The best thing about this invocation is that this it’s not too far-fetched. In his speech, Bill Gates praised Rotarians for their incredible contribution- in money, time and sweat equity- towards the 99% reduction of polio cases worldwide since 1988. He lauded progress such as in India, where there has only been one case of polio reported this year, remarking that it could not have been done without Rotary. However, Gates cautioned that while they are “this close” to the end of polio, the final 1% will be the hardest because of logistical, scientific and financial obstacles, such as the $400 million funding gap in FY2012 for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. He challenged Rotarians to redouble efforts and “make your voices louder” as they have the potential to be very powerful advocates with government leaders and policy makers.

I was particularly excited about this call to action because at ONE we believe in the power of individuals coming together and using their collective voice to tell the living proof about how investments in global health and development are critical and are working to improve lives around the world. As part of our newly launched collaboration, ONE members and Rotarians will join forces around the U.S. and beyond to raise awareness, advocate and increase support for life-saving childhood vaccines. I’m certainly looking forward to the day when I can bring out-of-town guests to the monument resurrected in honor of the fact that no child suffers or dies from a preventable, treatable disease such as polio.

ONE members, if you live in the greater New York City area, this event may be of interest to you. Concern Worldwide, an international humanitarian organization that works to end extreme poverty, is hosting a spring run this Saturday, April 9th at 9:30 AM in Central Park. The four-mile run/walk will support Concern’s programs in 25 of the poorest countries around the globe.

Miss New York 2011, Nency Escamilla, will be at the event to help call attention to the plight of the global poor as well as introduce her personal charity, “Uplifting Heroes,” which supports US troops on active duty around the world through community mobilization.

Register for the event on Concern’s website and join hundreds of other poverty-fighters just like you. And don’t forget to join the after party at the East End Bar post-run!

Thanks to the Global Fund, she was able to get on antiretroviral therapy, allowing her to have a healthy and productive life. And she is amazed that she has lived long enough to become a grandmother — something she thought she would never be. She asks, “Who would have dreamt that I would I would live this long?”

Special thanks to our superstar videographer Kimberly Cadena for putting the video all together!

We can end senseless, extreme poverty. To do so, we not only need to do our part, but work together in partnership. That’s why I’m really excited to announce a new partnership with One Day’s Wages (ODW), a grassroots movement of people, stories and actions to alleviate extreme global poverty.

ODW promotes awareness, invites simple giving and supports sustainable relief through partnerships, especially with smaller organizations in developing regions. Working together, ONE and ODW will be looking to grow our movement of people taking action and lifting their voices to advocate for smart solutions and policies in the fight against global poverty.

Eugene Cho of ODW put it best:

Why are One Day’s Wages & ONE partnering together?
While our strategies are different, our goals are the same: We want to see the end of extreme poverty in the world.

We’ve also chosen to partner together because of our mutual respect for one another. While our primary focus and strategies our different, we acknowledge that the other organization excels in another area that’s also important in the engagement with extreme poverty.”

Check out the video above and to learn more about One Day’s Wages on their website.

Over the past few years, many leaders in the private sector have realized that there’s a driving need to partner with the international development community and increase corporate social responsibility and accountability.

Why? Because not only do people demand it (think about how you felt after the Enron and WorldCom scandals) it just makes good business sense – especially if we can implement the notion of corporate responsibility all across the globe.

That’s why we were excited to attend today’s BCLC panel discussion, “Partnerships in Africa.” Key speakers from the private, public and nonprofit community joined together to talk about how business and NGOs can work to alleviate poverty in the world’s poorest places. As you know, economic growth, driven by trade and investment, is the critical engine that will end poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.

“[Corporations] cannot look at the whole population and just try to sell them products,” said Neil Ghosh, director of SNV USA, a nonprofit that provides assistant to other NGOs. “We need to engage [people living in poverty]. How? By making them sellers, by making them distributors.”

This kind of socially minded and sustainable thinking has the potential to revolutionize the African marketplace, but it still has a long way to go. Many members of the nonprofit community have noticed this increased interest from the private sector and see it as a real opportunity. “This is a new space that we’re trying to define,” said Jonathan Jacoby, policy and campaigns manager for Oxfam America.

The panelists had a few straightforward ideas for companies that want to partner with international development organizations:

It’s great to see that corporations are taking this issue so seriously, especially in places like Africa. This structure could be a major game changer for African smallholders and small businesses, but only if we work together and do it right.

“We in the private sector have to step up and occupy the space that is not there in the public area, because they cannot do it,” said Jodra. “It’s our responsibility…This is our role.”

This year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes will be participating in a panel discussion on President Obama’s new global development policy, while a group of prominent military leaders will discuss the importance of diplomacy in national security.

Listen in on the conference in the player below, and if you have a question, send it to USGLC’s Twitter. It starts at about 9:30 AM EDT and goes on all day — so feel free to drop in anytime.

Today is the final day of the groundbreaking Global Maternal Health Conference, the first international technical conference focused exclusively on maternal health. This exciting conference, organized by EngenderHealth’s Maternal Health Task Force, brings together more than 600 maternal health experts in New Delhi, India to discuss one of the most challenging fields in global health.

Although progress has been made, maternal mortality rates remain unacceptably high, especially in the developing world. Approximately 343,000 mothers die each year during childbirth and 80% of those deaths could be prevented if women had access to basic maternal health services.

This conference aims to build consensus and catalyze action around evidence, programs and policy to achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Five and improve the lives of mothers around the world.

To bring attention to pressing maternal health needs globally, the first two days of the conference have featured numerous exciting events and presentations, including a film screening of ONE supporter Christy Turlington’s film “No Woman, No Cry.”

For those of us that were not able to make the trip to India, conference presentations have been posted on the Global Maternal Health Conference website.

- Brooke Riley, health research assistant, ONE

In the video, Nassuna discusses her work with small, local farmers in Uganda. This has changed not only their lives, but the lives of families and communities as a whole. But she also talks about the challenges. “Nobody wants to invest in farmers,” she notes. “They are a very high-risk group.”

El notes, “Nassuna’s voice may be quiet, but her experience and stories speak volumes about how African poverty can end, and how we all can affect change!” Check out El’s interview and share your thoughts in the comment box below.

In South Africa, a text message reads: “Frequently sick, tired, losing weight and scared that you might be HIV positive? Please call AIDS Helpline 0800012322.”

A country where cell phone penetration has reached 90 percent, South Africa is harnessing mobile phone technology through Project Masiluleke, an initiative that catalyzes treatment for HIV/AIDS and TB through text messages that provide information on disease symptoms and locations of nearby counseling and testing centers.

By helping bring patients earlier into the health care system, the initiative is significantly improving the chances that they will live longer and healthier lives.

Project Masiluleke is an example of a health market innovation, a program that harnesses private sector health care resources in developing countries to deliver better health and financial protection for the poor. These initiatives have the potential to correct many of the inefficiencies and inequalities within the health system, but up until now, information about them has been sparse and scattered.

We launched the Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI) to fill this gap in knowledge, giving users as diverse as implementers, funders, researchers and policymakers the information to promote the effective diffusion, scale-up and replication of successful programs.

The core of CHMI is an interactive database of health market innovations, the first of its kind to provide program information that is aggregated, standardized and completely filterable. There are currently more than 400 programs profiled in the database across 101 countries, with another 154 programs in the pipeline. An exciting feature of this platform is that users are also contributors, enriching the CHMI database by submitting information on new programs, as well as suggesting changes and updates to existing profiles.

Here’s how you can get involved:

• Contribute to the programs database. Browse hundreds of health market initiatives, suggest updates to existing profiles and help expand the database by adding exciting new programs.

• Explore the funder database. Learn about the funding priorities of donors and investors that support health market programs.

• Join the conversation on our blog. Hear from others in the CHMI community and post your comments as we engage in dialogue to further the impact of health market innovations.

We love hearing from our users. For questions and comments, please contact us at chmi@resultsfordevelopment.org. You can also follow us on Twitter @CHMInnovations.

CHMI is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, and is managed by Results for Development Institute in collaboration with a network of partners: Access Health International in India, BroadReach Healthcare in South Africa, the Consultation of Investment in Health

- Maria Belenky, Results for Development Institute

It couldn’t be simpler. Go to oneweekforwater.org and sign up to donate your Facebook and Twitter status for World Water Week. When you donate your online status, ONE and Water.org will post updates on your Facebook and/or Twitter pages, change your profile picture and even update your background to raise awareness about water and sanitation.

Don’t miss the chance join thousands in celebrating clean, safe water all next week. Head to oneweekforwater.org and sign up today!