Organizations

That’s how much rice the World Food Programme has distributed to quake-stricken Haiti.

According to CNN:

The food distribution plan, coordinated by the United Nations World Food Programme, international aid agencies and the Haitian government, was to hand out food at 16 identified points across the city. But on Sunday, people at only nine of those places were able to collect, Prior said.

More time was needed to prepare ration coupons at five sites, Prior said. The other two distribution points, located in the dense slum of Cite Soleil, were a no-go for security reasons.

“The area has been extremely volatile recently with a significant increase in gang violence, but we are hopeful we will be able to reach them soon,” he said.

Distribution was orderly elsewhere, Prior said.

Only women were given tickets to collect a 55 pound (25 kilogram) bag of rice per family. Forty-two metric tons of rice will be distributed each day over the next two weeks.

At Champs de Mars, the city’s central plaza which has turned into a sprawling makeshift camp for the quake displaced, women formed a long line that snaked up to trucks carrying the rice.

Please welcome Emily Alpert to the ONE Blog! Emily is ONE’s new Senior Policy Manager for Agriculture, and will no doubt have many more great contributions in the coming days and weeks. -Chris

If you haven’t yet read the second annual letter from Bill Gates, please do. I just read it and I was so glad to see how important investing in agriculture is to the Gates Foundation. Not only are more than 1 billion people suffering from hunger as I write, but the large majority – about 75 percent – of poor people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and their own food security. So when they can’t harvest their crops, can’t get them to market or can’t get a decent price for what they produce, their well-being is severely jeopardized. To top things off, development aid for agriculture has been neglected for the last few decades. That’s why the Gate’s Foundation’s work on agriculture is so important. Along with others, they are putting agriculture back on the map of the development agenda.

How much you invest in agriculture is also as important in how you invest in agriculture. So when Bill Gates talks about funding projects based on the “specific growing conditions in developing countries” and “the crops that are grown by poor farmers,” I know the Gates Foundation approach is going in the right direction. First of all, most of the research and development in agriculture over the years has been devoted mostly to rich country crops and environments. And sometimes there are payoffs from that work for poor countries too, but not always, and definitely not enough. So getting these investments right by listening and learning to poor farmers in developing countries and investing in ways that meet their needs is critical for helping farmers grow their way out of poverty.

Sustainable agriculture production is also an issue that has been on my mind lately. It’s no secret that some of key ingredients for growing food – healthy soils and fresh water – are in high demand and short supply. So with scarce resources, continuously threatened by climate change, it’s even more important that we come up with new and innovative ways to farm sustainably. This is yet another way in which the Gates Foundation is making headway by investing in better seeds, training for farmers on how to manage their land and access to inputs, markets and information.

As ONE members you can add to this momentum by supporting ONE’s efforts to encourage the U.S. Government to invest more and in better ways to developing country agriculture, and to push donor governments to fulfill the commitments to agriculture that they made at the G8 meetings in L’Aquila last year.
You can check out our agriculture issue page here to learn more.

Today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bill and Melinda Gates announced that they would commit $10 billion over the next 10 years to “help research, develop and deliver vaccines for the world’s poorest countries.”

This is obviously tremendous news and a promising milestone in the fight against infectious diseases. Here’s video of the press conference where the announcement was made. The Gates were joined by Julian Lob-Levyt, CEO of the GAVI Alliance:

You can read the Gates Foundation press release wit more details here. And you can read ONE’s official reaction here.

Check out this guest post from John Wecker, Director, Vaccine Access and Delivery at PATH:

Last June, the World Health Organization (WHO) made a recommendation to include rotavirus vaccines in all national immunization schedules. This was welcome news, as rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrhea-related global deaths in children less than five years old. But in order to turn welcome news into good news, we need to get these vaccines to the parts of the world that can least afford them.

First-of-its-kind data released this week in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) presents vital evidence from Africa and Mexico that demonstrates the potential for rotavirus vaccines. These studies clearly show that rotavirus vaccines can save young lives and they underscore the need for their immediate inclusion in national immunization programs across the world, particularly in those where diarrhea is a leading cause of childhood deaths.

Take Mexico, for example. During the annual rotavirus season between December and May, almost 800 infants died from severe diarrhea. Despite efforts to improve sanitation, increase the use of oral rehydration therapy (ORT), and promote exclusive breastfeeding, rotavirus continued to kill children. Then, in 2006, the government introduced a vaccine to prevent the disease. Within two years, diarrheal deaths among children less than two dropped by more than 65 percent.

In Africa—where the majority of diarrhea hospitalizations and nearly half of all rotavirus deaths occur—the vaccines hold even greater promise. The new NEJM data showed that the use of rotavirus vaccines significantly reduced severe rotavirus in African infants—preventing more than 60 percent of life-threatening infections. Now we must ensure that all African children—indeed all of the world’s children—receive this dose of prevention as soon as possible.

The clock is ticking toward the 2015 Millennium Development Goals—the target date for countries rich and poor alike to do their part in reducing child deaths worldwide. Vaccines can be costly. Fortunately, the GAVI Alliance has pledged to support rotavirus vaccine introduction in at least 44 low-income countries by 2015. This could have a tremendous impact on childhood mortality, but GAVI won’t be able to do it alone. It will take international donors, national governments, policymakers, and the larger global health community working together. And, there are some who can and should be doing more. Bill Gates said it himself in his recent annual letter.

Vaccination against rotavirus is of vital importance. But to defeat diarrheal disease, the vaccines must be part of a package, including the use of cost-effective, available interventions, such as oral rehydration therapy and zinc, as well as clean water, proper sanitation, and nutrition.

Today we are witnessing the real-world impact of rotavirus vaccines, and we can’t afford to lose momentum now. Let’s take the impact we’ve seen in Mexico and expand it worldwide. Let’s deploy the tools and strategies that already exist. Let’s fulfill our global responsibility to all of the world’s children. Or, as my colleague Samba Sow, a Malian doctor, says in our new rotavirus vaccine video below, “Let’s do it!”
You can help us do it. Spread the word and encourage others to recognize that diarrheal disease must be a global health priority. And share our video within your own communities!

-John Wecker, Director, Vaccine Access and Delivery, PATH

As expected, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board today approved $102 million in aid for Haiti. According to the IMF, this constitutes the “largest amount made available so far to the Haitian authorities after the earthquake.”

You can read the IMF’s press release here.

Check out this partner post from the World Food Programme on their Students Helping Haiti campaign.

Since the devastating earthquake struck Haiti on January 12th, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been delivering emergency food assistance to survivors. But help hasn’t just been on the ground. Students from around the world—the workers, parents, voters, and leaders of tomorrow— have been stepping up to help fight the hunger crisis in Haiti. Find out how you can join them here.

As Executive Director Josette Sheeran noted on Friday from Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s devastated infrastructure has made emergency operations extremely challenging.

“This is the most complex operation WFP has ever been involved in. That’s why opening up the supply chain is so critical,” said Sheeran.

She also noted that the UN food agency is bringing in special boats that will be able to transport humanitarian aid by sea and land directly onto beaches.

“This operation is getting up to scale, but we’re having to rebuild ports and airports.”

WFP began distributing food assistance within 24 hours of the earthquake and has launched a $279 million relief operation to reach 2 million Haitians. They’re also helping to provide logistical and telecommunications support to the entire humanitarian community.

Since the earthquake struck, WFP has delivered 3 million rations, the equivalent of nearly 10 million meals, to nearly 450,000 people. WFP aims to deliver 5-day rations to 100,000 people each day.

-Graham Bell, WFP Youth Outreach

Please welcome the newest addition to our policy team, Erin Hohlfelder. Erin is the Policy Manager for Health and will primarily focus on AIDS, TB, malaria, and NTDs. We’re very excited for her contributions to the ONE Blog! -Chris

As a new member of ONE’s team, it was exciting to see Bill Gates name ONE as a key partner of the Foundation in his Annual Letter. But it was perhaps even better to see him use the letter as a platform for some of our organization’s top health priorities—the work of the GAVI Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria—as well as other important initiatives including polio eradication.

Gates is clear that in his work with Melinda at the Foundation, they have not set out to only fund projects that are “safe”; indeed they have been innovative and at times even risky in their investments, with the ultimate aim of real progress in the fight against diseases across the developing world. The Foundation played a key role ten years ago, for instance, in establishing GAVI—a unique program working with governments in developing nations to build sustainable immunization programs and to ensure access to affordable vaccines. Through market-shaping mechanisms and the availability of new vaccines, GAVI has delivered huge returns on partners’ investments: over 4 million child deaths have been averted since 2000 and over 250 million children have received a basic package of immunizations and vaccines.

The Global Fund, too, has been a key mechanism in the fight against global disease. Gates notes that the Fund’s work in both HIV/AIDS and malaria has been invaluable. Alongside PEPFAR, the Fund has taken the lead on scaling up ARV therapy delivery to those who are HIV+, and it has used its grants to sizably increase the delivery and usage of bednets to ward off mosquitoes that transmit malaria. Bill and Melinda Gates have both been vocal advocates for the highly-ambitious goal of malaria eradication; if we want to make this a reality, the Global Fund must continue its important work of partnering with countries and members of civil society to deliver sustainable solutions.

Critically, 2010 is a key replenishment year for both GAVI and the Global Fund. Gates rightly highlights that “improvements in…health have relied heavily on the generosity of rich countries,” and that is cause for concern amidst the financial crisis and growing budget deficits across the board. At ONE, we urge our members to use their collective voice to push their elected officials for their support of proven health interventions, in spite of the challenging economic environment. Robust funding for GAVI and the Global Fund is not just a Gates Foundation priority but a global imperative if we truly hope to reduce poverty and improve health in Africa.

InterAction member organizations have raised more than $200 million for Haiti relief efforts from millions of donors across America. Whether through faith-based groups like Catholic Relief Services, American Jewish World Service, Lutheran World Relief and World Vision—or broader-based organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children and Heifer International—more than 80 of our organizations are a crucial part of relief efforts in Haiti.

InterAction members do not make up the totality of the US NGO response in Haiti but they do make up 80-90% and they are the sole group that has agreed to meet the highest global NGO standards. InterAction’s 193 members work with 1800 corporations, they represent 13.7 million people in red and blue states, and they come from all faith groups. These NGOs will be in Haiti for the long haul and we urge Americans to support the full diversity of NGOs that are committed to rebuilding Haiti. Click here for more details.

-Sam Worthington, InterAction President and CEO

Yesterday on CNN, Christiane Amanpour interviewed the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. During the interview, Strauss-Kahn took the opportunity to clarify the IMF’s $100 million loan to Haiti, and his hopes for full cancellation of Haiti’s debt.

Here’s a rough transcript:

Amanpour: Let me just go quickly to something else you mentioned. The loans. Both the IMF, you’ve proposed a $100 million loan, has said that that will be interest-free, at least until the end of 2011. The World Bank has said that they will stop or not demand payments on their loan of $38 million for the next five years. But many are calling for debt relief for Haiti. Why shouldn’t Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere have its debt relieved and wiped out?

Strauss-Kahn: That’s absolutely right. We are not allowed in the IMF to make grants, we make loans. But there is no repayment scheduled before five years from now. And I’m advocating the fact that in this five years’ time, we will have time to build a debt cancellation for Haiti. It’s impossible to ask a country like Haiti to repay debt when they are in the situation we have seen. So, it’s not only an economic problem now, it’s more humanitarian question and also partly a philosophical problem. Can humanity avoid to help a country in such a situation? My answer is no. We have to help them immediately with what we have as a tool. The only tool I have is a loan, no repayment for five years, no interest rate, that’s for immediate need. But then we have to build something stronger and of course debt cancellation in my view has to be part of it.

And here’s the video.

It’s not every day that ONE members get a special shout out near the top of Africa’s tallest peak.

Here’s a special video blog made just for our members by Elizabeth Gore the executive director of global partnerships and Nothing But Nets for the United Nations Foundation. She recorded this shortly after reaching the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro with the Summit on the Summit team. The climb was done to help raise awareness about the global clean water crisis. Here’s a post she wrote about the trek and its important mission last week.