Spotlight

The power of African civil society

Sep 7th, 2011 3:52 PM UTC
By Dr Sipho Moyo

Reading about Africa in the Western news media can often be a depression-inducing experience. Conflicts, corruption, coups, famine and disease are just a few of the ills singled out in the everyday news coverage of the African continent in Europe and North America. We at ONE are working hard to change that narrative, though. Not by denying the major challenges that certainly exist on my home continent, but by highlighting the successes, the determination and the ingenuous creativity of the African people despite these challenges. There is no good reason why Africa’s positive stories of the major progress that are happening everyday should not be told and be overshadowed disproportionately by short-term, isolated challenges. Africa is rising and the Africa of today is a continent of great optimism and greater consciousness of the need to chart its own destiny. It is a continent of much more empowered citizens when it comes to demanding more accountability from their leaders as well as participating in shaping their own communities and their countries. These are the stories that must be told and we at ONE are finding such examples everyday and making an effort to bring you this other narrative about Africa by sharing the positive story/ies of a rising Africa.

One aspect of that story is the rise of a vocal and vibrant civil society in Africa. A civil society that has been effective in contributing to public participation, clamored for more transparent and accountable governance; lobbied for women and children’s rights to be understood and respected, and demanded better basic public services. Indeed African civil society has been an integral part of the real change that has swept over the continent in the last decade. These great stories must be brought to the fore. Though the dynamism of the civil society varies depending in which country you are, there’s an unmistakable increase in the activities and influence of non-governmental organizations—even notwithstanding the multitude of challenges civil society organizations face in much of Africa. From lack of funding, to hostile governments and restrictions on speech (to just name a few), it can be incredibly tricky if not risky to operate in some African countries, making their efforts and successes that much more heroic.

But challenges have never stopped progress and in Africa such obstacles have only strengthened determination. At ONE we’re proud to partner and work with many organizations across the continent. We often showcase the health education efforts and medical interventions by local clinics and medical groups to stop malaria transmission or treat HIV or prevent vaccine-preventable diseases. We work with farmers associations and other agricultural organizations to promote the best farming practices. We lend a helping hand to our fellow advocacy groups as they encourage their governments to root out corruption and open their national budgets and laws to public scrutiny and review. None of this would be happening if it weren’t for African citizens taking the initiative to make their communities better places to live and work.

We have also been privileged to feature some of these organizations over the past few years through offering the ONE Africa Award, a $100,000 USD prize devoted to recognizing the work of indigenous African organizations, individuals and groups in developing the continent specifically in pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals. Last year’s recipient was SEND-Ghana, a policy, research and advocacy-based organization working to promote good governance and equality among men and women in Ghana. The group’s efforts have helped civil society to organize and influence policy and improve transparency through empowering citizens to monitor the government’s delivery of basic services.

We’ve found that offering this prize is our best way to shine a spotlight on some of the exceptional work being driven and led by Africans. Past years winners have come from Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana and the call for nominations for the next award is now open until September 16, 2011. If you know of any Africa-based organizations finding improbable solutions to vexing challenges, please encourage them to apply today.

Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own

Aug 5th, 2011 2:00 PM UTC
By Maura Daley

If you asked me a year ago today what I would be doing in 2011, my response would have been ramping up ONE engagement and membership in the Great Lakes States in the US. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I’d be travelling to New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and literally crisscrossing North America on behalf of ONE with the U2 360° Tour. 2010 – 2011 will definitely be a year that I’ll never forget.

I have always known that ONE members are special. ONE is an advocacy organization, so members use the power of their voices for people who do not have one. ONE doesn’t fundraise…ONE doesn’t have a membership fee…ONE doesn’t directly deal with dollars, euros or pounds. We connect the dots. We’re a bridge. Our strength is in our numbers….people from around the world coming together as ONE. And the numbers that were gained along the way on the U2 360° tour proves that ONE is an extremely strong organization and getting stronger each day!

In total, just shy of 315,000 people around the world have become ONE members and are currently fighting against extreme poverty as a direct result of the efforts made by almost 3,000 ONE volunteers at the 110 U2 360° shows across the globe.

ONE volunteers that I have met along the way have been an incredible group of people. I have met people from around the world….People from different socio-economic, political and religious backgrounds. But in the true spirit of ONE, everyone came together to fight for those living in extreme poverty and dying of treatable and preventable diseases.

Every single day since I started on this tour, I have been constantly impressed and inspired by the ONE volunteers that I have worked with. Their passion, their commitment, their positive energy, kept me going…even when I was working off of two hours sleep! ONE members give me hope that we’re actually making progress on the ground, and for that, I thank you.

The community that was built on this tour is a solid one and ONE that is committed to making a real difference in this world. I played a very small role and I thank everyone that was involved in the efforts. I have faith that the ONE volunteers and the new ONE members will continue to come together as ONE and make sure that their voices continue to be heard. Far too many people are silenced so we need to make sure that we continue to make lots of noise.

Thank you to the incredible group of ONE volunteers I’ve worked with. Please continue to keep in touch and let me know how you’re doing. Thank you to the new ONE members who signed up at the U2 360° tours. You’re an inspiration.

Thank you to the unbelievable group of individuals that actually make the show happen day in and day out….My family on the road! I met some of the most talented people ever and I thank them for being my family and friends the past 10 months.

Like the band says, “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own.” Well I’m proud to say that ONE won’t let that happen.

Still on cloud nine

Aug 4th, 2011 3:35 PM UTC
By Maura Daley

Last Saturday the U2 360° Tour finished on a high in Moncton, Canada. As always, I was joined at the show by an amazing group of ONE volunteers who took time out of their busy lives to help sign up new members to the fight against extreme poverty. One such volunteer was Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy who kindly described her experience.

ONE Members Elise D’Arcy, Channing Love, Monika Stelzl, Mark D’Arcy and Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy

On July 30, I was lucky enough to be asked to volunteer with the ONE campaign at U2′s last show of the U2 360° Tour! My family and I have been big supporters of the ONE Campaign since the beginning, and I have had a ONE and Product (RED) awareness day once a week at my office from the beginning (my staff and I wear ONE or Product (RED) t-shirts at my dental office and educate our patients about what they stand for).

Volunteering with ONE was a dream come true for me, and I was lucky enough to be able to recruit 8 more volunteers: my husband Mark, daughter Elise and a few friends (Monika, Matt, Krista, Emma and Aidan). Even though it poured during the first few hours and a many iPads stopped working because of all the water, 25 ONE volunteers had a great day of awareness raising, and managed to sign up 2,563 new ONE members! Volunteers who lost their iPads and could not accumulate sign-ups continued to distribute leaflets and wristbands, so that even more people learned about the campaign! We hope that some of these people signed up on their own after the show!

It was important for me to share this day of volunteering with family, old friends and new ones. Most of us are big U2 fans, and this activity augmented our U2 experience: we were able to give back and help with such an important cause started by Bono, when we all feel that U2 gives so much to people.

I was able to score a lot of new sign-ups and I was one of the lucky ones who was selected to go on stage with an Amnesty International lantern during the song Walk On. What a way to end an amazing tour!

I hope to be able to volunteer again at future music events, not just U2 ones!

Still on cloud nine,

Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy

¿Hablas español?

Jul 26th, 2011 12:14 PM UTC
By David Cole

Since we launched our campaign on the crisis in the Horn of Africa we’ve had an amazing response from ONE members around the world, with more than 40,000 people signing the petition so far

As always we’ve been amazed at ONE members’ dedication to the cause. One example is in South America where ONE members María Alejandra Ortiz, María Marta Marcellino and the ONE South America Facebook group have kindly translated our call to action into Spanish to help get the message out.

So, if you are a Spanish speaker, please forward the message below to your friends, family and co-workers:

Querido (miembro de ONE),

Tal vez has visto en la televisión las fotografías de la gente que se está muriendo de hambre en el Cuerno de África. Todos nos preguntamos: ¿cómo puede ser que esto vuelva a suceder? Sectores de Somalia, Kenia y Etiopía se están enfrentando a una de las sequías más brutales de los últimos 60 años, y cerca de 10 millones de personas necesitan comida, agua limpia y mejores condiciones de salubridad de manera urgente. Y hay algo puedes hacer. Puedes sumar tu voz para contribuir a hacer la diferencia.

A pesar de la urgencia de esta situación, la mayoría de los líderes mundiales están actuando muy lentamente. Es sumamente importante que se brinde asistencia de manera inmediata, pero, al mismo tiempo, no debemos dejar de lado la planificación de soluciones a largo plazo, como ya ha sucedido en muchas ocasiones en el pasado.

Por favor, firma nuestro petitorio:

http://act.one.org/sign/horn_of_africa/

Estimados Líderes Mundiales,
Por favor, les pedimos que financien de manera total el fondo que la ONU ha determinado que es necesario para ayudar a los habitantes de la región del Cuerno de África, y que, por favor, cumplan sus promesas de crear soluciones de largo plazo que puedan evitar que este tipo de crisis se repita.

Hay quienes miran las sequías anteriores y cuestionan la posibilidad de que esto pueda cambiar algún día, pero gracias a la asistencia inteligente que apoya a los líderes africanos, se están registrando progresos. Por ejemplo, el 87% de la población mundial hoy tiene suficiente comida para alimentarse y llevar vidas saludables (contra el 76% que se registraba en 1970), y en Etiopía, el porcentaje de personas que sufren de desnutrición se redujo del 71% en 1991 al 46% en la actualidad.

Además conocemos la forma en la que podemos cambiar esta situación aún más: podemos terminar con el hambre ahora mismo (y detener las causas por las que existe el hambre). Primero, necesitamos asegurarnos de que se proveerán los fondos necesarios para brindar la atención urgente que pueda poner un alto a las muertes. En segundo lugar, los líderes mundiales deben cumplir sus promesas de invertir en soluciones a largo plazo, de tal manera que los habitantes de esta región puedan generar sus propios alimentos, y en el futuro no dependan de la asistencia alimentaria.

Gracias por ayudarnos a presionar a nuestros gobiernos para que salven millones de vidas (hoy y mañana).

http://act.one.org/sign/horn_of_africa/

Gracias por todo lo que haces.

Stuart McWilliam,
ONE.org

A big thank you to María Alejandra Ortiz, María Marta Marcellino and the rest of of the facebook group for making this happen.

Crisis in the Horn of Africa

Jul 19th, 2011 5:22 PM UTC
By Stuart McWilliam

You may have seen the pictures of starving people in the Horn of Africa on your TV screens. We are all asking: how can this be happening again? Parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are facing one of the worst droughts for 60 years, and around 10 million people are desperately in need of food, clean water and basic sanitation. But something can be done. You can add your voice to help make a difference.

Despite the urgency of the situation, most world leaders are responding too slowly. Immediate aid is essential. Yet at the same time we must not let them drop the ball on long term solutions as has too often happened in the past.

Dear World Leaders,

Please urgently provide the full funding that the UN has identified as necessary to help people in the Horn of Africa, and please keep your promises to deliver the long term solutions which could prevent crises like this happening again.

Some people look back to previous droughts and question whether things will ever change. But because of the smart aid that is supporting African leadership, progress really is being made. For example, 87% of people in the world today have enough food to eat and lead healthy lives – up from just 76% in 1970.  And in Ethiopia the number of people malnourished has fallen from 71% in 1992 to 46% now.

But we know how to change things even more: we can help stop starvation now – and stop the causes of starvation.  Firstly, we need to make sure funding is provided to pay for urgent help that will prevent people from dying. Secondly, the promises that world leaders made to invest in long term solutions must be kept, so that the people of this region can feed themselves and will not need food aid in the future.

Thanks for helping us to pressure our governments to save millions of lives – today and tomorrow.

Best friends united against extreme poverty

Jul 18th, 2011 6:23 PM UTC
By Maura Daley

Earlier this month the U2 360° Tour was in Montreal, where I was lucky to meet Cindy and Sharon, two best friends from Ontario who are united in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease.

They kindly agreed to tell us about their experience at the shows and why they joined ONE.

ONE members Cindy (left) and Sarah at the U2 show in Montreal

Cindy Rose:

I am a happily married, mother of two young boys who recognizes how incredibly blessed I am in life. It’s important to me personally and actually is one of our values as a family that we give back to this world any time we have an opportunity to do so. As a huge follower and fan of U2 for over 25 years now (I can hardly believe that), I am always inspired and challenged by their music to use what I have been given to make a difference in the world. The ONE campaign has created an incredible way for people like myself to be able to use something we ALL have to make that difference – Our Voice. Whether rich or poor, young or old, ONE provides a way where people can rally together to impact the lives of people they may never meet. When you have millions of people use their voice in a unified front to say we want to see change, there is power. To volunteer for ONE and give people the opportunity to join forces with the already 2.5 million plus members of this group was an honor. It was a day that I will cherish and never forget.

Sarah Stone:

We had planned on being in Montreal for the Friday night show so when the opportunity came up to volunteer for ONE on Saturday we jumped at the chance. I have been tracking with and been a member of ONE since its beginning and therefore having the opportunity to volunteer for ONE was so exciting. I am currently a nursing student and I have a special interest in maternal and child health in the developing world and I am hoping to be able to travel and utilize my nursing skills in the future. Having the opportunity to speak with people about global health issues was a fantastic experience. Being from Ontario, I studied French all the way through primary and high school. However I hadn’t really spoken French for quite some time and I hadn’t really factored this in when I signed up to volunteer! I did my best to converse in French and people were so gracious and appreciative of the effort! I was pleasantly surprised by how much French I was able to recall and I was able to sign up 145 members that day! U2 has always been my favourite band and they have always inspired me not only with their music, but with regard to social justice issues so having the chance to volunteer for ONE, the group founded by Bono was quite literally a dream come true. Working with the other volunteers and Maura Daley (who is incredibly motivating and whose enthusiasm is contagious) made me feel like I wasn’t just at a U2 show, but like I had an important purpose and made me feel connected to a larger global community. I would highly recommend being a ONE volunteer to anyone and I hope to have the opportunity in the future to volunteer for ONE again in some capacity. It was an amazing experience I will never forget!

Great news: another campaign success!

Jul 8th, 2011 10:27 AM UTC
By Stuart McWilliam

Following the huge success we had with our recent vaccines campaign, when world leaders made pledges that could save the lives of over 4 million children over the next 5 years, I want to share another astonishing success that you and other ONE members have contributed to.

In March we asked you to help us put pressure on the European Commission to continue leading the fight against extreme poverty as it sets out its next 7 year budget. Over 54,000 ONE members signed the petition, which we delivered to the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso. Your amazing response, combined with continuous lobbying by ONE staff and other organisations across Europe, encouraged President Barroso and Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs to act. They have proposed an increase of over 25% in the amount the Commission allocates to fighting extreme poverty.

ONE Brussels Director Eloise Todd delivers the petition to president Barroso’s team.

This is great news. If these proposals are adopted it will mean billions more Euros will be available for smart aid programmes. And we know that previous EU funding has delivered real results. More than 9 million children in the developing world have access to primary education and 31 million people have access to clean drinking water thanks to EU aid. The additional money will allow to build on these amazing successes in the fight against poverty.

But the important work does not stop here. These are just proposals, so we’ll be keeping up the pressure on the European Parliament to adopt them, and also ensure that they introduce measures to improve the effectiveness of EU aid so that every cent reaches the people that need it. We hope you’ll join us in this fight over the coming year.

Your voice contributed to achieving this massive step towards making sure the world’s second biggest aid budget is as strong as possible, which will help the poorest people in the world lift to themselves out of poverty.

Christine Lagarde wins top spot at IMF

Jul 1st, 2011 2:51 PM UTC
By Malaka Gharib

Almost 48,000 ONE members signed our petition urging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to run an open, transparent and merit-based process for their top position — but now the results are in. This week, the IMF’s executive board announced that they have chosen Christine Lagarde of France to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the managing director of the IMF.

As the IMF’s first female managing director, Ms. Lagarde will have one of the most powerful positions in global finance. She will be in charge of working with the IMF’s member nations to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability and reduce poverty around the world, among other things. Her candidacy has won the support of several key African nations, including the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Before coming to the IMF, Ms. Lagarde was the finance minister of France, one of Europe’s most powerful economies, and has been at the forefront of containing Europe’s debt crisis. This experience will serve her well, as she’ll be expected to guide the IMF through these tough economic times at the same level as her predecessor.

“I will make it my overriding goal that our institution continues to serve its entire membership with the same focus and the same spirit,” she said in her first official IMF statement. “As I have had the opportunity to say to the IMF Board during the selection process, the IMF must be relevant, responsive, effective, and legitimate, to achieve stronger and sustainable growth, macroeconomic stability, and a better future for all.”

And when she says “future for all,” she also means Africa — which we were very pleased to hear. In her statement to the IMF board as a candidate, she said that one of the IMF’s key guiding factors should be to enhance its responsiveness to the needs of low-income countries, especially those in Africa.

She has also made it known that the IMF should strive to be even more diverse. “There should be appropriate and proportionate representation at staff level to express and respect both diversity and universality,” she said during her candidacy.

We welcome Ms. Lagarde for her efforts to fight global poverty — but she should know that we’ll be watching her to make sure that she keeps the promises she made to Africa, diversity and the world’s poorest people.

You’re amazing. Thank you.

Jun 14th, 2011 5:58 PM UTC
By Nadeem Javaid

For months now, we’ve been asking our ONE members to give it all they have on our vaccine campaign. We asked our members to use every advocacy tool and skill they had to make sure that we won this important fight to save 4 million children in five years. Thanks to this hard work we generated more than 300,000 signatures on our petition.

ONE members sent hundreds of letters to members of parliament in the UK, and in the USA we swamped the Whitehouse with tweets. In South America our volunteers recruited thousands of new members who have added to the weight of our international voice. In Australia ONE members called and emailed the foreign minister’s office, and in Germany the outstanding youth messengers were hard at work gathering support.

Because of your skill at advocacy, your hard work and a ton of determination, it worked. We won!

On Monday in London, world leaders and private donors promised a remarkable $4.3 Billion over the next 5 years – this exceeded the $3.7billion that we hoped for. When Bill Gates announced he was contributing a billion dollars to the fund, he mentioned our campaigning work in his speech.

This really has been a historic week and our Executive Director Jamie Drummond made this video to thank you.

As a campaigner for ONE, I can’t tell you how proud I am of each and every one of you and you all should be very proud of yourselves.

It just goes to show that when we use our voices and work together, we can make amazing, lasting change in the world. So, give yourselves a well-deserved pat on the back and tell us how you feel in the comments below. Thanks to you, millions of kids around the world have a brighter future.

Good news: Donors pledge total of $4.3 billion to GAVI

Jun 13th, 2011 8:59 PM UTC
By Erin Hohlfelder

The good news in development often gets buried, deep below wars and debt and disaster. But today, world leaders made bold new pledges to the GAVI Alliance in support of child vaccines, making the choice clear for reporters, press secretaries and live-tweeters alike: today was going to be a good news day.

David Cameron, Andrew Mitchell, Bill Gates and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, together with members of the GAVI board

In fact, in spite of tough economic times, donors collectively pledged $4.3 billion between now and 2015 — surpassing GAVI’s $3.7 billion funding gap — setting GAVI and its partners on the path toward saving nearly 4 million children’s lives in the next 5 years.

Some notable pledges from the donor pool: