Photo credit: CBS.com

“In many places, people live on little more than a dollar a day,” the president acknowledged. “So the United States will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades.”

How? “By connecting more people to the global economy and empowering women; by giving our young and brightest minds new opportunities to serve and helping communities to feed, power and educate themselves; by saving the world’s children from preventable deaths; and by realizing the promise of an AIDS-free generation.”

An AIDS-free generation is just what we’ve always known we could achieve. America’s been a leader in the fight, ever since President George W Bush announced PEPFAR, the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in his 2003 State of the Union address. But we must do more.

Over the past 10 years, the world’s richest nations, including the United States, have made life-saving investments to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria – and the results speak for themselves. The Fund has helped save millions of lives through incredible advancements in fighting these preventable, treatable diseases. Yet with the looming threat and potential impact of the sequester, programs like The Global Fund are at incredible risk. While the sequester may apply equal cuts, the damage it would do to some of the most cost effective overseas programs would put so many of our advances at risk. We support a robust contribution to The Global Fund, and for President Obama to make good on this promise that he mentioned during his address, he needs to sustain current funding to this life-saving program. After all, at less than 1 percent of the overall federal budget, the money we spend on foreign assistance does a world of good.

Take action NOW and tell President Obama to sustain funding to The Global Fund! Click here to send a message.

Over the course of his speech, President Obama also acknowledged energy’s role in creating a robust economy. That’s true for the United States, as well as sub-Saharan Africa – where half a billion people are living without electricity. Providing access to reliable and affordable energy is one of the most powerful development tools – delivering job creation and economic growth, as well as improving health and education and encouraging sustainable poverty reduction.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a powerful symbol of freedom and a role model of everyone here at ONE, was also mentioned in the speech. Her story of forgiveness and peace is inspiring beyond measure.

When the speech ended, the debate on just about every issue in Washington commenced – but in true bipartisan fashion, longtime ONE supporter Senator Marco Rubio mentioned our investment in these programs in the official Republican response to the President’s address. “On foreign policy, America continues to be indispensable to the goal of global liberty, prosperity and safeguarding human rights,” he said. “The world is a better place when America is the strongest nation on earth.”

American idealism has always achieved wonders. At the end of the night, one line stuck with us. “We also know that progress in the most impoverished parts of our world enriches us all,” said the president. Achieving an AIDS-free generation would truly be a proud American legacy.

1. Mid-February or early March:  The US debt limit must be raised.

2. March 1:  If a deal is not reached, the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) must order the “sequester” – automatic spending cuts that will slash funding for nearly all government programs.

3. March 27: FY13 funding runs out and Congress must pass another continuing resolution (CR) or an omnibus appropriations bill.  Failure to do so would lead to a government shut-down.  However, enacting a year-long CR may have serious negative consequences for global health programs since the FY13 State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill will very likely fund these programs at a higher level than FY12.

It’s easy to see how these political fights can have real-world implications.  Implementing the sequester alone would put the world’s poorest at even greater risk. The March 1st sequestration would deliver an 8.2 percent cut to the International Affairs Budget. While we can’t anticipate exactly how the cuts would be implemented at the program level, cuts of this magnitude inevitably would impact programs on the ground, deepening over time.

If this happens, HIV/AIDS treatment for 276,500 people would not be available, potentially leading to 63,000 more AIDS-related deaths and 124,000 more children becoming orphans. Approximately 2.2 million fewer insecticide-treated malaria nets would be procured, potentially leading to nearly 6,000 deaths. And 3.6 million fewer people would receive malaria treatment. About 690,000 fewer children under age 5 would benefit from US nutrition programs and suffer decreased nutrition, many of them facing irreversible developmental damage as a result.

What’s worse – the long-term impact of sequestration would also be applied through FY2021 — leading to continuing deep cuts each year. The cumulative impact of the sequestration will force Congress and the President to make tough decisions on spending.  Those choices would likely put at risk the significant gains the world has made in fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and increase the number of people living in extreme poverty.

How can you help? Let your members of Congress know that you care about these programs by sending them a letter, then watching and sharing ONE’s new video series on US foreign aid – which shows how real, everyday Americans like you can ensure these programs are preserved and protected.

As Senator Lindsey Graham said on the Senate floor:

This amendment guts to their core… essential accounts that are very important to our national security and to who we are as Americans.

Thankfully, the measure didn’t pass – 91 members voted against it, with just 3 voting in favor: Senators Paul, Mike Lee (UT) and Dean Heller (NV). What’s more remarkable is that 15 months ago, Senator Paul introduced a virtually identical amendment to another disaster relief bill, and that amendment received 20 votes. Why such a drastic change in votes? YOU! Thanks in large part to the advocacy work that ONE members do every day in defense of lifesaving development programs, Members of Congress realized that it wasn’t worth using cuts in foreign aid to “pay for” other spending.

Foreign assistance spending will continue to be under attack as we grapple with the serious fiscal challenges facing our country. Through the tireless efforts of ONE members, we can make sure that the lives of the world’s poorest are not put at risk due to drastic budget cuts. It’s rare that our advocacy efforts can be quantified so concretely, but we’re so thankful for supportive ONE members like you who tell Members of Congress to preserve and protect programs that fight extreme poverty and preventable disease.

I’m proud to be from Connecticut. Almost too proud. Who doesn’t love a state that gave us the hamburger, Wiffle ball and some of Mark Twain’s finest writing? In any case, my pride last evening was well-founded. Knowing I’d never turn down a chance to put on a pair of boat shoes and head back to the Constitution State, I jumped at the chance to help host our ONE Vote 2012 kick-off party at a truly historic venue, the Connecticut Governor’s Residence in Hartford.

Connecticut’s First Lady Cathy Malloy welcomed more than 30 ONE supporters into her beautiful home to discuss the question that’s on every ONE’s members mind this election: How will each candidate plan to continue America’s legacy of fighting worldwide issues of extreme poverty, hunger, HIV/AIDS and access to childhood vaccinations?

Our own Mike Salamon, ONE Vote field organizer, explained just what ONE Vote is -– our initiative to engage and educate the candidates on the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease. And while all eyes are on Tampa Bay for the Republican National Convention this week, former Republican Congressman Larry DeNardis moved us with a heartfelt reminder on why development programs are not simply a moral imperative, but a crucial component of our national security.

What made the event a success? It may have been the ONE-cookies that our youngest ONE supporter, Katie, baked for the occasion — but mostly, I think it was our phenomenal ONE volunteers. Governor Dannel Malloy himself stopped by to say hello, as did Attorney General George Jepsen, New Haven Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, Congressman Chris Murphy’s District Staff and Senator Richard Blumenthal’s Hartford staff. Everyone came together for something we know we can all agree on.

This showing made me as proud as ever to be not just a Connecticuter, but a ONE member. We need help from ONE members like you every day to keep moving forward. Add your voice to our ONE Vote 2012 petition and email our ONE Vote Field Organizer, Mike Salamon if you want to get involved on the ground.

Are you ready to kick-off part two of the ONE Campus Challenge? We’re back and bigger than ever -– and your first challenge (and chance to win a spot on this year’s grand prize trip to the Bonnaroo Music Festival) starts now!

Click here to get started on your first task of the year.

February is always a bit crazy here in DC. The President announces his budget for the next fiscal year, and it’s our first real glimpse of just how much funding our poverty-fighting programs might receive. So for the next few weeks, we need you to grab your cameras, hit the streets, and say cheese.

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For our fifth year of the ONE Campus Challenge, students around the nation didn’t disappoint. More than 700 colleges participated in the challenge, and its ONE members put their powerful voices to work. Through creative challenges, college students, professors, alumni and friends joined together and urged political leaders to support smart and effective programs that save lives. So what did we accomplish?

Over the course of four exciting challenges, we logged more than 1,000 phone calls, nearly 2,000 letters, and more than 1,300 photo petitions. We engaged members of Congress 47 times, spoke with every major Republican candidate for president, recruited thousands of new ONE supporters, and doubled our social media following. And that’s just the beginning.

We couldn’t have done it without our 112 campus leaders and the thousands of ONE Campus supporters in colleges and universities in every state. While the University of Florida won the grand prize to travel with ONE to the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee, we’re not stopping there. Starting in January, we’ll relaunch the campus challenge with an all-new chance to win a spot on the same trip. Get started on our website. We’re looking forward to the holiday break, but believe that we’ll be back on campus in January to hit the ground running.

But that’s not all. December 2nd marked the end of the first stage of the ONE Campus Challenge, which means it’s time to announce our grand prize winners! Congratulations to the University of Florida!

For winning first place, we’ll bring 4 of their top students with us to the Bonnaroo Music Festival in June to help recruit thousands of new ONE members & enjoy some great music, too.

Brigham Young University Hawaii came in second place and will get to bring along three students, while University of Michigan: Ann Arbor’s third place finish will allow them to bring two students.

Want a chance to join them? Get a head start for next semester by thanking President Obama for his World AIDS Day commitment by picking up the phone and thanking him for his own World AIDS commitment. Get started here!

Thanks for a great season — and be sure to check back in January for the launch of Part Two!
P.S. –- get all of OCC’s updates by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter!

On December 1, World AIDS Day, we’ll be marking a critical point in our fight against HIV/AIDS. Currently, 6.6 million people are receiving treatment (up from just 100,000 in 2002), but we’re a long way from declaring victory. So this year, let’s be a part of the solution. It’s time to spread the word about all the progress we’ve made in the fight against HIV/AIDS — and show how much more needs to get done, too.

What can you do to get involved in Challenge No. 4? Host a World AIDS Day event on your campus or in your community. Plan a movie night with friends. Turn a landmark on campus (RED), or write to your members of Congress and ask them to continue to fund the fight. And stay tuned, because we’ll reveal a big World AIDS Day project of our own next week…

And wondering who won Challenge No. 3? It was close (you guys submitted more than 500 photo petitions!), but Brigham Young University in Hawaii took the lead by hosting a petition photo-shoot and hunger banquet on campus — resulting in hundreds of handwritten letters, petitions and photographs that were delivered to their senators’ offices! Clark University took a solid second place while getting more than 10 percent of their campus to participate in their photo-petition -– and even met with Rep. McGovern to discuss effective poverty fighting programs. Newcomer Illinois State University pulled off an upset for third, with more than 200 photo petitions!

Don’t forget: the first half of the ONE Campus Challenge ends December 2nd –- and our top three campuses will secure spots to Bonnaroo. Get to work before the clock runs out in 11 days!

Up for another challenge? The third leg of the ONE Campus Challenge is here, and we’re asking our students to take it to the streets. Programs that fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and chronic hunger could be drastically cut by the Senate this month. Between now and November 18th, meet with your members of Congress and tell them to protect international development programs in US FY2012 Budget. Let your member know that these programs work and are saving lives. Head to the ONE Campus website to get started.

So who won? The University of Florida really locked things up with an impressively poignant Tumblr blog post and calls and letters to their members of Congress. The University of Mississippi came in a close second with their great video, and tying for third was the University of Texas at El Paso and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. We had more than 20 different campuses competing, so head to our Tumblr to check out more of our favorite submissions -– and remember, with a month left of the first phase of our challenge, it’s still anyone’s game.

3rd place: Katheryn Winn of Middle Tennessee State University, “Girls in School,” Tanzania

2nd place: Sofia Cordero from Webster University, “A Smile for a Banana,” India/Jaipur

Even though our photo challenge is over, you can still get involved with the ONE Campus Challenge by heading to www.one.org/campus.