The event will be aired in a live webcast, so that means that all day, you’ll have access to keynotes and panel discussions featuring incredible development leaders like USAID Administrator Raj Shah and activist Lauren Bush Lauren.

The event lasts from 8:30 AM to 4:15 PM, but feel free to come in and out of the livestream as you please. We’ve highlighted a few speakers below that we think you’ll be excited about, though there are certainly many others to look out for, too. Check the full agenda here.

Event highlights (be sure to tune in during these times!) 

9:00 AM ET: Opening remarks by Rajiv Shah, Administrator of USAID

11:55 AM ET: Lauren Bush Lauren, CEO and Founder of FEED, is scheduled to talk about a new product and how it’s helping feed hungry children all over the world

12:15 PM ET: Dr. Helene Gayle, President and CEO of CARE (and a boardmember of ONE), will speak about how to end the cycle of hunger and poverty in the world’s poorest communities

4:00 PM ET: Tom Vilsack, former secretary of the US Department of Agriculture, on agriculture innovation.

ONE is proud to be a partner and involved in the organization of this event. We hope you’ll join to learn more about what we can do to make sure that no one continues to go to bed hungry.

Still want to learn more? Tune in for a post event blog for David Hong, ONE’s Policy Manager on agriculture, food systems and market-based approached to poverty reduction to hear his thoughts about the event. 

Model and activist Lauren Bush was first asked to design a bag to benefit the United Nations’ World Food Programme’s (WFP) School Feeding program in 2006, the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The collaboration was so successful that she went on to co-found FEED Projects LLC to expand the line of totes and branch out to offer other products, including accessories and apparel.

After starting FEED, Lauren also established the FEED Foundation, dedicated to supporting programs and organizations that combat hunger and malnutrition in the developing world. ONE is proud to sell FEED products as part of our petition to pressure world leaders to tackle the issue of food insecurity and poor nutrition at the G8 Summit this coming June.

The reversible burlap and organic cotton bags are designed to look like the bags of food aid distributed by WFP to children and families all over the world. They use environmentally friendly and artisan-made materials, along with fair-labor production, in creating all FEED products.

Buy a FEED Bag at the ONE Store now

Hunger and malnutrition can have serious consequences for health and development. It weakens an individual’s immune system and makes them more susceptible to contracting diseases in addition to stunting mental and physical growth. The sale of FEED products help ensure that children are well-fed and provided with all the nutrients that they need to grow up to be healthy and productive adults- something that every parent wishes for their child.

FEED bags have made an incredible impact over the years. Revenue from the sale of FEED products have donated more than $6 million dollars and provided more than 60 million school meals to children around the world. FEED has also collaborated with the US Fund for UNICEF to raise funds for their Vitamin A and micro-nutrient supplements program to provide over 46,000 children with essential vitamins and nutrients.

Visit the ONE Store and check out the FEED products that we sell on our site to help feed one child enrolled in school for a full year. Looking to do even more? Sign our petition and urge world leaders to make measurable commitments to end chronic malnutrition.

First things first, let me say a little bit about what it means for a product to be considered “fair trade”. A product can only be labeled fair trade if the companies that produce them promote fair compensation, safe and healthy working conditions, direct and long-term relationships, transparent business practices, and workplaces free from discrimination and forced child labor.

By buying fair trade items, you help ensure that revenue from the sale of artisanal items is reinvested in the surrounding community to help invigorate the local economy and improve access to food, health care, and education, amongst other services.

One thing to know – anyone can claim that their organization or merchandise is fair trade, so be on the lookout for a third-party certification on the packaging to verify that it does in fact follow fair trade regulations.

1. Apron in blue damask by Global Mamas

Great for any mom who loves to cook but doesn’t want to sacrifice style! Price: $21.00

2. Handmade Greeting Cards from Good Paper

The “Fruity Hat” card is lovingly handcrafted in Rwanda by young people who have been orphaned by genocide or disease. All paper is handmade from local Rwandan office waste, making it environmentally sustainable. Envelope included. Price: $4.99

3. Sisal Bowl from Baskets of Africa

Handmade in Swaziland from Sisal fibers, these bowls are traditionally given as gifts to symbolize a long and happy life – what more could you wish for for your own mom? Price: $16.50

4. Blue Kenyan Sisal Zebra Print Tote from Swahili Africa Modern

Perfect for food shopping or carrying things to the beach, this chic tote is woven from dyed blue and natural white sisal fibers. Sisal fiber is incredibly tough, so you can stuff this tote full of goodies time and time again. Price $56.00

5. Twig Spoon & Spreader Set from Swahili Africa Modern

Have a mom who loves to entertain? Then these serving spoons will look great at any family gathering! Beautifully crafted by Kenyan artisans from wild olive wood discarded from previous projects. Price: $14.00

6. Choice Chai (Loose Leaf) from Cafe Campesino

For the mom-on-the-go: a loose leaf blend of 60 grams of “ready-to-brew” spices and fine black teas. Price: $6.95

7. Diamante Clutch from CONNECTED Fair Trade

Not sure what to buy? You can’t go wrong with this clutch that doubles as a make-up bag. Hand brocaded clutch with multi-colored tassel. Hand-woven and sewn in Guatemala. I’m personally getting this one for my mom this Mother’s Day – she’ll love the detail and the story behind it! Price: $36.00

8. Organic Baking Cocoa from Equal Exchange

No mom with a sweet tooth can resist this organic baking cocoa powder- the secret ingredient for delicious brownies, cakes, cookies and countless other desserts. Price: $7.75

9. Sweetgrass Bangles- Cool Brights from Indego.Africa

For the super stylish, fashionable mom who’s sure to get plenty of complements on this set of 5 colored sweetgrass bracelets! Woven by the women of the Imirasire Cooperative, these  bracelets are hand-dyed in perfect summer shades with love from Rwanda. Delivered to your door with a tag signed by the artisan weaver. Price: $36.00

10. Herringbone Trig Clutch from One Mango Tree

Made with hand-loomed fabrics and corner triangles of kitenge and a wooden zipper pull that finishes the look. The hand-loomed herringbone fabric is made by skilled weavers in Kampala, Uganda, using locally-sourced cotton yarns, purchased in local markets. Price: $26.00

Help commemorate World Fair Trade Day on May 11^th by buying mother’s day gifts that support small and marginalized producers in the developing world. Mother’s all over the world will appreciate it! 

Are you a mom? Take one more step with ONE and sign up to be a ONE Mom. 

Dr. Kim and UNSG Ban Ki-moon. Photo Credit: the World Bank, Flickr

So why all of the excitement this year in particular? Seeing the end of poverty in our lifetime is more attainable now than ever before, and with the close of the MDGs upon us, comes debate about what framework should be implemented next.

Everything from women’s empowerment to health and transparency were discussed at events taking place during the week. Senior officials cited hunger, education, poverty eradication and energy in particular as the “heart of development” efforts in the years to come.

Jim Kim, president of the World Bank, and Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary general, sat down to talk about what has been accomplished in the fight against extreme poverty and what we still have left to do. Both were optimistic about the progress that the international community has made in halving the number of people living in abject poverty and the potential to virtually end extreme poverty by 2030 – points that our co-founder Bono highlighted during a TED talk earlier this year.

President Kim addressed skepticism about what progress has actually been made in places besides China and India, a criticism that has been raised again and again when experts talk about unparalleled growth in the developing world:

“We did great work from 1990 to 2010, when we halved the poverty rate, but a lot of the success was due to the fact that China grew so rapidly economically and lifted 600 million people out of poverty. Now, what’s left is a lot of really hard work.  We’ve got to make progress in South Asia, we’ve got to make progress in Sub-Saharan Africa. And so, the sort of higher hanging fruit is what’s left.  This is going to be really, really hard. [But] I tell you, Africa has grown at over 5 percent on average…despite the economic crisis that the developing countries have been able to keep their growth rate at over 5 percent, and in fact keep global growth up, I think that means that we have been doing a lot of things right.”

President Kim and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon were joined by other well-known figures in the field of international development, including Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate and founder of Grameen Bank; Gunilla Carlsson, Minister of International Development in Sweden; Maria Kiwanuka, Minister of Finance in Uganda; and Trevor Manuel, the Minister in the Presidency in charge of National Planning in South Africa, who each took turns answering questions from the audience.

Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate and founder of Grameen Bank. Photo Credit: the World Bank, Flickr

Maria Kiwanuka, Minister of Finance in Uganda. Photo Credit: the World Bank, Flickr

If you have been following the UN High Level Panel and discussions about what will come after the MDGs, or if you’d like to start, be sure to read the World Bank’s report titled End Extreme Poverty and Promote Shared Prosperity, which lays out ambitious goals to coordinate development efforts in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Like our YouChoose Campaign, which asked people in South Africa, Zambia and Malawi to send an SMS with the most important challenge to overcome in poverty-fighting efforts, the World Bank has turned to social media to collect information from people all over the world about what #ittakes to end poverty, giving those in the developing world an opportunity to contribute and be involved in the process. In fact, Bono visited the World Bank in November 2012 to discuss the next steps to ending poverty with Dr. Kim, with input gathered from the public through Twitter, postcards and online submissions.

Watch a video of the full talk here, read the transcript, and follow #ittakes on Twitter to learn more about what we’ll need to do in order to achieve shared prosperity for everyone.

Photo caption: Don Steinberg. Photo credit: Human Rights Commission, Flickr

This week’s UN High Level Panel meeting, which brings together world leaders to discuss the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals, will focus on ensuring that the next stage of development planning involves not only diplomats and politicians from the developing world, but other stakeholders that are empowered and enfranchised.

It’s an approach that Steinberg, the deputy administrator at USAID, see as the future of development – one that empowers local governments and civil societies to dictate their own priorities while also informing broader international plans.

USAID and other members of the development community have not always followed such an inclusive path – but this new policy is about doing “nothing about them without them”, says Steinberg. In the last four years, USAID has implemented this shift not only in its development and policy consultations, but also in its on-the-ground projects. They have emphasized hiring local workers to help provide employment opportunities and generate job growth, while also reducing expenses associated with hiring US-based contractors.

Steinberg is well aware of the dangers of excluding local actors when deciding where and how to allocate funding for development projects. He recalled his first assignment as a foreign service officer in the Central African Republic, where he was asked to build a health clinic in the area. He was approached by local politicians and government workers who said that a health clinic was obsolete, as there were no serious health threats in question. They instead suggested that the money fund the construction of an air-conditioned government office building. Fortunately, he consulted women from the marketplace and asked for their input in what services were needed most in the area. They responded that a variety of health risks, from the lack of trained midwives and birth attendants to malnutrition and water-borne illnesses, were serious threats and accounted for a large number of preventable deaths in the area.

This anecdote is an important reminder of why ONE is so committed to asking normal, everyday citizens in the developing world about what they want to see in the post-2015 development agenda. Here at ONE, we’ve implemented that mindset in our own campaigns and petitions. Our You Choose campaign, for example, engages Africans from all walks of life by asking them to submit their priorities for the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals – such as food, employment, and infrastructure – through a free SMS program and other web-based platforms. We’re gathering their responses and sending them to world leaders. We’re also asking ONE members all across the world to sign our petition asking the co-chairs of the UN High Level Panel to listen to the world’s poorest when making their agenda.

Mobilizing everyday citizens is helping to ensure that they hold their government accountable for how development dollars are spent, including those that come from international donors, the private sector and domestic funds. We’re excited to see individuals in the developing world take ownership of their vision for the future and are more than happy to follow their lead.

Sign our petition asking the co-chairs of the High Level Panel to listen to the world’s most vulnerable people in their plan to end extreme poverty. 

Photo credit: Save the Children

As you may have learned from this year’s International Women’s Day, gender-based violence is one of the largest and most widespread issues in global public health today. Though it has only recently been considered as a health concern, it deserves global attention alongside HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB.

But now that the big day is over, one question remains: How can we can help continue to reduce violence against women and girls in the developing world before International Women’s Day 2014?

Michael Elliott, President and CEO of ONE, Christy Turlington Burns, Stella Mukasa and Ravi Verma discussed how the developing world can achieve greater gender equality at a panel discussion hosted by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). Here are the top 5 things the world must do to reduce violence against women & girls:

1. Provide women with access to legal representation and opportunities to pursue justice against perpetrators of violence through the formal legal system

2. Promote gender equality in schools and widen access to education for girls. It has been proven time and time again that girls enrolled in school are less likely to be married early and become pregnant. If that weren’t reason enough, girls that obtain higher levels of education are more likely to find employment and become empowered as a result of their financial contributions to the family and community

3. End forced early marriage and premature pregnancy, the leading cause of death of girls between 15 to 19 years of age. With more than 142 million girls expected to marry before they turn 18 over the next decade, programs like Apni Beti Apna Dhan (ABAD), which offer conditional cash transfers to incentivize families to delay their daughter’s marriages, will likely help reduce arranged marriages and allow girls to develop both physically and mentally before marriage and child-birth

4. Bring greater attention to violence that is perpetrated by a partner or spouse. Stella Mukasa, Director of Gender Violence and Rights at ICRW, told the story of a woman who was forced by her husband to breast feed his dog’s litter. When she sought help from the community, her claim was ignored because abuse from a spouse was not considered to be a violation of a woman’s rights

5. Revise marriage laws that are institutionally biased against women, particularly those that deny women custody over their children, inheritance, and land rights in cases of death, separation or divorce. The revised national constitution in Kenya is one example that has brought about unprecedented rights for women, including the right to oversee property-related transactions, manage family land and resources and retain a portion of land to live on and cultivate if widowed or divorced

Now that we’ve outlined the challenges, here’s how you can help. Join these NGOs in their fight against gender violence and act as a mouthpiece for their mission:

Join Every Mother Counts, an organization founded by Christy Turlington Burns, that aims to end preventable deaths caused by pregnancy and childbirth around the world

Support ICRW, an organization whose mission is to empower women, advance gender equality, and fight poverty in the developing world. Their Passports to Progress Series, a group of events that invites a diverse panel of leading experts in the fields of gender violence, human rights and development, is a great way to learn more about the issue.

Sign Education Envoy’s petition to ban discrimination against girls.

Join Save the Children’s Good Goes campaign, which fights for child survival.

Just as we believe that where you are born shouldn’t dictate whether you live or die, ONE is equally adamant that your gender shouldn’t determine whether or not you are able to reach your full potential.

ONE invited nearly 200 members and volunteers to a summit in Washington, D.C.,  this past weekend to learn more about our upcoming campaigns and lobby Congress to protect funding for life-saving humanitarian aid programs. With all of the hard-work they were doing, we thought it would be fun to give them a chance to shop some of our ONE merchandise during their time off and give them a much-deserved 20 percent discount on our clothes and accessories!

For those who couldn’t attend (or for those that did and want to buy more), we want to extend the same 20 percent discount to all of the products in our online store as a token of our appreciation for your support and dedication during the year. Use this promo code (M20ONE) through March 15^th and save! And yes, we ship internationally.

Here are a few photos of the event and even some of our volunteers showing off their new purchases. You can find all of the products in the photos on our online store so be sure to visit, knowing that your dollars are making a difference!

Click here to start shopping now

Don’t forget to use your promo code M20ONE to get a discount!

Our brand new jewelry from 31Bits and MADE were a massive hit!

Some of our cozy ONE and EDUN tees and hoodies

It’s never too early to show off your ONE pride!

Looking great in our FashionABLE infinity scarf!

Our ceramic ONE coffee mugs are great for coffee or tea on the go!

ONE volunteers modeling our Actions.Speak.Louder. totes!

See something you like? Go online to our store to shop for clothes, accessories, bags- you name it!

As I’m sure you all can imagine, it’s been a busy week in Congress. With the budget debate still going strong and sequestration looking more and more likely, all US-funded programs are on the chopping block.

Photo credit: The Global Fund 

With everything at risk, the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), a group of more than 25 nonprofit organizations working to develop scientific innovations that would protect against disease in the developing world, organized a congressional briefing to educate decision makers about how budget cuts would jeopardize the advancements we have made in global health, and reverse a decade of progress against deadly diseases.

The event, featuring a panel of health experts to discuss the role of research, science and medicine in the US global development agenda, marked the release of GHTC’s new report, Renewing US Leadership: Policies to advance global health research.

If sequestration goes ahead as expected, a 5.2 percent funding reduction for all discretionary programs will go into effect. Cuts to the Global Fund, PEPFAR, and GAVI could slow down or halt the incredible progress that’s been made in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, not to mention the ongoing research projects around dengue fever, maternal health, and others that hang in the balance.

Given what we have to lose if Congress decides to cut life-saving programs in the developing world, nearly 200 ONE members and volunteers flocked to the hill on Tuesday to meet with senators and representatives about the importance of humanitarian assistance and the great work that it’s doing. While we know that Congress faces tough decisions in order to address the deficit, we’re asking Congress to not balance the budget at the sake of refusing assistance to the world’s poor. Given that only .6 percent of US spending goes toward humanitarian aid, cuts in assistance programs would not make an impact on our country’s financial burden – though it would have an astounding impact on those living in extreme poverty.

Not only does the less than 1 percent of the budget that goes toward humanitarian aid projects comprise a tiny portion of federal spending, but it pulls more than its weight in terms of returns on expenditures. US investments in global health research have developed a vaccine for meningitis A, a test for detecting tuberculosis, and the first drug to treat children with malaria, amongst other amazing achievements.

Let’s make 2013 the year that the US recommits itself to the battle against preventable diseases by maintaining funding for global health programs. By joining ONE and raising your voice, you can help us not only fight to protect funding, but fight to save lives.

Parakuo Naimodu, mother of 11 children, is one of Ol Pusimoru’s new elders. For decades she suffered the abuse of her husband, but today she is a recognized leader. Photo credit: Deborah Espinosa

The Kenya Justice Project was established after Kenya adopted a new constitution that provides women with unprecedented rights and freedoms, including the ability to own and inherit property. A USAID-funded pilot program with the support of the Kenyan government sets out to educate rural communities about changes in the national constitution, and what that means for women and girls in particular. The initiative empowers women to seek leadership roles that will enable them to enforce women’s rights and oversee how resources are managed. The project consists of a program to inform community members, including elders/chiefs, of the new Constitution, training sessions to provide women with the skills and preparation to seek public office, and curriculum in both primary and secondary schools to educate children about their rights as citizens.

Responsible for implementing the Kenya Justice Project, Landesa, an organization that works to secure land rights for the world’s poorest people, recently launched a video that chronicles the transformation of women’s rights in a rural Kenyan village as a result of the project.

The program has already brought about exciting changes that once would have been unthinkable. Elders and chiefs now require a spouse’s written consent before approving property-related transactions, women are able to keep a portion of land to live on and cultivate in cases of separation or divorce, and women are now eligible to be elected as village elders to advocate for themselves and their children. If there is one indicator of the success of the program, it’s that for the first time in the history of the area’s secondary school, the number of girls enrolled in school is equal to that of boys, where boys had once outnumbered girls 3:1. That is an outstanding accomplishment that is a direct result of empowering women as decision-makers in both family and community life.

Gender equality has the potential to end the cycle of poverty by enabling women to contribute to community decisions and govern family resources and money wisely. We here at ONE are excited about the potential for this program to inspire others like it across the African continent and are looking forward to watching communities change and grow as women gain greater rights and freedoms.

Read more about Landesa’s incredible work to protect and support women’s rights in Kenya.

Want to learn more about our Women and Girls Initiative? Click here to find out about the role that women play in ending extreme poverty.

In the midst of federal budget negotiations in D.C., ONE is even more focused than ever on ensuring that funding for life-saving programs is protected.

Photo Credit: The World Bank, Flickr

A big part of that effort is ensuring that resources that are allocated for programs that fight extreme poverty and preventable disease are used effectively to maximize impact despite tight budget constraints.

As many of you know, ONE is an advocacy organization that pressures world leaders to adopt smart policies towards the developing world. As part of our campaign on transparency, I had the chance to speak with Dr. Gayle Martin, SDI Program Leader and Senior Economist at The World Bank, about her work on measuring humanitarian assistance expenditures and outcomes.

Not sure what SDI surveys are, how they work, and why they are important? Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) track performance and quality of service delivery in primary schools and health facilities across the African continent. SDI’s are considered to be a trusted data source for both international and domestic policymakers, NGOs and media outlets to inform policies, track performance and hold officials accountable for where humanitarian assistance is being spent and how. In other words, SDI’s aim to help improve public services and correct inefficient spending.

SDI surveys conducted across the continent have shown that there is a weak correlation between spending and outcomes in both the health and education sectors. This suggests that the quality of care and schooling is not necessarily associated with the amount of funding an institution or facility receives, as one would expect.

The biggest problem is that health technicians and educators aren’t necessarily well-trained or well-equipped. Many facilities lack the necessary infrastructure, supplies and training for employees to perform their jobs properly. The student-teacher ratio, the number of textbooks per student, availability of prescription drugs, and access to medical equipment all affect how well healthcare workers and teachers can carry-out their job responsibilities.

Dr. Martin emphasized the absentee rate amongst teachers and clinicians as one of the primary sources of inefficiency in development efforts, yet despite its widespread occurrence, there are few measures of how often it occurs and the impact that it has. Service Delivery Indicators aim to correct that.

You might be shocked to know that 31 percent of public school teachers in Kenya were present at school but did not show up to class on any given day and urban teachers in Tanzania spend 1.4 hours out of a total of 5.2 hours of the day teaching. When there are young students sitting in those classrooms, these statistics are unacceptable.

There’s also a lack of understanding around health provider’s competency levels. In fact, only a third of clinicians in Tanzania could correctly diagnose potentially fatal medical conditions or diseases. In cases like malaria and pneumonia that are easily treatable, the fact that they might be misdiagnosed or mistreated is appalling.

Dr. Martin made a point that’s sure to resonate with citizens all over the world, especially during times of economic hardship. She suggested that it is not necessarily a matter of demanding more money to fund these projects, as much as it is a matter of using current resources more effectively and efficiently, particularly in an environment where funding is scarce. The results of these surveys are a call for the development community to better evaluate where current funding is going and ask ourselves how we can achieve lasting change in poor communities with current funding levels.