Today, as part of his trip to Washington, Botswana’s President, Ian Khama is scheduled to meet with President Obama. Although the specific topics of discussion have not been released, many are predicting that the two leaders will discuss the precarious situation in Zimbabwe. This discussion is particularly relevant now, as the government of Botswana issued a statement last week condemning Zimbabwe’s unity government and the conflict in the country. Other sources predict that the two will also discuss their shared challenges, including addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS.

Last week, in a statement released announcing President Khama’s visit, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs highlighted the importance of a U.S.-Botswana relationship: “Botswana is a strong democratic partner in sub-Saharan Africa, and the two leaders will meet to discuss a wide range of regional and bilateral issues, including how the United States can support sound governance, economic development, and natural resource conservation throughout the continent.” Botswana is often held up as an example of good governance in Africa, lauded as one of the best governed countries in Africa and praised for effectively managing its natural resources and avoiding the conflict and corruption that has plagued many other nations on the continent.

During his visit to Africa earlier this summer, President Obama emphasized the importance of good governance for success on the continent, saying that with better governance, Africa will undoubtedly prosper. President Obama also commended Botswana’s success, saying that, “ultimately, it will be vibrant democracies like Botswana and Ghana which roll back the causes of conflict and advance the frontiers of peace and prosperity.”

On Friday, President Obama announced that the U.S. will overturn its 22-year-old ban on travel and immigration to the U.S. by HIV-positive people.

In early July, we let you know that the HIV travel ban was set to be lifted through a change issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), noting that public comments were being requested and that a final rule would be issued later in the year. We are happy to report back that the change has been approved, and the ban will be officially lifted at the beginning of the New Year.

Of the new regulation, President Obama said, “We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic-yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people with HIV from entering our own country.” He continued, “If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it.” Obama also thanked former President George W. Bush, for approving the initial steps to repeal the ban last summer. Obama’s comments came during a signing ceremony to extend the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, which provides medical care and support to about 500,000 mostly low-income and uninsured people living with HIV/AIDS.

On Saturday I joined Pennsylvania ONE Members and volunteers from RESULTS to STAND UP against poverty in Philadelphia, PA.

On top of everyone STANDING UP, our day together focused on the challenges of extreme poverty, the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and publicly urging our elected officials to support proven successful life-saving programs like the Global Fund. There was also importance placed on several advocacy related functions that everyone can participate in including writing letters to your Member of Congress.

In addition to learning more about how we can be a part of the solution, everyone was fortunate enough to listen to Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health and subject of the book Mountains Beyond Mountains, speak live about what it takes to make a movement to end poverty.

People in attendance seemed inspired and ready to take an action – whether it be attending a meeting with a member of Congress or simply spreading the word to friends and colleagues about the importance of advocacy and demonstrating their commitment to fight for the poorest people in the world.

In Sunday’s edition of the New York Times, ONE co-founder Bono has an op-ed column entitled “Rebranding America.” Part of his series with the paper, the column focuses on President Obama’s September speech at the UN, in which he re-committed America to the Millennium Development Goals. Specifically, Bono highlights these 36 words from the President:

We will support the Millennium Development Goals, and approach next year’s summit with a global plan to make them a reality. And we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time.

Excerpts from the piece below. You can read the full column here.

They’re not my words, they’re your president’s. If they’re not familiar, it’s because they didn’t make many headlines. But for me, these 36 words are why I believe Mr. Obama could well be a force for peace and prosperity — if the words signal action.

The millennium goals, for those of you who don’t know, are a persistent nag of a noble, global compact. They’re a set of commitments we all made nine years ago whose goal is to halve extreme poverty by 2015. Barack Obama wasn’t there in 2000, but he’s there now. Indeed he’s gone further — all the way, in fact. Halve it, he says, then end it.

Many have spoken about the need for a rebranding of America. Rebrand, restart, reboot. In my view these 36 words, alongside the administration’s approach to fighting nuclear proliferation and climate change, improving relations in the Middle East and, by the way, creating jobs and providing health care at home, are rebranding in action.

These new steps — and those 36 words — remind the world that America is not just a country but an idea, a great idea about opportunity for all and responsibility to your fellow man.

This Saturday, October 17th, multiplatinum selling band Third Day will be performing at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The band has generously offered to let ONE set up booths to sign up new ONE members and build our growing movement of dedicated individuals like you, working to end global poverty.

If you live in the area, and would like to volunteer with ONE, please sign up here. People who join ONE that night will also be invited to a special acoustic session with the band after the concert where people can come and learn how to be more involved in the fight against extreme poverty.

Here are the details:

When:
Saturday, Oct. 17. Arrive at 5:30PM

Where:
Freedom Hall at the KY Expo Center
937 Phillips Lane
Louisville, KY 40233

ONE members visited Senator Feinstein’s San Diego office to thank her for her support of legislation related to fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals. Seated in a conference room with Field Representative Laura McGann, we voiced special appreciation for the Senator Feinstein’s re-authorization of PEPFAR, support for the Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act and most recently endorsement of the “Water for the World” Act. After hand delivering a petition signed by over 16,000 Californians and visiting her offices around the state, Senator Feinstein recently co-sponsored Water for the World Act of 2009.

Recognizing the disproportionate impact climate change has on the poor, we requested Senator Feinstein work to direct 5% of the revenue from current and future climate related legislation to assisting the poorest on our planet. We look forward to a new open door with Laura in the future and always enjoy working with other ONE members. If you are around San Diego you can join us at our next event: Stand-Up Against Poverty on Sunday, October 18th at 4pm. You can RSVP here.

We hope to see you there!

-Marlaine Cover, ONE San Diego

You can watch him live here:

The text of the communique is below.

Leaders’ Statement: The Pittsburgh Summit
September 24 – 25, 2009

(more…)

UPDATE: Check out the transcript for President Obama’s remarks here.

What a difference a year makes. Almost exactly this date one year ago, then Senator Barack Obama– along with Senator McCain– addressed the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting. We covered his remarks here.

Tonight President Barack Obama had a chance to address the 5th Annual CGI Meeting. He spoke powerfully about the need for greater public service both in the US and abroad, commending President Clinton’s work to establish such programs as Americorps during his presidency. He also commended President Clinton’s work post-presidency in establishing CGI.

President Obama spoke extensively about being shaped by examples of public service early in his life, most significantly his mother’s work with microloans. He went on to talk about a “transformational moment in world history” when the world is more interconnected than ever. Tools that can help and aid people can also allow people to do harm.

Today’s world, Obama explained, requires “creative collaborations and a renewed spirit of partnership.” He described Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s travels abroad– some of which we’ve covered here on the ONE Blog– as an example of his administrations focus on reaching out to citizens and promoting greater partnership. The military and the government can work to disrupt extremist networks around the globe, Obama said, but we also need to make clear the kind of world we want to build across regions and religions.

He noted the need for historic investments in clean energy and cutting emissions, and the need for businesses and nonprofits to end the threat of climate change. This line particularly stuck out to me: “Foreign assistance is not an end in itself. The purpose of aid is to create conditions where it’s no longer needed.” Development is a key part of a foreign policy strengthened not by lecturing the world but seeking great understanding– what Obama called “standing together, working together, and building together” to leave the world better than we found it.

Keep your eye on the ONE Blog for more updates.

-Chris Scott

Thanks in part to the efforts of more than 107,000 ONE members, we’ve hit our target of 20 cosponsors for the Durbin-Corker Water for the World Act — which would provide 100,000,000 people with first-time access to safe drinking water and sanitation on a sustainable basis by 2015.

Our thanks to Senators Harry Reid and Dianne Feinstein, who signed on to cosponsor the bill last week. Here’s the full list of cosponsors:

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Bob Corker, Bob (R-TN)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Sen. Byron Dorgan D-ND)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)
Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO)
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT)
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

ONE’s Government Affairs team is following the bill’s progress closely, and we are hoping for a hearing this fall. We’ll post another update when things get moving.

Meanwhile, let’s not stop at 20 — this bill and the 884 million people globally who lack access to clean water deserve more attention. Sign the petition here, and don’t forget to share it with your friends.

Thank you,

-Emily Stivers

As Americans, our well-being is linked to the lives of others around the world as never before. Today’s global challenges — poverty, hunger, conflict, disease and climate change — threaten prosperity and security in the U.S. and globally. Smart U.S. foreign policy requires not just military strength but also skilled diplomacy, sound economic policy, and innovative approaches to global development. Our foreign assistance programs are a critical part of how we engage the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, the law governing U.S. foreign aid policy is out-of-date. It was written in 1961, and the world has changed drastically since then. We need to upgrade our foreign aid laws and policies to tackle today’s global challenges and make sure our foreign assistance dollars serve us as best they can in the fight against global poverty, hunger and disease. The people we are trying to help deserve no less.

The Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 (S. 1524) is a real opportunity to “upgrade aid”, and has bipartisan support. Introduced by Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Richard Lugar (R-IN) in July, it was immediately cosponsored by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jim Risch (R-ID), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Bob Corker (R-TN), and has since earned the additional support of Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Robert Casey (D-PA), Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

The Kerry-Lugar bill recognizes the importance of global prosperity and security to the national interests of the United States and takes several, critical steps to strengthen U.S. foreign assistance:

1. Establishes that it is U.S. policy to promote global development, good governance and the reduction of poverty and hunger.
2. Restores planning, policy, evaluation and innovation capability to USAID, the U.S. agency responsible for fighting hunger and poverty around the world.
3. Creates an independent evaluation and research innovation group to measure the impact of U.S. development and foreign assistance programs to determine what works, and what doesn’t.
4. Calls for U.S. citizens and foreign aid recipients to have access to web-based, timely, and comparable information on U.S. foreign assistance programs, presented on a program-by-program and country-by-country basis.
5. Enhances USAID’s personnel and human resources capacity to ensure the agency has the technical and policy expertise required to confront today’s global challenges.
6. Creates a single U.S. voice on the ground in developing countries to coordinate and align U.S. development programs with country needs.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be marking up S. 1524 on Tuesday, September 22. Though the bill already has 10 cosponsors, additional Senate cosponsors — especially from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — are needed to demonstrate the growing U.S. support for making our foreign assistance programs better and smarter.

For instructions, talking points and to tell us about your call, click here.

-Emily Stivers