John Keats, DH Lawrence, Dylan Thomas, Henry David Thoreau. Famous poets that turned words to art. Sadly, they also had another thing in common: tuberculosis. In the late 1800s, TB was tearing through the US and Europe, causing many deaths.

Today is World TB Day, an opportunity to take stock of progress made in ridding the world of this horrible disease and also identifying opportunities to make more progress. For most of us, TB is not a big concern. Once in a while we get a scare –- remember that guy a few years back who flew back to the US even though he’d been diagnosed with infectious TB? -– but for the most part it’s a disease of the past.

Not so for many people living in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. About 2 million people die every year from TB, making it one of the world’s top killers. It’s become even more deadly with people with HIV, and is what causes most AIDS-related deaths in Africa.

“Without additional funding in the battle against tuberculosis for research, improved prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, some 8 million people will die from what is largely a curable disease between now and 2015,” according to a statement from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

Thanks to a lot of work by partners across the world, there’s been great progress. More and more people are diagnosed and treated, and that’s thanks in large part to increased funding through the Global Fund -– a key focus of our ONE advocacy work. About two-thirds of all donor support for TB flows through the Global Fund, and this has helped many poor people get the treatment they need. There’s also a good strategy in place, thanks to the Stop TB Partnership, an active coalition of more than 1 thousand organizations working together to eliminate TB.

Still, there’s a lot more to do. On the prevention front, there’s still a shocking disconnect between HIV and TB services –- even though we know that the rate of TB is much higher, and more deadly, among people living with HIV. Those managing programs and funding need to do much more to ensure that HIV and TB are treated as one in the many countries where they’re raging together.

On the research front, there are some new diagnostic tools to help quickly identify people with active TB, including those that have developed drug-resistant TB (you get drug-resistant TB when the systems for providing regular TB fail, leaving patients vulnerable to mutating viruses that are harder and more expensive to treat). The Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics (FIND) has an active effort on TB that’s really focused on addressing real problems in developing countries that don’t have lots of expensive laboratories, microscopes, and trained personnel).

The world needs a vaccine for TB! There is one now, called BCG and developed about 90 years ago, and it’s used to protect infants but it doesn’t protect them from adult forms of TB and is only partially effective. The Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation is leading in this area; they’re hopeful that a vaccine will be ready by the end of the decade. Let’s hope they’re right!

So what can you do to save the poets of today and tomorrow? Help us keep up the pressure to fully fund the Global Fund. The fights still on, sadly, and it’s caught up in the big budget debates going on in many donor capitols. Join ONE, and respond when we ask –- we really do need your voice to help support political leaders to do the right thing.

Photo of Henry David Thoreau courtesy of Wikimedia commons

We got more than 130 comments — answers ranged from “strength in numbers” to “moral obligation.” Take a look at some of the responses we received, then add your own in the comments below!

Of all the countries in the world, South Africa is hit hardest by HIV/AIDS. Approximately 5.7 of the 48 million population of South Africa is infected with the virus, and nine percent of people younger than 20 have HIV. So, it makes sense that the South African government would consider measures like this one to help curb infection rates.

But is age 12 too young? Children’s advocates in South Africa have called for caution, fearing that students wouldn’t be mature enough or emotionally capable to handle the results. Curious to see what other people had to say about the issue, I sent out this discussion topic to our nearly 480,000 followers on Twitter:

Here are a few of the responses we received on Twitter. Take a look and leave us your thoughts in the comments section below.

What do you think?

On Saturday, a group of ONE members attended the 2011 Annual Farm Forum in Piqua, Ohio. ONE members Kara Ford and Carly Rohrbraugh — ONE leaders and students from Ohio State University — and I hoped to get a chance to talk with the powerful new Speaker of the House John Boehner. And we succeeded!

As ONE members, we know the important role that Speaker Boehner will play in funding critical life-saving programs to fight AIDS, hunger and extreme poverty in the developing world — so we were pretty excited to have a chance to talk with him about these matters of life and death for millions.

Much to our surprise, Speaker Boehner spotted us and stopped to introduce himself to us. When we mentioned that we were ONE members, he told us that he was very familiar with ONE and that he has met with ONE’s leadership over the years. We told him how worried we were about funding for programs like PEPFAR, and he told us that he recognizes PEPFAR is working to save millions of lives from HIV/AIDS.

We also talked about how PEPFAR and other programs will be part of President Bush’s legacy for the world, to which he agreed. I even spoke with him about the Global Fund and how transparent and accountable the fund is to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria. He nodded in agreement and told us that there is still a lot more work to be done, too, so we urged him to continue America’s life-saving role in the future. He even took a ONE band and some ONE literature after we snapped a quick photo with him.

We hope that Speaker Boehner will remember ONE and the world’s poorest people as Congress takes action during the next steps in the CR process. We are so excited and proud that he made time for us on Saturday, and we hope that he will carry our thoughts and prayers with him into action in the House.

-Beth Kaltenbach, ONE Congressional District leader, Ohio

During his speech, Gov. Kasich surprisingly talked about his work in Congress to lead life-saving efforts in Africa and also talked about his trip to Rwanda with ONE.

Here’s an excerpt from the speech below and a link to listen to the audio:

“And, of course, I love the work that I was involved in with Teddy Kennedy and Jesse Helms and Bono in an effort to fight poverty. You know, it’s a great story. I got a call from The Terminator. Arnold said, you need to meet this man, he’s out there, he’s meeting with every big official all over the world, he’s got a program to do debt relief in Africa.

And I’d always felt that foreign aid was a little bit of corporate welfare, but I always thought it could be applied well so that if we actually did immunize somebody or vaccinate them in another part of the world when extremists were shouting and criticizing America, the woman there would stand up and say, you may not like them, but they vaccinated my kid. See, I like that idea.

Arnold said, you’ve got to meet this guy. I said, what’s his name? He said, you never heard of him. I said, what’s his name, Arnold? He says, you’ve never heard of him. I said, what’s his name? He said, his name is Bono. I said, Arnold, I’m not an Austrian bricklayer, I know who Bono is. (Laughter) So Bono and I sat down, and he talked about his faith. The song “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is not about something he misplaced. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

Bono says, you’re not getting me in to see enough congressmen and senators. I said — this was in the early days — I said, Bono, look, you’re wearing a black leather suit, Prada shoes, and those crazy sunglasses, they don’t want to be seen with you. He said, John, the guys in my band, they don’t want me to be seen with you. (Laughter) Well, we won. And just a couple years ago, my wife and I went to Rwanda at the request of Bono. Began to see some miracles of reconciliation. It worked.”

-Beth Kaltenbach, ONE Congressional District leader, Ohio

Dr. Ahmed Zewail, Nobel Peace Prize winner and the president’s special envoy for science to the Middle East, outlines four steps that Egypt needs to take to resolve the crisis in a New York Times column:

“Though Egypt has seen some economic progress in recent years, the masses of the poor have been left behind, and the middle class has actually gone backward. Only the small elite at the top has benefited lavishly by exploiting its influence with the government. The corruption resulting from this marriage and the constant demands for bribes by officials has further exhausted the tolerance of the people.

There are four important steps that must be taken to resolve the current crisis: First, a council of wise men and women should be assembled to map out a new national vision and draft a new constitution based on liberty, human rights and the orderly transfer of power. Second, the independence of the judiciary must be guaranteed. Third, free and fair elections must be conducted for the upper and lower houses of Parliament and for the presidency, overseen by the independent judiciary; Fourth, a new transitional government of national unity must be formed as soon as possible.”

Raj M. Desai, nonresident senior fellow with Global Economy and Development team at Brookings, gives some context as to why Egyptians are revolting and why Hosni Mubarak has held on for so long:

“Dictators in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have survived for long periods of time through an ‘authoritarian bargain’ with their citizens. For decades, the state granted a series of economic benefits to its people: free education, employment guarantees, subsidized housing and other entitlements. In times of financial distress, however, rulers have occasionally turned to partial political liberalization. Facing plunging oil prices in the 1990s, for example, several countries permitted local elections for the first time, and took steps to allow opposition figures to campaign, as long as they did not threaten the regime itself.

As unemployment increases beyond 30 percent in some MENA countries, several rulers have tried to do the same thing — make pledges to step down and take limited steps toward political reform. But this time it may prove too little. Over the past 15 years –mainly due to rising fertility rates and falling mortality rates in previous decades — a large cohort of youth has entered the marketplace. Because of the failure of Arab governments to reform in previous years and to revitalize their private sector, these young people have found few jobs. Their parents would have been given places in universities, government jobs, and a generous set of benefits. But the new generation has received little of that, and as a result, their frustrations with the system have been building for well over a decade.”

Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, says that although we can only hope that Egypt transitions to a fully democratic regime, things don’t always go as planned:

“We should have known there was a demand for democracy in Egypt –- surveys suggest public support for democratic institutions is higher in Egypt than in the United States. And frustration was heightened by recent and dramatic food price rises alongside a growing and increasingly educated youth population denied opportunities by a sclerotic private sector based on patronage and favoritism. But food price increases have been felt worldwide, and youth unemployment has been growing for more than a decade. The spark came from Tunisia -– events there asked Egyptians to ask ‘if in Tunis, why not in Cairo?’

As to what is next, we all hope for a rapid and peaceful transition to a fully democratic regime that respects rights -– along the model of South Korea. But things don’t always turn out so well –- think about some of the countries in the former Soviet Union that have fallen back to dictatorship, or pretty much all of the countries that saw revolts in 1848. Again, true institutional progress is usually evolutionary not revolutionary. Take the example of the US, where liberty was declared the right of all in 1776, but it took nearly a century to abolish slavery — and we remain far from ensuring equality of opportunity for all. In the best of circumstances, it will be an ongoing struggle for the Egyptian people to gain and maintain their liberties, but recent events are a hard-won opportunity for a breakthrough.“

Now it’s your turn. What do you think of the revolts in Egypt? What do you think the country’s next steps should be? Share them with us in the comments below.

What do doctors, Republicans and nonprofits that fight poverty and global disease all have in common?

They all support the global health reforms that are happening right now. As Congress heads into budget deliberations, these folks are urging Congress to support the budget for global health. Check out this letter running in Politico this week:

The US Global Health Initiative (GHI) continues President Bush’s legacy by:

To learn more, check out a recent article by Oxfam CEO Ray Offenheiser about the US helping people tackle their health challenges, instead of tackling those challenges for them.

To add your voice to these doctors, Republicans and nonprofits, just type the message “I support global health” in the comments section below.

-Porter McConnell, Aid Effectiveness Team, Oxfam America

Entrepreneur Tal Dehitar’s two-year-old business, Oliberte, is booming. Selling high-quality casual shoes, Oliberte has gone from selling a mere 200 pairs of shoes in 2009 to a projected 18,000 in this year alone. Most would consider this a huge accomplishment in itself, but what makes Oliberte such a success story is that it is the first international company to market shoes made entirely in Africa.

Dehitar is bringing much-needed help to an almost scarce African middle class -– Oliberte currently employs around six workers in Ethiopia and will expand this year to train and employ up to 50 workers in Liberia. Dehitar also makes sure that his workers are given proper treatment.

“We make sure they pay at minimum the minimum wage with the understanding that as we grow as a company, they’re committed to improving their conditions, whether it’s through [initiatives such as] health insurance programs … now all the factories provide maternity leave programs to all the women,” said Dehitar in a recent CNN story.

Canadian-born Dehitar is intent on making people see Africa as a continent with some major manufacturing potential. His concept is simple: do good while living well. “If you want to pay people right, if you want to treat them with respect, use good product, then come to Africa,” he said.

And consumers seem to be in agreement. At the PROJECT trade show in New York City — a showcase for clothing brands across the world — buyers from trendy stores like Urban Outfitters and high-end boutiques showed great interest in Oliberte’s products.

Andrew Pollard, an industry expert, said that “What [Dehitar] is doing is he’s forging new ground. Where most people in the industry would never even know that Africa is a viable place to manufacture, he’s showing that it is.”

A entrepreneur with a conscience, Dehitar is successfully proving Africa’s manufacturing potential. Here at ONE, we are excited to see where Oliberte will go and how it will hopefully inspire others to think more globally.

It’s a bittersweet day for me. Today is my last day at ONE, as I’ve accepted a position at the White House. Working with all of you to fight extreme poverty has been the best job I’ve ever had. It has been exciting, humbling and rewarding. We’ve worked hard to make sure that the case for our shared fight against extreme poverty—which is so clear and compelling to us—becomes obvious to others.

In the coming months, ONE will be actively searching for a new CEO to help guide and grow our organization. In the interim, one of our board members—Joshua Bolten – has agreed to fill this role. As many of you know, Josh is currently a visiting professor at Princeton and has spent years in the US government at the highest levels. I am extremely grateful to Josh for stepping in to this role and I know he is excited to work closely with all of you.

As I reflect on my time at ONE, one of the things I am most proud of is that we have become a truly global movement. We now have members in over 100 countries on 7 continents. ONE’s membership and staff are a committed, passionate, and diverse group from across the political and social spectrum. You represent different political parties, nationalities, faiths, and walks of life. It is our deep commitment to the fight against extreme poverty that allows us, and propels us, to transcend differences and harness our strengths in a powerful way.

And, I’ve seen with my own eyes the awesome power of millions of people from all corners of the globe, from all walks of life, working together to end poverty. I am as proud as I’ve ever been to stand beside all of you, and I will remain a loyal ONE member today and always.

Thank you for everything.

David Lane

Over the next few days, I will write about the resilient and creative spirit of Haiti and in particular, of Jacmel, the small coastal city where I am spending my vacation. After the January 12 earthquake, 85 percent of Haiti’s buildings were damaged, most of its 18th century New Orleans-esque downtown was condemned, and thousands of people were moved into tent camps.

Today, I met with Roland Zenny, Jacmel’s Chamber of Commerce President, to talk about whether foreign direct investment is happening in Jacmel. Upon arriving in his office, Zenny handed me a 2′ 8 block of what looked like really dense Styrofoam. This material is the basis for a vision that he and a group of private investors from the United States are making a reality just a few miles outside of the center of the city.

Using an incredibly sturdy version of polystyrene patented by the company MilleniumBlok, the investors plan to build a village of earthquake and hurricane tolerant houses that will be sold for around $10,000. While this may seem like a lot in a country that where the GDP per capita is around $733, they expect that people with steady jobs will be able to afford them.

In an effort to create a market, they will develop a textile factory in the village that will provide 1,200 jobs. Tax incentives will encourage other factories to set up shop nearby. Local banks like Fonkoze have committed to marketing a mortgage product for houses in that price range, making such housing affordable for more people. Zenny’s plan is for the development of inexpensive earthquake-resistant housing and a mortgage market to spur increased movement from tent cities to permanent housing.

While this project is not targeted to the poorest of the poor (the private sector rarely has the capacity to do so), it has the potential to spur growth, change the public’s perception of what is within their reach, and introduce builders and aid groups to disaster-tolerant materials. As an indicator of how much hunger there is for opportunity and reconstruction, Zenny estimated that 4,000 people attended the Chamber’s information session on the project.

Could the private sector be a key to reconstruction in Haiti? Earlier this week I passed a cooperatively-owned agricultural school in the countryside outside Jacmel. I asked my companion, a local pastor, about who funds the school. “It is part of a cooperative,” he said. “The classes are funded by the farmers who take them. That is the Haitian way.” In many ways, this is similar to how the planned village will work in that, in the end, they will both be funded by the same people who benefit from them and will be driven by demand for the final product.

People here want to make their own way and are hungry for opportunities to do so. A great question to ask is: What can we do to support that?