On Monday, November 24th, ONE’s Africa office organized an advocacy visit to a hospital in Northern Nigeria, in a village called Kubwa, to draw media and public attention to maternal and child health issues in Nigeria. This visit was done in collaboration with Caroline Chikezie, a Nigerian born, Hollywood based actress who was visiting Abuja to present at the first MTV Africa Awards. Caroline starred in the UK series Footballers Wives before moving to the United States to work in the movie industry. One of her major recent appearances was in Aeon Flux with Charlize Theron.

Caroline was a brilliant spokesperson for the day and advocated for the media to focus on the challenges preventing progress in this area of healthcare, as well as policy that would influence change in Nigeria. Caroline was particularly alarmed by how little it cost to prevent the child and maternal related deaths that are commonplace in Africa and insisted she would take the campaign back to the United States and lobby for support from fellow actors and actresses, policy makers and philanthropists, who could collectively make a substantial difference to the continent.

Across the world, young children and pregnant women bear the brunt of failed health systems and Africa is disproportionately affected with a child mortality rate that is 20 times that of the United States, and a maternal mortality rate that is 65 times that of the United States. Nigeria’s maternal and child mortality rates are now among the worst in the world with approximately 136 women dying everyday because of child birth related complications, and 2300 children under five are lost everyday due to preventable diseases. (more…)

UPDATE: Here’s a video of some highlights from the forum.

This morning I was lucky enough to get to go to the Saddleback Civil Forum here in DC on behalf of ONE. I only found out about this event late Sunday, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I am very glad I got to go, because today was a great day in the fight against AIDS around the globe.

The event was hosted by Pastor Rick Warren (you may know him as the man who wrote A Purpose Driven Life) and was in honor of all that President Bush has done over the course of his Administration to advance the fight against HIV/AIDS. President Bush received the first ever “International Medal of PEACE” from the Global PEACE Coalition for his unprecedented contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases. As Pastor Warren, Ban Ki-moon, Tony Blair, Bill Gates and Bill Clinton all said today (in person or in video messages sent from around the world), President Bush has done more than any world leader on these issues, ever.

President Bush was quick to point out that the credit goes to the people who also have a heart for this work and inspired this program, among them Condoleezza Rice and Mike Gerson. The President also credited the dedicated men and women who work tirelessly to make sure PEPFAR is run well and ensure the program’s success, among them PEPFAR’s Coordinator, Mark Dybul. President Bush asked Mark Dybul to stand and be recognized at the event, and I don’t think Dybul would’ve done so if anyone but the President asked; he’s clearly happier being the man behind the scenes who makes sure everything is running right.

PEPFAR is a huge program, and a huge success. There is certainly much credit to go around, and much work left to do. Today, on the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, it’s important to celebrate the progress we’ve made in the fight against HIV/AIDS and to recommit ourselves to the challenges that still lie before us. President-elect Obama sent a video message echoing his own commitments to fight HIV/AIDS, which he often repeated on the campaign trail. In an event honoring what’s been accomplished in the current president’s Administration, it was a great end to the Saddleback Civil Forum to look to the future and see the next president pledging to continue this great program and America’s lifesaving work.

-Kimberly Cadena

An adviser to President-Elect Obama talks of some shifts in focus for Bush’s Global AIDS Policy and other areas of reproductive health.

Despite the success of PEPFAR, PMI and other development programs, pieces of President Bush’s development agenda have been very controversial including policy about AIDS prevention and reproductive health. This article on Bloomberg news examines how some of these policies might change under an Obama Administration.

-Josh Lozman

Several ONE volunteers from Webster University recently came to DC during their fall break to meet with their Senator’s office and discuss issues relating to extreme poverty. Nick Stevens writes:

Fall break. A time for catching up on your soaps and sleep, right? Not for me and three other Webster University students. We decided to trek halfway across the country to lobby for ONE in DC.

On Tuesday, October 21 ONE Webster members Sandra Lemenaite, Dirk Bokeloh, Michelle Overington and I met with Joshua Kremer at Senator Bond’s office next to the nation’s capitol.

We told Joshua about the importance of development aid as part of a national security strategy and thanked Senator Bond for voting in favor of PEPFAR. In May, I delivered more than 700 letters to Senator Bond’s St. Louis office asking him to support the PEPFAR Reauthorization. This legislation has helped to put more than two million African people on life-saving anti-retroviral drugs.

The meeting was the first time I had lobbied in DC. Our meetings in St. Louis were effective, but it was great to meet someone in Bond’s foreign policy department. I look forward to building the relationship from here and hope that ONE’s presence will inspire Senator Bond to co-sponsor poverty ending legislation in the future.

-Nick Stevens, ONE Webster President

With the 2008 presidential election being held a week from today, it’s a great time to take stock of the progress made during the Bush administration and what challenges we’ll confront during the next administration.

Todd Moss, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, sat down for an interview about progress in US foreign aid under the Bush administration. He also discusses ideas for how the next president could potentially continue these efforts.

Excerpts below, full piece here

Q: What has the Bush administration done to strengthen U.S. engagement in Africa?

A: I don’t think it’s too strong to say that President Bush’s Africa policy is the most distinguished foreign policy legacy of the administration. Although few expected such interest eight years ago, the president has clearly been deeply and personally committed to strengthening U.S.-Africa relations. We have not only seen U.S. assistance levels to Africa skyrocket, but the whole debate about foreign aid and Africa has changed.

Q: How so?

A: A decade ago, Washington was still arguing about whether foreign aid was a waste or not and whether we had any real interests in Africa. Today, the discussion is about how to innovate, build partnerships, and fix our aid system. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) have been game-changers. Africa’s debt problem is essentially fixed. We have seen a huge spike in American trade and increased private investment. The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. has helped to launch more than a dozen private equity funds targeting the continent. American thinking on Africa has changed completely. It’s no coincidence that views of the U.S. are still overwhelmingly positive across Africa.

-Chris Scott

Sen. Joe Biden was in New Hampshire yesterday to campaign in Dover and Manchester. ONE’s Marine, Michael Castaldo made it out of bed early for the world’s poorest people and caught up with Sen. Biden at the Dover event. He was able to briefly speak with Sen. Biden, who was one of the original co-sponsors of the new global AIDS, TB, and Malaria bill- called PEPFAR- that President Bush signed a few months ago. Michael even snapped a quick photo with him on the way out.

In Manchester, I caught up with Sen. Biden with some ONE members too. After his speech, we made a quick dash to the rope line and we were able to briefly thank him and celebrate the new PEPFAR bill. We also encouraged him to accelerate efforts to save lives around the world by providing full funding for the Millennium Challenge Corporation – a new and more efficient way of creating partnerships in development between the US and desperately poor nations.

Our efforts to save lives in highly impoverished countries reflect the best of American values and traditions. But it is also a very wise effort to help make more friends and allies around the world and prevent further instability and despair.

-Matthew Bartlett

There was a timely article on yesterday’s Huffington Post about the financial crisis and its potential impact on global development programs. We know that foreign assistance is a critical
part of our foreign policy and following through on our commitments for a stable and secure world is as important now as ever before.

Excerpts below, full piece here

Foreign assistance plays a key role in restoring America’s image abroad, and many experts, including military leaders, have made clear its crucial role in preventing the emergence of failed states.

After years of failed US policies abroad, now is exactly the wrong time to engage in isolationism. Warning against a tendency toward isolationism in the face of the current downturn, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also appealed to rich countries not to use the crisis as a reason to not help the poor. “This would be the worst time to turn back,” he stated.

Americans should be proud that US assistance programs are saving lives. Take for example, the US global AIDS program (PEPFAR). In July 2008, the United States government reauthorized PEPFAR, the single biggest global public health program in history. In its first five years, PEPFAR supported life-saving treatment for approximately 1.73 million men, women and children, and it has increased countries’ ability to better manage health threats using their own resources.

-Josh Lozman

President Bush just finished addressing the UN Assembly in New York. During his remarks he pushed for stronger economic and HIV/AIDS fighting initiatives in Africa. He noted that “every country and institution that provides foreign assistance including the United Nations will be more effective by showing faith in the people of the developing world and insisting on performance in return for aid ”while asking countries to “adopt a model of partnership not paternalism.”

He also spoke at length about PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief):

Every nation that receives American support through this initiative develops its own plan for fighting HIV aids and measures the results. And so far these results are inspiring. 5 years ago 50,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa were receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS. Today that number is nearly 1.7 million. We’re taking a similar approach to fighting malaria, and so far we’ve supported local efforts to protect more than 25 million Africans. …All [nations] who have made pledges to fight disease have an obligation to follow through on their commitments.

The full clip can be found here.

-Chris Scott

ONE and CARE volunteers united for a meeting with Congressman Sestak’s (D, PA-7) senior advisor Jason Marmon. We thanked the Congressman for his support of PEPFAR and the Jubilee Act and for his co-sponsorship of Education for All. Marmon expressed frustration at what he described as “gridlock” in the Congress and said that Representative Sestak wanted to remain in session instead of go to recess this summer in order to finish the important work ahead of them.

He regretted that many legislative needs would not be met in the month of September before the recess until January but he said that the congressman will continue to champion issues such as universal education and foreign aid in the interest of national security.

-Lauren Conn

Sen. Obama was in New Hampshire this weekend and so was our giant ONE Bus! We met up with him Friday night in Concord, NH at a campaign rally.

Although it was raining, we spoke with many people in line about ONE and our non-partisan effort to fight AIDS and extreme poverty in the developing world. Almost everyone had heard or seen ONE through the NH Primary and our new ad.

Before Sen. Obama came out, NH Rep. Paul Hodes made his way through the crowd and we were able to thank him for voting for the new global AIDS bill, PEPFAR, that smashed its way through the US House with great bi-partisan support.

Sen. Obama finally made his way to the stage and gave his stump speech. He could clearly see our ONE shirts and ONE bands throughout the crowd. Afterward, he shook hands and we were able to briefly thank him for voting for PEPFAR and for talking about PEPFAR at the Service Forum in NYC the night before. You can see a quick clip of him with us in the crowd here:

We were not able to give Sen. Obama a ONE band, but his aide, Reggie Love, came back and grabbed one for him. And as we were leaving, Sen. Obama’s bus pulled away and he our ONE bus a big wave!

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer