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

Participants will have a chance to hone their organizing skills, meet legislators face to face, and learn about crucial issues that CARE is working on – such as equal access to education for girls; access to small business loans that enable women to create economic opportunity in their communities; and global efforts to ensure healthy pregnancies and childbirth.

It’s been my great privilege to work for CARE for the past five years. In my job as a press officer I have traveled to almost 20 of the 70 countries where CARE works, meeting the dedicated field staff and community members who make possible daily progress toward our vision of a world without extreme poverty.

The Conference will be my first chance to meet firsthand our volunteer advocates — the activists who work tirelessly to mobilize Americans to influence U.S. policy. It’s their enthusiasm and dedication that help CARE tap into this country’s power to bring about positive change in the world.

The excitement and energy are already building, and I have no doubt this will be the most successful Conference ever. Along with ONE and our partner organizations, we are eager for a few days of big strides toward a better world. Won’t you join us? For more information go to: https://my.care.org/care/events/2008conference/

-Rick Perera, CARE

1. There’s nothing like sweating in your Sunday best in DC’s summer heat as you traipse about Capitol Hill.

2. It’s fun to hear your senator or representative ask, “The Global Poverty what?”

3. Uplifting worship service, preceded by free wine at the reception!

4. Boxed lunches: Mmmm, delicious….

5. And if it rains, you may be able to don a trash bag as a poncho.

6. Talk in ordinary English while sounding wonky (the language of Capitol Hill.)

7. How else can you make a difference in million of lives in one day?

Register here to join us and we guarantee you the ultimate Washington experience.

-Kimberly Burge, Bread for the World

Activities won’t be limited to the conference site. The last day of the conference will be devoted to meetings with our activists and their members of Congress, and meetings at the World Bank and IMF for our international partners. At the end of the day, my colleagues and I will host optional walking tours of DC, under-30 socials, and karaoke dance parties to make sure that participants can have some fun during their time in DC. Not that lobbying Congress on poverty alleviation isn’t fun, of course. But it ain’t karaoke either…

RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund provides our partners in the U.S. and around the world with the tools they need to get informed about fighting poverty both in the U.S. and abroad, and how to engage their policymakers and editorial boards. We focus on campaigns pertaining to global health, education, health care for all, microcredit, and ending hunger through nutrition programs. To learn more about us, or to register for our conference, please visit our website. I hope to see you there!

-Robyn Shepherd, RESULTS

Did you know that over 10 million children die yearly from preventable or treatable diseases and low cost solutions can do something about it? That’s 26,000 children a day! AIDS and malaria are killing only a small proportion. Most die of diarrhea, pneumonia, and measles. Four million of these deaths occur to newborns – less than one month old – in villages in Africa and Asia. That’s not right, especially since there are low cost solutions that can prevent these deaths from happening.

Save the Children is going to focus its June program on building support for the U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act (H.R. 2266, S.1418). This legislation will strengthen American’s role in saving the lives of children and mothers in the world’s poorest countries by investing in low-cost, highly effective, lifesaving interventions such as vitamins, antibiotics and vaccines.

Already over 100 Senators and Representatives from both parties support this bill, but more must be done to get this legislation passed. We need to come together and tell Congress to provide more help for these children and families in countries like Nigeria, Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Afghanistan.

If you want to make a difference for these kids like I do, join us June 11-12 in our call for change & reserve a spot today; register at www.savethechildren.org/advocacyday2008. If you have any questions, please email me at advocacyday@savechildren.org.

Advocacy Days is a terrific opportunity for us to make a difference by letting our elected officials know there is a voice calling for lasting change in the lives of children in need.

-Ryan Quinn, Save the Children

May 27-31: Global Health Council: 35th Annual International Conference: “Community Health: Delivering, Serving, Engaging, Leading”

June 11-12: Save the Children: Advocacy Day 2008

June 13-15: Sojourners: Pentecost 2008: “Training for Change”

June 17: Bread for the World: Lobby Day 2008

June 18-19: CARE: 2008 National Conference

July 12-16: RESULTS Educational Fund: International Conference to End Poverty

July 15-16: U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and Center for U.S. Global Engagement: Washington Conference

-Margaret McDonnell, US NGO Partnerships and Faith Relations Team, ONE