More common than deafness or Down’s syndrome, hydrocephalus, or “water on the brain,” is a completely treatable condition diagnosed in 400,000 babies worldwide each year, including 250,000 in sub-Saharan Africa. Usually caused by complications from an infection at birth or in infancy, babies provided with proper medical assistance are expected to make full recoveries and to go on to lead perfectly normal, healthy lives. But, like many preventable diseases and disabilities prevalent in the developing world, almost 90 percent of hydrocephalus cases found in African children turn out to be fatal.
Driving down a bumpy and barely navigable road in Malawi, we arrived at the Mawango School, greeted by tons of school children with beaming smiles.
“Look at those round cheeks, beautiful smiles,” remarked Florence from the Ministry of Education who joined ONE’s site visit. “The children are happy because they have taken their porridge.” At this school feeding program, run by the World Food Programme, the 777 students at Mawango are guaranteed a bowl of porridge made from a corn-soya blend, sweetened with sugar and fortified with essential nutrients.
From online petitions to angry baby protests, it’s hard to miss ONE’s focus on the Global Fund and our goal to ensure that virtually no child is born with HIV by 2015. But throughout this campaign, many of you have rightfully asked, “How does this exactly work?”
It’s a miracle of modern medical technology that we’re able to prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). To help you understand, we’ve created a CliffsNotes version of how it works:
According to today’s report in The New York Times, a growing movement of parents, educators and philanthropists has banded together to strengthen the education system for poor and working-class students in South Africa. As a result, new private schools like Leap are “springing up” to serve this niche market.
The Leap schools — which, according to the Times, function a bit like charter schools — have adjusted the curriculum to fit the students’ needs. The school offers extra support for national matriculation exams, instill a fierce work ethic and provide a “life orientation” class to help students air out their personal problems.
These “charter” schools are just one part of South Africa’s up-and-coming education movement — but it’s good to see that concerned citizens are taking the matter into their own hands. Take a look at the story and read more about education on our issues page.
If you can read this blog post, then great — you don’t have a literacy problem. But sadly, that’s not the case everywhere else in the world.
About one in five adults are not able to read, and two-thirds of them are women. A shocking 72 million children are out of school, which means that they won’t even get the chance to try.
We can change these statistics. Today is International Literacy Day — a reminder that we still have a long way to go in terms of achieving complete literacy and a celebration of the four billion literate people in the world.
This event couldn’t have come at a better time. The U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals is just around the corner — so use this opportunity to refresh your memory on MDG 2, a call to ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling. Education not only provides children and families with a pathway out of poverty, but it can also yield even bigger returns for the world’s poorest countries through its impact on areas such as health and the economy.
Check out some of the work that USAID has been doing for International Literacy Day. They’ve dedicated this entire week to emphasizing the importance of education in development.
Then, when you’re done learning all you can learn, nestle down with a book (maybe one from our recommended reading list, perhaps?) and celebrate the act of reading. Hopefully, one day, we can all enjoy this simple pleasure.
I — along with many of my colleagues at ONE — was shocked and saddened to learn that Bwalya Liteta — the 12-year-old girl featured in the recent HBO documentary “The Lazarus Effect” — passed away on August 14th.
As many of you may have seen from our sister organization (RED)‘s website, Bwalya was an HIV-positive child who had lost both her parents. (RED) first met her in May 2009 and filmed her recovery from near death to robust health with the help of antiretroviral treatment (ARVs).
Everyone who met her in the filming process was inspired by her quiet determination, and many of us at ONE felt personally compelled by the simple joy she exuded as she was finally feeling better and able to return to school with her friends.
“The Lazarus Effect” highlighted the miracle of antiretroviral drugs in restoring the health of people living with HIV/AIDS. But even when treated, AIDS can be a physically devastating disease — especially for young children.
This year, we’ve been campaigning for the full replenishment of the Global Fund. If fully funded, the Global Fund — along with other bilateral AIDS efforts — can ensure that no child is born with HIV by 2015 and make certain that little girls like Bwalya never need to become infected in the first place.
Her story should compel us — including world leaders — to be bold in our efforts to make this goal achievable.
Twilight’s Ashley Greene just sent this email to ONE members giving them a sneak peek at the brand new PSA she helped create for ONE. She stars in it alongside her Twilight costars Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, and Jackson Rathbone, Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester, Jessica Szohr and Ed Westwick, Heroes’ Hayden Panettiere, High School Musical’s Corbin Bleu, 90210′s Tristan Wilds, Star Trek’s John Cho and Tropic Thunder’s Brandon T. Jackson.
The PSA will air for the first time on television during Wednesday’s Gossip Girl. Check it out. http://www.one.org/buzz.
The more people talk, the more we can accomplish. Just sharing your commitment to fighting global poverty with your friends can inspire them to make the same commitment, and start up a buzz that will build into a roar of collective action.
For World AIDS Day tomorrow, I joined some of my friends from TV and film to make a video sharing our commitment to defeating extreme poverty and preventable disease. I hope you’ll watch, and share your own commitment by passing it on to people you know:
Throughout history we’ve seen how committed people, together, can change laws, break barriers and decide elections. And together, we can defeat extreme poverty and eradicate preventable, treatable diseases including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
But it takes all of us working together across borders, time zones, cultures…through advocacy, action, and awareness-raising.
You can help us raise awareness about ONE and build a better future for millions of people living in poverty. Please join Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone and me, Ashley Greene, from Twilight; Leighton Meester, Jessica Szohr and Ed Westwick from Gossip Girl; Corbin Bleu from High School Musical; Hayden Panettiere from Heroes; Tristan Wilds from 90210; Star Trek’s John Cho and Tropic Thunder’s Brandon T. Jackson by sharing our video to create a buzz in your community:
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
