ONE

ONE members meeting up in São Paulo

Dec 20th, 2011 2:39 PM UTC
By David Cole

One of the great things about working at ONE is learning about all the amazing things that ONE members are doing around the globe.

And so it was great to hear from ONE members in Brazil, who recently held an event in São Paulo.

Here’s what they had to say:

“In order to finish this wonderful year, ONE members held a meeting in the Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo. It was in a hot and sunny 11 December, “summer” here in Brazil.

The meeting was a great way for people, who in any way contributed to the fight against extreme poverty, to get to know one another. And we also we shared ONE’s mission with the other visitors to the park and some fan club members who were there performing a benefit event.

In a very relaxed mood, while listening to U2 songs, we enjoyed a delicious picnic and exchanged ideas on volunteering, HIV/AIDS and political questions.

We are grateful to all the Brazilians who helped us during the day and who publicized and signed the petitions. We know that the real volunteer is one who donates the best of his or herself, without hope of anything as recompense. It is through the small actions and attitude, we acheive the bigger effective changes!

TOGETHER AS ONE”

A big thank you to all the ONE members who took part in the event!

You can find out more by checking our their blog and following them on Twitter.

Maroon 5 fans join the fight against extreme poverty

Dec 19th, 2011 1:03 PM UTC
By James Fisher

Many European fans of the band Maroon 5 will now be fighting extreme poverty while they ‘move like Jagger’ thanks to the hard work of our fantastic ONE members!

In the last couple of weeks ONE members in Finland, Denmark and Germany have been at Maroon 5 shows asking fans to join our movement of over 2.5 million people in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease.

Lead volunteer of the Denmark team Inger Kristensen gives us a glimpse into their evening in Copenhagen:

“It is a great privilege to be part of ONE and we were very happy to finally meet the Maroon 5 audience and proudly present ONE to them.

We managed to create a good atmosphere around the queues of people and tell them all about ONE. Everyone showed a great interest and concern about the fight against poverty and preventable diseases in the world. Since it was the day after World AIDS Day we also talked about how improved access to treatment can help bring about an AIDS Free Generation by 2015.

Lots of people signed up as ONE members before Maroon 5 hit the stage and turned up the volume to “Moves Like Jagger”!

As one young fan said while signing up, “Why don’t all people join ONE?”

There was plenty more success in Helsinki, as Anna-Riina Hakala explains:

“The Finnish fans we met were not very familiar with ONE at first, but we soon changed that! During the night we got over 300 new members, which made us very happy. As this shows, people had a positive reaction when we told them about ONE and they were very keen to learn more about ONE’s fight against extreme poverty. It is safe to say that the Maroon 5 show in Helsinki was a success for ONE – and the band of course!”

Although the last shows in Zurich, Rome, Milan and Vienna were postponed, we’ll continue to spread the word in 2012 when Maroon 5 hit the road again. Fighting extreme poverty is a serious business, but at ONE we like to have fun while we do it!

A big thank you to all of our amazing volunteers, and to Maroon 5 who gave us the opportunity to introduce ONE to their fans!

ONE Africa Award 2011 Live Webcast

Dec 13th, 2011 7:23 PM UTC
By Edith Jibunoh

Throughout Africa, there is amazing progress by civil society focused on ending extreme poverty and fostering socio-economic empowerment. These new ideas and exciting approaches are designed and implemented by Africans who understand the complexities of bringing about change and transforming lives in their communities. The ONE Africa Award applauds the progress of these unsung heroes and organizations and looks forward to solutions for the challenges ahead.

This year’s award will recognize the Africa-driven, Africa-led advocacy efforts that have demonstrated success at a community, national or regional level.

When applications closed in September we had received over 150 applications, which have been reduced down to the following 5 finalists:

Prévention Information Lutte contre le Sida

Groupe de réflexion et d’action Femme, Démocratie et Développement

Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights

Sylva Food Solutions

Africa Youth Trust

The 2011 ONE Africa Award winner will be announced on 14th December and you can watch the announcement live here on ONE.org.

The event will be broadcast at 17:00 South Africa time (16:00 CET, 15:00 GMT/UTC, 10:00 EST, 07:00 PST).

Watch the ceremony

By honouring the commitment and progress on the ground, we hope new efforts can be inspired.

We wish all the finalists good luck!

‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ gets Glee-ified to support fighting famine

Dec 13th, 2011 6:00 PM UTC
By Garth Moore

Photo: Adam Rose/FOX

Back in 1984, I didn’t know much about the devastating famine in Ethiopia until I heard Band Aid’s single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” on the radio. As a teenager, it was amazing to hear so many new wave stars and British and Irish musicians on one song. It was a truly accessible way –- especially for younger people –- to learn about the famine in Ethiopia and how to be a voice for the world’s poorest. All holiday season long, everyone sang “Feed the Worrrr-ld,” and it was a smash single.

This year, there’s a new –- and devastating — famine in Africa, this time in Somalia and the Horn of Africa. And now, there’s a new version of the Band Aid single, courtesy of the cast of the TV show “Glee.” This season’s holiday show (which airs tonight in North America, tomorrow in Italy, Thursday in the UK and Friday in Ireland) will feature the “Glee” cast recreating “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The song is also featured on “Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album, Vol. 2″ on iTunes. All of the net proceeds from the single will support the Band Aid Charitable Trust.

Cr: Adam Rose/FOX

ONE advisor and advocate Bob Geldof, the song’s co-writer, said, “It could not be more timely now that Glee with its vast global audience of young people re-introduce it to a whole new constituency who are probably unaware of the great tragedy unfolding amongst the hungry, poor and dying of Somalia as a result of drought and a bitter and pointless civil war. This song was made specifically with that intent… This is entertainment with purpose.”

Glee’s latest feature video shows the making of the “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” single, with Bono and Sting discussing their involvement in the making of the original song. Watch the feature above and, if you live in North America, be sure to follow @ONECampaign on Twitter Tuesday night as we live-tweet during the show. We want to hear what this song means to you, so tell us on Twitter or leave a comment below.

Also, in case you missed the original (and where have you been since 1984???)

Watch our YouTube playlist on the Horn of Africa and “Glee” here. And learn more about the Horn of Africa crisis on ONE’s website.

Lord Singh speaks powerfully in Parliament about Britain’s aid commitments

Dec 2nd, 2011 2:44 PM UTC
By Gabby Hood

Yesterday, in a debate on International Development in the House of Lords in London, Lord Indarjit Singh of Wimbledon chose his maiden speech to the House as an opportunity to speak powerfully on Britain’s aid commitments.

A leading Sikh in the UK and editor of the Sikh Messenger, Lord Singh appears regularly as a speaker on BBC radio and on numerous panels on equality, inter-faith relations and other issues, winning the Templeton Prize in 1989 and the interfaith medallion for services to religious broadcasting in 1991. He is a long term campaigner on human rights, from speaking out against apartheid in South Africa, to supporting dissidents in the former Soviet Union.

He talked of how ten years ago he was invited to join a working group of DfID. He went as a cynic, but was so impressed that he went on to persuade Sikhs to buy bonds of the GAVI Alliance for the mass vaccination of 500 million people and urged the community to support DfID’s work.

Speaking about his background as a Mining Engineer, and then in civil engineering management consultancy, Lord Singh described his experiences of seeing people strengthening their common identity by looking negatively at others. He cited Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, who reminded us 500 years ago that we are all, men and women, equal members of the same one human family. With this in mind, at this time of economic recession, Lord Singh commented that it can be ‘tempting to look to our need and ignore the suffering of others; in biblical terms to cross to the other side of the street’.

However, he added ‘the continuing success of Children in Need shows this is not the way of the British people’. Indeed, he noted, ‘the euro crisis, economic difficulties in the USA and the emergence of new major competitors remind us that our economic future is inextricably entwined with that of other nations including the very poor’. Describing how Britain is unique in the way it has led on so many issues of justice, and in the fight against poverty, Lord Singh said that ‘It is a tribute to Britain that we are continuing to give assistance with international development a high priority’. In addition to ethical arguments

‘There are also strong economic and geopolitical imperatives for helping the poor climb out of poverty, including the development of soft power and influence in key areas. By 2050 Africa will be a key trading partner, rich in resources with a population of over two billion’.

He stressed that ‘Understandable reservations about the misuse of aid should be tackled by more stringent checks and not be used as an excuse to do nothing’, and listed just some of the stunning results of spending less than 0.6% of Britain’s GNI on development . In the last year this has included providing 1.5 million people with clean drinking water, and training 65,000 health professionals.

You can read more on the amazing Living Proof of smart, effective aid and development here.

Annie Lennox calls for the beginning of the end of AIDS

Dec 2nd, 2011 2:42 PM UTC
By Michael Healy

You’ve probably heard already, but if you haven’t: it was World AIDS Day yesterday. Organisations around the world have been campaigning today about the chance of bringing about the end of AIDS, not least ourselves at ONE who teamed up with (RED) and four (count them) presidents at our event in Washington DC.

One of our most vocal supporters in the fight against extreme poverty, Annie Lennox, has also added her voice to those calling for the beginning of the end of AIDS. Through her SING initiative she has raised over £1m since 2007. This money is used to fund programmes which help women and children living with HIV/AIDS and to work to educate people about the disease and how to prevent infection.

This World AIDS Day, the fourth anniversary of the launch of SING, they have released a very moving film which you can watch here about the effects of the AIDS pandemic and what can be done to help bring about the beginning of the end of this terrible disease.

ONE and (RED) have created a digital quilt to mark the beginning of the end of AIDS, and you can join the thousands others who have already created their panel by adding yours here too. It only takes 2 minutes.

ONE and (RED) launch the (2015)QUILT: A digital quilt to fight AIDS

Dec 1st, 2011 9:59 AM UTC
By Garth Moore

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the discovery of HIV/AIDS. But this World AIDS Day –- December 1st — we’re commemorating it as a call to action to help bring about the beginning of the end of AIDS… and it starts with you.

We’re proud to announce the launch of the (2015)QUILT, a groundbreaking digital tool that brings people from all over the world together to fight for a historic achievement –- the delivery of the first AIDS-free generation in more than 30 years.

Watch our latest video and get started now:

It’s quick, easy, and fun to add your name to the digital quilt. And, you’re making a pledge with your panel, joining thousand of people from around the world who will call attention to fight for a bold plan to create an AIDS Free generation by 2015. Think of it as “creative advocacy.”

Once you’ve created your panel, you can download our Social Media Toolkit (or read it in the viewer below) and learn how you can help spread the word about your quilt panel. The toolkit will also link you to other resources that you’ll need to help in our campaign in the fight against AIDS.

The (2015)QUILT draws its inspiration from the internationally celebrated AIDS Memorial Quilt, which started in 1987 and contained more than 94,000 names and weighs 54 tons! The AIDS Memorial Quilt has been used to fight prejudice, to raise awareness and to transform apathy into advocacy and indifference into compassion. The (2015)QUILT will be a call to action to bring about the end of this deadly disease.

So get creative and get started now at 2015quilt.com and use your voice to pledge. Every generation is known for something. Let’s be the one to deliver an AIDS-Free Generation by 2015.

ONE on the UK Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

Nov 29th, 2011 5:20 PM UTC
By Michael Healy

In response to the autumn statement from the UK Chancellor, George Osborne, ONE’s Europe Director Adrian Lovett said today:

“George Osborne’s confirmation that Britain will invest 0.7% of national income in overseas aid is good news. Our aid is saving lives and building livelihoods – and it is in Britain’s long-term interest as we seek new global opportunities for UK business.

“We’re obviously disappointed at the reduction in the scale of the aid increase, which is a painful side-effect of Britain’s economic performance. This government made a pledge not to balance the books on the backs of the poor. DFID’s current plans were expected to put 16 million children in school and vaccinate over 90 million in the next 4 years. We urge Andrew Mitchell to ensure that today’s news does not put these plans in jeopardy.

“The 0.7% aid target is a minimum, not a maximum, and we call on the Chancellor to confirm that just as aid may fall when Britain’s income goes down, so it must rise when income goes up. The government should now deliver on its promise to put the 0.7% minimum aid figure into law, so that as the UK economy picks up the world’s poorest also benefit.”

A wake-up call in the fight against AIDS

Nov 26th, 2011 12:01 AM UTC
By Adrian Lovett

An uneasy sensation, of the pit-of-the-stomach kind, spread among the activists and donors supporting the fight against AIDS this week. The Global Fund, the international partnership that channels money to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, announced it has been forced to delay applications for new programmes due to insufficient funding from donors. Instead it will have to focus its efforts on maintaining the current programmes. After a decade of huge leaps forward in the fight against AIDS, it is hugely concerning that progress may stall.

New figures from UNAIDS this week showed that in just one year we have added 1.4 million people to treatment. In 2003 only 100,000 people had access to life-saving antiretroviral treatment, now more than 6.6 million people do. This is in large part thanks to the work of the Global Fund which is responsible for a sizeable chunk of the global response to HIV and AIDS.

Despite this progress, nearly 8 million others are still waiting for life saving drugs and the number of new HIV infections remains high. And while effective treatment to prevent mothers passing on the virus to their babies is available, less than half of HIV positive women have access to it. A major push is still needed in order to turn the corner in this epidemic.

This year, for the first time, evidence shows us that it is possible to end AIDS within a generation. New research found that an HIV-positive individual on antiretroviral treatment is up to 96% less likely to transmit the virus to others. This news should give us reason to be more hopeful than ever that the fight against AIDS is one we can win. But this hope is being undermined by donors who are not meeting their promises to the Global Fund. In the past all pledges made to the donor fund have been delivered, but now this record is slipping. Some donors are not keeping their promises and others are delaying pledges. Now is the worst possible time for delays and broken promises.

There have been concerns about the Global Fund. It is true that the Fund identified a very small proportion of funds being lost. But the Fund has a zero tolerance policy for corruption. Suspected corruption is pursued aggressively, corrupt officials go to jail, steps are taken to reclaim funds and new safeguards are put in place. The Fund has also introduced a pro-active plan of action to address any remaining issues. The openness of the Global Fund and its commitment to deal with concerns head-on is something worth celebrating. And reforms agreed this week will make the Global Fund not just a life-saving global health institution but also a leading example of smart aid and transparency in practice. If donors had doubts, they should now have confidence.

Germany has responded to this development by releasing a commitment of $100m to support the Global Fund. Other donors now need to follow. And donors must commit to serious planning for an ambitious scale-up of efforts over the next couple of years, to ensure the Global Fund can reach many more people who need its help.  We cannot afford to lose ground just when the beginning of the end of AIDS is in sight.

When the Global Fund was first established Kofi Annan said “the war on AIDS will not be won without a war chest”. That is still true today. The world needs the Global Fund and we need to fund it. This would be the worst time to falter.

This article first appeared on the Huffington Post UK website.

Innovative farming to feed 11

Nov 24th, 2011 11:16 AM UTC
By ONE Partners

Emile Jean lives in Tsiandriona Nord, a small village belonging to the rural community of Itampolo in the south of Madagascar. He is 54 years old and lives with his wife and eleven kids – six boys and five girls – in a house with three rooms. Emile Jean is part of the Mahafaly tribe and the Temitongia clan.

Like most people in this region of Madagascar, including his father and grandfather, Emile Jean is a farmer and cattle-breeder. He owns a few Zebu, but mainly lives off the maize and vegetables he grows, half of which is sold, half of which goes to providing food for his family of thirteen. Growing enough food has become one of Emile Jean’s biggest challenges in the face of climate change.

“When my grandfather was young, they didn’t have more than one or two bad years in 20 years. When my father was young, they had a bad year every 7 years. Now, it’s every two years. We even risk having the second bad year in a row. We are very worried”, says Emile Jean.

Emile Jean has noticed the shifts in the weather for years. The amount of rainfall has dramatically decreased, distribution has changed, storms have become less frequent and more intense and temperatures have risen each year in the area.

These shifts have resulted in a longer dry period and a shorter rainy season. This makes it difficult for farmers like Emile to plant and live off their crops all year round or to afford the rising prices of staples like cassava, rice, oil and sugar.

“For some years now, we have been losing a part of our manioc yield because the rain comes too late. We also have more insects these days”, says Emile Jean.

Farmers like Emile Jean, have found other ways to adapt to the changes in climate such as reducing the amount of crops they plant that require a high volume of water, like maize, opting for drought-resistant strains. Emile Jean now also waits for the rainy season to plant – to avoid losing his seeds.

“We used to plant in the dry season also. This helped to overcome the lack of food between the rainy seasons. Now this is not possible any more, we just lose seeds if we do it. It used to rain a lot in January. Now there is no rain at all in this month”, said Emile Jean.

Through WWF, Emile Jean has been introduced to other agriculture techniques such as drip irrigation, market gardening, and crop rotation. The organization also distributed rain gauges to communities across the Mahafaly Plateau, including Emile Jean’s village. This allowed farmers to collect rainfall data themselves, and taught them how to interpret the data in order to use the information to help determine which crops to plant and when for the upcoming season.

These innovations are what Emile Jean hopes will ensure his 11 children will not only make it through school, but use their education to move beyond a dependency on the land and the direct impacts of climate change. “I hope that they all become intellectuals, someone important”, says Emile Jean.

For more information about Emile’s story visit the WWF website.