Recently Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Bob Corker (R-TN) went on a fact-finding trip to Africa as part of their work on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Senator Isakson is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on African Affairs. He invited Nancy Bauer and me to represent ONE at a special private debriefing of his trip at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta. Others invited to attend included CARE state chairs Amy Kelly and Janis Sundquist, Emory University President Jim Wagner, and newly-appointed CDC chief Tom Frieden.

The trip took them to Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. In Sudan the Senators monitored the progress of the 2005 agreement between the northern and southern regions of Sudan, especially in light of the recent situation regarding removal and reinstatement of NGOs in Darfur. According to Senator Isakson, many NGOs who were expelled by the Khartoum government earlier this spring had already begun to return at the time of his trip, “but under different names, and with new restrictions.” Because the NGOs provide the only real source of healthcare (among other resources) for many people in this war-torn region, according to Senator Isakson, the continuation of humanitarian efforts for Darfurians is imperative. The key to making real change in Sudan, he added, is “making the Comprehensive Peace Agreement a reality.” Without the complete deployment of African Union troops, the region will continue to remain unsecured. The Senator also drew parallels between Sudan and the Congo with regards to the safety of women in both countries, saying, “rape is still being used as a military tool.”

Senator Isakson’s remarks, which lasted about 40 minutes, expanded on his theme of “Africa as the continent of the 21st century,” and stressed the importance of the relationship between the U.S. and the entire African continent. He noted the differences between this recent trip to Africa and another trip he took in 2002, pre-PEPFAR, and observed that the strides being made in HIV/AIDS treatment bring hope to those infected and affected. He asserted that “the drugs are working.”

Senator Isakson also lauded the work that CARE, based in his home state of Georgia, is doing on the continent. He shared a charming anecdote about a meeting he attended with a Village Savings and Loan Association at a CARE project in Tanzania, in which he witnessed the approval process for receiving a micro-loan. The loan committee had a cash box with three locks, and three different women each held a key. A prospective recipient would go before the committee to ask for a loan to open a business such as making garlic paste, dyeing batik fabrics, or making baskets, and if all three women agreed, the cash box would be opened. Then, with a wink and a laugh, he credited the success of such a program to the fact that it’s run by women – to great applause from the audience.

After his presentation, I was able to talk with Senator Isakson about his views on various topics, including the recent debates about aid to Africa and to thank him for his support of legislation that helps the world’s poorest people. I also got to meet CDC Director Tom Frieden. I was so pleased to hear Frieden ask Senator Isakson to make maternal and child health a priority, noting that although certain strides are being made with disease reduction, treatment and prevention in Africa (HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria), the infant and maternal mortality rates have not improved since 1990, according to a recently-released WHO study.

I look forward to working with Senator Isakson and his office to make sure that Africa ––and all the issues surrounding global poverty ––remain the highest priority.

-Kristi York Wooten, Atlanta ONE

I just heard that Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) has signed on as a cosponsor of the Durbin-Corker bill — the Water for the World Act, S.624. And he said he was aware of our petition!

This is great news in our fight to get the Water for the World Act, which would provide 100 million people with first-time, sustainable access to clean water and adequate sanitation by 2015, moving in the Senate. We now have 7 of the 20 cosponsors we need.

We still need 13 more senators, though. You can help by asking your senator(s) to sign on as cosponsors, here.

Having Sen. Isakson on board is a big deal because he sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, where the S.624 is currently stuck. His support of this bill is going to mean a lot in getting it to the Senate floor for a vote. He’s also the ranking member on the Subcommittee for African Affairs, so his support of water and sanitation initiatives is particularly important to the 328 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who lack access to clean water and 546 million who don’t have access to proper sanitation facilities.

I’m joined by everyone at ONE, and the more than 860 Georgia ONE members who signed the petition so far, in thanking Sen. Isakson for acknowledging this devastating problem and standing up for smart solutions like the Water for the World Act.

Having Sen. Isakson as a cosponsor is an exciting step forward, but we still need to keep the pressure on the rest of the Senate. You can help by signing the petition, sharing it on Facebook, and emailing it to your friends.

-Kristi Wooten, Georgia ONE Member

Several Atlanta ONE members participated in the CARE National Conference and Celebration May 5 and 6 in Washington, DC. It was a great time for advocacy, and we met with Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), among many Georgia Representatives from the House about three key issues: hunger and food aid, preventing child marriage worldwide, and addressing global climate change.

Solidifying the strong bond between CARE and ONE, ONE CEO David Lane kicked off our day on the Hill with a pep talk (and book review) at our breakfast plenary, leaving us with the charge that “regular people really can make things happen.”

Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), who’s the ranking member on the Subcommittee for African Affairs, talked about Africa’s role as the “continent of the 21st century as far as American foreign policy and intervention is concerned.”

“Africa’s resources, people, and potential are tremendous,” he said. “Its problems are many. But we as a partner with the African people are already demonstrating that you can turn the tide on AIDS, you can turn the tide on malaria, you can begin to develop the infrastructure for people to have healthy, safe water and other basic supplies of human life.”

-Kristi York Wooten

Late last week, hundreds of ONE members called to urge Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee to ask questions about global poverty during Hillary Clinton’s Secretary of State confirmation hearing.

Some of those senators didn’t even get a chance, because Secretary-designate Clinton answered their questions before they could be asked. Her opening statement featured a long section on the two billion people worldwide living on less than $2 a day. She emphasized that the plight of the poor is “not marginal to our foreign policy but integral to accomplishing our goals.”

Opening remarks by Senator John Kerry (Massachusetts) also included a strong statement about the ongoing global hunger crisis. “The United States is uniquely situated to help the world feed itself and has the opportunities to recast its image by making the eradication of hunger a centerpiece of United States foreign policy,” he said.

In the subsequent question-and-answer period, ten out of fifteen of the Foreign Relations Committee Senators raised issues related to ONE issues, including these:

- Senator Bob Corker (Tennessee) asked about reforming and modernizing U.S. foreign aid, referring to the “maze of aid efforts that are underway” and the need for the State Department to examine and streamline these efforts.

- Senator Barbara Boxer (California) stated that “HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis — Africa, Asia, Latin America need our attention,” and went on to describe the persecution of women in the developing world.

Clinton responded with this assurance: “I want to pledge to you that as Secretary of State I view these issues as central to our foreign policy, not as adjunct or auxiliary or in any way lesser than all of the other issues that we have to confront.”

- Senator George Voinovich (Ohio) inquired about how “smart power” — (more…)