ONE Vote ’08 Applauds Senator Clinton for Presenting Plan to End African Deaths from Malaria

ONE Vote '08 Applauds Senator Clinton for Presenting Plan to End African Deaths from Malaria

Senator Clinton adds malaria pledge to other commitments to fight AIDS, provide universal education and improve the lives of women in poorest nations

For Immediate Release:
Contact: Kimberly Cadena
kimberly.cadena@one.org
Phone: (202) 669-0802

November 30, 2007

Lake Forest, CA -- ONE praised Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton today for presenting her plan to fight global poverty and disease, including an unprecedented pledge to end malaria deaths in Africa by the close of her second term if elected.

"Today, Senator Clinton called for an end to a disease that has ravaged a continent for decades too long.  Ending deaths from malaria in Africa is a quintessential American mission: bold, compassionate, forward-looking and world-changing. This will save more than a million lives each year on the continent and spur economic growth in the process. Right now an African child dies every 30 seconds from malaria, an entirely preventable and treatable disease transmitted by a mosquito bite. We have cost-effective and proven solutions to erase this epidemic. The emergency is clear, and so too is the opportunity for America to once again display its greatness and mighty healing power for our world," ONE President & CEO David Lane explained.

Speaking at a summit on AIDS at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., today, Clinton pledged to increase the U.S. government's commitment to malaria to $1 billion a year if elected, setting the goal of ending malaria-related deaths in Africa by the end of her second term. The Clinton campaign said this funding would be in addition to U.S. government support of malaria control through the World Bank and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which finances the majority of malaria control efforts around the world.

In addition to her commitments to fight malaria, Sen. Clinton has offered several other significant proposals to combat disease and poverty around the world, including: Investing $50 billion to fight HIV/AIDS by 2013 in order to ensure universal access to treatment, prevention and care; Increasing development aid with the goal of spending an additional one percent of the U.S. budget on foreign assistance, and; Implementing policies to provide universal education, improve health care for women and children and protect women's rights throughout the world.

ONE, through its ONE Vote '08 initiative, is not endorsing or opposing any candidate, but is calling on all presidential candidates to address these critical issues.

Sen. Clinton's malaria commitment was the first by a presidential candidate since Bill Gates issued a challenge to all candidates on ONE.org in October. (Click here for the Gates' post on the ONE Blog).  Blogging from the Gates Foundation Malaria Forum in Seattle, Gates called on the candidates to make substantial commitments to fight malaria if elected and called on all leaders "to begin charting a course to eradicate malaria - not just to control or reduce it, but to work toward a time when no one on earth is infected with malaria, and no mosquitoes carry the disease.

In addition to Sen. Clinton, one other presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, has discussed the eradication of malaria, stating in an essay in Foreign Affairs magazine that he "will establish the goal of eradicating malaria -- the number one killer of African children under the age of five -- on the continent."  However, Sen. McCain has yet to offer any specific proposals or monetary commitments to achieve that goal.

According to leading health experts, relief organizations and development agencies, illness and deaths from malaria can be eliminated through four highly successful interventions: insecticide treated bed nets, indoor residual spraying, preventative treatment for pregnant women and treatment for those already infected. While technology has improved, costs for effective malaria treatments have substantially decreased in the last decade, making investments in fighting malaria more efficient. For example, the best malaria medicines now cost less than $2 per patient, and a bed net can that can shield children from the mosquitoes that transmit the disease costs less than $6.

"I hope all the presidential candidates continue speaking out and offering proposals. For months now, ONE members across the early primary states have been talking face-to-face with Senator Clinton and the other presidential candidates, asking them how they will lead on these critical issues. The hard work and energy that ONE members have displayed on the ground is now paying off, and they will continue to press for concrete answers and commitments from the candidates," Lane added.

To that end, earlier this month, ONE Vote '08 launched the "On the Record" Challenge, the first major initiative that gives candidates from both major parties the platform to explain the specifics of their proposals on global disease and extreme poverty. As part of the "On the Record" Challenge, the candidates are being urged to produce video statements and provide specific answers to questions on HIV/AIDS, malaria, infant morality, clean water and education in the world's poorest countries. At the end of the Challenge, ONE will roll out the results on ONE.org, allowing ONE members and all voters to easily compare the candidates and their policies. Each candidate will have a dedicated page featuring their videos and policy platforms.

ONE Vote '08: Saving Lives, Securing Our Future does not endorse or oppose any candidate, but urges all presidential candidates to take a stand on these critical issues and present their plans to solve problems associated with global disease and extreme poverty. The non-partisan effort brings together a broad range of talent.  Co-chaired by former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Bill Frist of Tennessee and Tom Daschle of South Dakota, ONE Vote's advisory team includes former Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE), strategists Jack Oliver, Steve Jarding, and Dina Powell, former presidential advisors Donna Brazile, John Podesta, Tucker Eskew, and Mike McCurry, pollsters Geoff Garin and John McLaughlin, and leaders from the faith community, national security experts, and many others.

ONE is an effort by Americans to rally Americans -- ONE by ONE -- to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is a coalition of millions of Americans and more than 150 of the nation's leading relief, humanitarian and advocacy organizations.

For more information, please visit: ONE.org.

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