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What We’re Reading 11/5/09


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Nov 5th, 2009 9:56 AM EST
By Steve.Wilson

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Reuters—Africa aid can boost global economy: World Bank
Development aid to Africa can boost domestic demand on the continent and help wean the global economy from over-reliance on personal consumption in the United States, a senior World Bank official said on Thursday. “We need to look at a multi-polar world, because the dependence on U.S. consumption will have to shift,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director at the Bank said. “There are other countries that can provide consumption. When you look at Africa, it has around a billion consumers. When you invest in Africa you provide trade and services to these people.”

Los Angeles Times—Massive malaria vaccine trial has begun in Africa
A massive Phase 3 trial of a malaria vaccine is now underway in Africa, with 5,000 children enrolled already out of a target population of 16,000. If results are favorable, marketing approval could be sought as early as 2012, making it the first commercial vaccine available for the disease, researchers said Tuesday in announcing the trial at the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Pan-African Malaria Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Guardian—Rich countries call on African bloc to keep climate talks on track
Rich countries piled pressure on Africa not to derail climate talks after the poorest countries in the world shocked the UN by walking out of the official negotiations in Barcelona, demanding that their concerns be met. The African bloc complained that rich nations’ carbon cuts were far too small to avoid catastrophic climate change, and refused to participate until more was done. The move forced the UN to abandon several sessions and reschedule others to give rich countries more time to debate emissions cuts.

Reuters—U.S. wary on Doha deal, World Bank says go for it
The United States will not agree to a deal in world trade talks unless other countries make better offers to open their markets, two U.S. trade nominees said yesterday. But a forthcoming study from the World Bank argued that proposals now on the table in the Doha round—which would make it easier for developing countries to trade—would bring huge gains to the world economy and World Trade Organization members should stop quibbling over further concessions.

Deutsche Press Agency—Don’t back-track now on AIDS, Doctors Without Borders warns Western donors
Cutting funding for HIV/AIDS treatment would condemn millions of poor people to death, international medical NGO Doctors Without Borders said Thursday, amid signs they said of Western governments starting to back-track on their commitments. Two major funders of AIDS treatment in poor countries – the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – are considering scaling back or freeze their funding levels, Doctors Without Borders said in Johannesburg.

Physicians for Peace in Nigeria


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Nov 4th, 2009 3:45 PM EST
By Chris Scott

If you have a few minutes today, be sure to check out the Physicians for Peace blog which in recent weeks has been posting correspondence from Robin Jones. She is a Registered Nurse and Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner who has been working with local clinics to assist in midwifery education.

It’s a fascinating, on-the-ground look at the progress being made to improve child and maternal health. You can read her reports here.

What We’re Reading 11/4/09


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Nov 4th, 2009 1:45 PM EST
By Robyn Mitchell

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The Guardian: African nations make a stand at UN climate talks
African countries have said they are prepared to provoke a major UN crisis if the US and other rich countries do not start to urgently commit themselves to deeper and faster greenhouse gas emission cuts. The move by developing countries reflects “their deep and growing frustration over the slow progress that industrialized countries are making towards agreeing cuts.” According to the Guardian, this week’s UN negotiations in Barcelona are shedding light on the growing split between rich and poor countries, which threatens to blow the talks fatally off course.

The Guardian: US puts climate debate on hold for five weeks despite plea by Merkel
In the latest obstacle on the road to the UN summit in Copenhagen next month, the US Congress ruled out passing a climate change law before 2010. The delay caused a last-minute push by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who have repeatedly said US legislation is crucial to a deal on global warming. According to the Guardian, Merkel used a historic address to a joint session of Congress today to urge America to act on climate change, stating that success at Copenhagen rested on the willingness of all countries to accept binding reductions in carbon emissions.

The Christian Science Monitor: Is fight against hunger a matter of security?
Kanayo Nwanze, the new head of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development is bringing increased attention to hunger and food insecurity as an international security issue, a dimension that is raising new interest in tackling the matter. Rural hunger and food security are increasingly cropping up in venues ranging from the US Congress to G8 summits. According to Nwanze, it is the emergence of food as an international security issue that raises the odds that “the international community will help developing countries come up with sustainable answers to food production challenges.”

Reuters: Only 15 pct of G8 food aid pledge is new-sources
Reuters reports that only $3 billion of the $20 billion promised by a G8 summit over the next three years to boost agriculture in poor countries appears to be new money. According to one diplomat, “In the $20 billion figure people have included all sorts of things, double counting stuff, putting in loans and grants: the real new money is $3 billion at best.” Despite the announcement of increased investment at the G8 meeting in Italy last summer, anti-poverty campaigners warned that the pledges announced by rich countries were proving elusive.

Reuters: Brazil, others squeeze China in scramble for Africa
Though China has now eclipsed the United States as Africa’s biggest trading partner, they are by no means the only country involved in what Reuters is calling the “21st century scramble for Africa.” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has visited the continent six times in his four years in office and the country has increased its trade with Africa from $3.1 billion in 2000 to $26.3 billion last year. However, according to Reuters, it is not only Brazil and China that are muscling in on Africa. “The two other members of the so-called BRICs grouping — India and Russia — are also setting up stall in a region that for generations European powers regarded as their own back yard.”

Daily Nation: Kenya: Locally-Growing Moringa Tree Key in Fight Against Malaria
A malaria treatment derived from a locally-growing Kenyan shrub is one of only a few herbal cures being presented at an international conference in Nairobi this week. The tree is competing alongside malaria medicines developed by some of the world’s best scientists with the backing of global pharmaceutical giants. In a presentation at the Pan- African Malaria Conference, the tree extract, in combination with other herbs, has been seen to cure even drug-resistant malaria and has been endorsed after trials by the World Health Organization, according to a researcher at the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology in Nigeria.

World Briefing Contest Winner, Jessica Uno, Reports from Kenya


Nov 4th, 2009 12:15 PM EST
By Emily.Bergantino_MalariaNoMore

Jessica Uno, a junior at Stanford University, recently won the “World Briefing: Telling the Malaria Story” contest, earning her a spot on the frontlines of the malaria fight. This week, she will be reporting from the 2009 MIM (Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Pan-African) Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

Jessica will interview malaria experts and journalists; learn about new technologies and approaches to fighting the disease; and travel to a local clinic for an insider’s perspective on the malaria fight. She will report back on her findings and experiences via guest blog posts on our Buzzwords Blog and she’ll be Tweeting regularly from her Malaria No More twitter name, @JunoMNM.

The World Briefing contest is co-sponsored by Malaria No More and Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation and raises awareness about the race to save lives.

Be sure to check Jessica’s blog posts and follow her on Twitter to get the inside scoop on the latest news and trends from the front-lines of the global effort to end malaria deaths.

Breastfeeding in Ghana


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Nov 4th, 2009 10:01 AM EST
By Chris Scott

As part of the Living Proof Project, which we’ve covered extensively here on the ONE Blog, the Gates Foundation has posted this photo gallery following women at the Osu Maternity Home in Accra, Ghana. It’s part of a larger discussion about the benefits and techniques of breastfeeding, which were also examined in this infographic.

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ONE’s Northern Exposure


Nov 3rd, 2009 6:04 PM EST
By Aaron.Banks

The U2 Tour wrapped up in Vancouver last night and ONE members from the home of the 2010 Olympic Games (as all my cab drivers were proud to remind me) didn’t let a steady cold rain keep them from coming out to sign up new ONE members.

Our Vancouver volunteers were an enthusiastic and engaged group of and I was fortunate enough to get to chat with a few of them.

Lauren Chan

Lauren learned about ONE from a high school teacher. And as Graduation Committee President, she led her class in purchasing 58,000 tetanus shots for UNICEF. It was the first time a Langara High School class had donated it’s graduation committee fund-raising to charity and a sign of Lauren’s commitment to making a difference on issues of global poverty and preventable disease.

Eva, Paul, Heather and Rebeca

We got a little lost in conversation, so I’m sure they’ll forgive me if I don’t get the relationships right. But in the picture above you can see husband and wife Paul and Eva, along with Paul’s sister Rebeca and Eva’s sister Heather. And how did Paul and Heather meet? Through their work as anti-poverty advocates, of course. Paul and Heather both worked as Regional Team Leaders for our partner organization World Vision in British Colombia. They admit that some of those meetings when they first met weren’t the most productive, but it’s clear that they’re the most dedicated of activists. Paul is in his first year of law school at Saskatoon University Law School, where he hopes to eventually specialize in human rights and international law. He told me that ONE broadly encapsulates what they want to do with their lives – work against poverty and for greater justice. Eva continues at World Vision and talked with me about the power of participation that comes when the public engages and really understands the issues – and she’s a big fan of ONE.org when it comes to educating people on global poverty. Eva also talked about how ONE empowers kids to get involved in different ways. “Kids who might otherwise think of global poverty and say “I work at McDonald’s, I can’t afford to sponsor a child.” “But through ONE, they realize that their voices are powerful.”

Harneet Gosal

Harneet is a student at Simon Fraiser University and first got involved with ONE in high school. She signed up tons of new ONE members and particularly enjoyed talking about the issues with concert-goers. She even had a vigorous discussion with a U2 fan from the Czech Republic who wanted to know why she thought fighting poverty and disease in the developing world was important. She must have made a good argument, because he signed up to become a ONE member.

Robin and Dave McCombe

When Matt Higginson asked Robin and Dave if they’d rocked their volunteer work, they replied “punk rock all the way.” I’m sure the band performing that night would be pleased. Robin and Dave first got involved with ONE through their church, Coquitlam Alliance, where they watched video of an interview Bono did with a minister in Boston. They were particularly excited to see how excited the younger generation was about signing up to join ONE. “Nothing against the old folks,” as Dave said, “but it’s great to see kids, teenagers and young couples couples get involved. They also saw a lot of white bands in the crowd worn by concert-goers who are already ONE members.

This is our last stop on the 2009 U2 360 Tour and there’s not much more left to say, except for a giant thank you. I’m sure I’m forgetting far too many people, but thank you to Weldon and Matt, Marisa, Roxy, Luisa, Nealon, Leah, the more than 1,000 ONE members who came out to volunteer at 44 shows, and last, but definitely not least, U2 for sharing this amazing tour with us.

-Aaron Banks

New video: Africare in Mali


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Nov 3rd, 2009 5:04 PM EST
By Sydney Skov

Africare, a partner organization devoted to improving lives and building futures, also tells the stories of individuals making a difference in Africa. Enter “Pass It On”. Through a new series of 16 videos, one featured each month, Africare hopes to connect the development work Africans are doing in different countries. Certain challenges, including access to clean water and the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS are being met through community efforts to battle poverty and disease.

This month, meet Alassane and see the wonderful work he is doing in Mali. You can find more info and the inspiring clips here.

Scaling Kilimanjaro for Water


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Nov 3rd, 2009 4:04 PM EST
By Elizabeth Gore

Today we have a guest post from Elizabeth Gore, the executive director of global partnerships and Nothing But Nets for the United Nations Foundation:

I am a runner; I also swim and bike, but mostly I run. I like the repetitiveness, the solitude, and the opportunity to challenge myself. Being from the flat warm state of Texas, I’m not a climber and I do not dig the cold. When Kenna, Grammy-winner artist and the creator of Summit on the Summit: Kilimanjaro, approached me to climb with him to bring awareness and raise money for the clean water crisis, my body did not react with an obvious, immediate “Yes!” due to altitude and cold BUT, my brain jumped at the chance to talk about the world’s next major crisis.

Today 1 billion people around the globe have a hard time finding the 7 liters of water needed to survive, let alone the 50 liters needed to thrive. In the developed world we use 300 liters a day to drink, wash and cook – and that doesn’t take into account the thousands of liters our food needs just to get to the table. So it’s hard for us to understand the concept of literally NO potable water.

Picture a refugee camp in Ethiopia – a place classically challenged in this water crisis. The landscape is drier than ever due to climate change, the depth to which one used to have to drill to reach water is no longer viable so traditional well techniques have stopped working; the water must be trucked in from hours away. The other, sometimes more cruel, scenario is lots of water, but it’s filled with water borne disease. Infecting people with diarrhea, giardia and breeding mosquitoes that transmit malaria. Out of the 40 million people in the care of UNHCR, half of those do not have access to clean water.

There are solutions, many of them, but they are not yet widely funded and adopted. Things such as sachets to cleanse existing water, pumping systems that work more efficiently, pipelines, etc., can help us to remedy this very serious problem. But most of us have no idea that for the majority of people living there is no tap that delivers clean, safe water; that to exist one must carry 40 lbs of water up to six miles, every day.

So for all of these reasons, my brain is forcing my body into submission. Each day I run stairs and workout harder than I ever have before to get ready to ascend Mt. Kilimanjaro with the Summit on the Summit team — Kenna, Jessica Biel, Kick Kennedy, Lupe Fiasco, Simon Isaacs and Isabel Lucas and others — so that all of us can bring awareness to this dire and worsening issue. Join us at summitonthesummit.com.

-Elizabeth Gore

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“It nearly killed me.”


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Nov 3rd, 2009 3:04 PM EST
By Sara Paterni

I don’t know what it feels like to contract Malaria, but Orlando ONE member Kristen Kenney does. I met Kristen a few weeks ago and was blown away by her story and her efforts to help others survive the disease. While we work to urge our elected officials to support robust funding for the Global Fund and other U.S. initiatives to end the worldwide burden of diseases like malaria, Kristen and others continue to push the message on the local level. Her story below is inspiring and reminds me that ONE person can make a difference:

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I thought I had seen the world. But jet-setting from one first-class resort to the next left me utterly helpless when reality struck. It nearly killed me.

I found myself in sheer panic, screaming and staggering down a street in Tanzania, begging for someone to get me to a hospital. The pain was unbearable, the fear unimaginable. I had contracted malaria, Africa’s most deadly disease.

How could that be? I was a visitor. I told them I had the money, fix me.

I awoke in a hospital bed. There were women all around me, praying for my survival. In Africa, malaria kills a child every 30 seconds, most families too poor to pay the nominal fee for life-saving medication.

I returned to America weak of body but with a resilient mind, determined to fight for the lives of those who couldn’t fight themselves.

You see, I believe that not only can one person make a difference; one person must make a difference I know I can save lives. And I know that you can too.

I was saved by Malaikas, the African word for Angels. But there are millions of others who may die unless they, too, find an angel.

I created Malaika for LIFE, to purchase life-saving malaria medication through the sale of bracelets, made by hand by the women of Tanzania.

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The Situation in Guinea


Nov 3rd, 2009 2:02 PM EST
By David Cole

David Cole from the ONE UK office reports on the chaotic situation in Guinea:

Protest against the military junta ruling Guinea
Photo © SEYLLOU/AFP/Getty Images

Since seizing power earlier this year, Dadis Camara and the rest of the military junta ruling Guinea have become increasingly repressive and violent. On September 28, a protest against the regime ended with the military killing 157 civilians and injuring a further 1,200. Because of the violence and chaos, businesses are grinding to a halt and schools have been closed. His actions are actively undermining the fragile development gains of recent years and hold no promise of a better future for Guinea.

The international community has started to respond. The Economic Community of West African States, European Union, African Union, and US have all imposed arms sanctions in response to the recent rise in violence. Although the regime has yet to step aside and agree to hold fair and open elections, these sanctions are an important first step and help isolate it.

We’ll be keeping our eyes on the situation in Guinea, and if we need to take action, you’ll hear from us straight away.

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The ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with frequent contributions from volunteers, members and partner organizations.

The ONE Blog updates readers daily with the latest in global development news and analysis and what ONE members and our partners are doing around the world to influence world leaders in the fight against global poverty.

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