration recognizes the importance of working with South Africa to tackle the continent’s social and development concerns. Secretary Clinton also had a meeting with Nelson Mandela. From South Africa, Secretary Clinton will proceed on to Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.

-Edith Jibunoh

Earlier today, ONE’s Nora Coghlan wrote in about an exciting visit that the folks on the OCC trip made to the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI).

Turns out, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is headed there, too! In a press briefing yesterday, Ambassador Johnnie Carson mentioned that while in Kenya, Secretary Clinton would be visiting KARI, one of the “premier agricultural research institutes in Africa” (and a grantee of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Carson said that the visit would allow Secretary Clinton to meet with many world-class African scientists and would allow her to talk about and promote the Administration’s emerging food security initiative announced at the L’Aquila Summit in Italy. We’ll keep you posted with more details.

You can read the Secretary’s remarks here.

-Pooja Gupta

UPDATE: Here’s video of Clinton’s speech via the State Department

Here’s a post from ONE’s Nora Coghlan, who is on the ground at the AGOA Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.

The AGOA Forum officially began this morning in Nairobi, with welcoming remarks from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.

Taking the podium first, Clinton pointed to the U.S. government’s strong attendance at the forum (the Secretary is joined in Nairobi by Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, and Rep. Nita Lowey, Rep. Donald Payne and Rep. Jim McDermott) as evidence of the importance that she and President Obama place on trade and commerce, both between the U.S. and Africa and among African countries. Clinton said that her trip would build on the President’s message during his recent visit to Ghana that progress in Africa requires not only partnerships based on shared responsibilities, but also shared opportunities. Clinton applauded the African-driven progress on the continent in recent years, citing Rwanda’s post-genocide recovery, Sudanese entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim’s efforts to measure and reward accountable governance, and most recently, the new underwater cable that was installed off the coast East Africa, bringing high speed internet to millions of Africans.

Sec. Clinton then listed out areas that demand greater attention moving forward: trade, development, governance and women. On trade, the Secretary said that the U.S. wants to be Africa’s partner, not its patron. She pointed out that if Africa (which currently accounts for 2% of global trade) could increase its trade share by just 1%, global trade would bring in more earnings than development assistance.

Clinton acknowledged that while market access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was necessary, it isn’t doing enough to transform African economies. She said the U.S. is ready to roll up its sleeves to lower remaining trade barriers and will work with African businesses and governments to build capacity and diversify product eligibility. She also encouraged African countries to open up trade with each other (African nations trade the least with each other when compared to any other region in the world), noting that there are 700 million consumers in Africa and only 300 million in the U.S.

On development, Clinton said that the administration is committed to ensuring that trade and development policies work together and that the U.S. would look to enhance efforts to provide trade capacity. She also reiterated President Obama’s intent to double foreign assistance by 2014. This money, she said, would be spent differently than in the past, with a strong focus on results and country-driven solutions. There would also be greater coordination within the U.S. government and among donors about development policy. Clinton also announced that she had been asked by President Obama to convene a food security meeting and she would lead on the new agricultural initiative recently announced at the L’Aquila Summit in Italy ($20 billion for agricultural development and food security over three years).

Sec. Clinton then echoed much of President Obama’s speech in Accra, noting that while democracy is important for strong development, democracy is about more than just the ballot box. It is about strong institutions, an independent judiciary, free press, and a vibrant civil society.

Turning to the future of Africa’s women, Clinton noted that despite the efforts of prominent African female leaders (Kenya’s Wangari Mathai and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf), the social, economic and political marginalization of Africa’s women continues to undermine progress and prosperity on the continent. Women, Clinton said, are doing the work of an entire continent: collecting water and firewood, harvesting farms and raising the next generation of leaders. With the right tools and opportunities, women will transform their communities—and the entire continent.

Clinton ended by saying that Africa has all the right ingredients for an extraordinary explosion of growth, prosperity and progress. There is no reason to wait.

Clinton’s remarks were then followed by a video address from President Obama. The President echoed much of what he said in Ghana, noting that in an increasingly interconnected era, the economic fortunes of the U.S. and Africa are intertwined and the seeds of the global economic recovery will need to be planted everywhere. He also said that trade between the U.S. and Africa has not reached its full potential. Open markets are a first step, but they have to be accompanied by enhanced trade capacity and a commitment by African governments to respect the rule of law, promote accountability and transparency, and improve investment climates.

More on Kibaki and Odinga’s remarks to follow.

-Nora Coghlan

As you know, today Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began her seven country trip to Africa with a visit to Kenya. While there, she intends to meet with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, touching on one of the main themes of her trip: partnering with regional leaders to foster good governance.

Want to learn a bit more about the two Kenyan leaders Clinton intends to meet with? Click here to read bios of President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga.

Make sure to keep an eye on the ONE blog for continued posts about her trip!

-Pooja Gupta

Here’s a post from ONE’s Edith Jibunoh, who’s on the ground at the AGOA Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will address the forum tomorrow morning.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum opened today in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme “Realizing the Full Potential of AGOA through Expansion of Trade and Investment.” AGOA allows eligible African countries to trade with the United States under favorable terms, in an effort to help increase exports from Africa to the U.S.

The first day of the three day forum featured discussions between the private sector, civil society, and African ministers. Issues addressed included AGOA’s performance, capacity development, and how to maximize AGOA’s opportunities. In the opening session, Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga emphasized the importance of aid, but said that is must be effectively applied. He stressed the importance of focusing locally to help build investment capacity, as rapid economic growth would be best achieved through trade. Odinga also noted that African countries had been through strict reforms, and that the continent remained weak in their export capacities due to national strategies that focused on small and medium enterprise (SME) development. While he said that SME’s could not meet the number of bulk orders from the U.S., they could certainly meet regional demands. But in order to do this, African countries had to focus more on inter-regional trade and open up their borders to encourage the free flow of goods between African countries.

Odinga closed his remarks by stating that the terms ‘governance, transparency and accountability’ were created only after the fall of the Berlin Wall and after the end of the old style of development assistance based on Cold War alliances. To this end, he called on African governments to do what they know to be right, rather than focusing on placating donors, and encouraging them to focus on trading their way out of the economic crisis.

More updates to follow.

-Edith Jibunoh

Today marks the first day of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s seven-nation, 11 day trip to Africa. Her first stop is Kenya, where she’ll speak at the 8th African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Nairobi, an annual forum that examines trade and investment relations between the U.S. and Africa.

Following her time in Kenya, Clinton will then travel (in order) to South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, and will end her trip in Cape Verde on August 14. As Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, noted in a press briefing last week, the “Secretary’s trip follows the themes laid out by President Obama during his visit to Ghana: supporting strong and sustainable democratic governments; promoting sustainable economic development; strengthening public health and education; and assisting in the prevention, litigation, and resolution of conflicts around Africa.”

Check out Carson’s complete description of the trip (or click here to read the State Department’s press release.)

In the days ahead, stay tuned to the ONE blog, as we’ll continue to offer updates and insight on Clinton’s travels throughout Africa!

-Kara Arsenault

The State Department has announced that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will “travel to Africa next week on a seven-nation tour aimed at highlighting the Obama administration’s commitment to the continent.” Clinton plans to visit 7 countries including Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.

You can read more details of the trip here. We’ll bring further news as it develops.

-Chris Scott

This Friday, the ONE Campus Challenge (OCC) is sending five of the top student anti-poverty advocates in the United States to Kenya for a week of first-hand, hands-on experience with the people, issues and programs OCC students work to affect – and we have a new site to chronicle their adventures. Check it out, here.

We chose the five students based on their outstanding individual efforts during the 2008-9 OCC season, and also from the excellent projects they submitted on how they will use their experience in Africa to inform their OCC work during the upcoming 2009-10 season. The students are:

Bryant Shannon, from the University of Florida in Gainesville;

Melissa Boles, from Washington State University in Vancouver;

Stephanie Parrish, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor;

Steven Thai, from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa; and

Tomas Moreno, from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Learn more about the OCC, the students, and the trip through our new, interactive OCC in Kenya site.

I asked the students what aspects of the trip they were most excited about, and the overwhelming response was the African people.

“I am looking forward to meeting people affected by extreme poverty, but who have been able to come out of poverty with the help of foreign assistance such as USAID,” said Steven Thai.

“I’m most excited about meeting new, amazing people, as well as learning more about their lives. I can’t wait to hear stories from women and men that I get to talk to about what their lives are like in Kenya,” said Melissa Boles.

“I’m also pretty excited to see how everything I have learned in school and through ONE will help me relate to them,” she added. “Mostly it just doesn’t really feel real yet.”

Indeed, the purpose of the trip is to build a bridge between ONE’s grassroots advocacy campaign and the issues and programs ONE members work to affect, giving these five students first-hand knowledge they can use to help build better OCC programs across the country.

The students will share their experiences first-hand with their fellow students and all ONE members through blog entries, video journals, and Facebook and Twitter updates. You can keep up with them and send them your comments and questions on our new OCC in Kenya website, here.

-Emily Stivers

As you may know, today is National HIV Testing Day in the United States. To commemorate the day, and to encourage all Americans to get tested for HIV/AIDS, the Obama administration compiled this footage of then-Senator Obama being tested during a visit to Kenya back in 2006.

President Obama actually spoke with some New Hampshire ONE members about his visit to Kenya when he was running for president. Check out our account here .

To find a testing site near you visit http://www.hivtest.org.

-Chris Scott

Last Thursday, I and along with a crew of other Chicago ONE volunteers attended luncheon featuring Raila Amolo Odinga, the Prime Minister of Kenya. He spoke about the future of Kenya and Africa as a whole. It was the Prime Minister’s first visit to the United States hearing him speak was a phenomenal opportunity for me to learn about development in Africa from a local perspective.

Prime Minister Odinga spoke about Africans needing to work together to create a better Africa, one in which trade is effective and international relations are peaceful. What I found most interesting was his response to one of the questions asked after his speech. He was asked about petty corruption, such as parents bribing school administrators. Odinga responded that in this case, what really needs to be changed is quality of life, saying that if families had the opportunity to send their children to better schools, this type of corruption would not take place.

His local take on this situation dug deep into the root of the issues as opposed to skim the surface and makes a good case for how many small, local efforts can have a large-scale, international impact. I truly benefited from this great opportunity and will use what I learned from Prime Minister Odinga in my advocacy against global poverty.

-Megha Shankar, IL ONE Member