ONE Blog
Oxfam America files lawsuit against the SEC
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It’s been about two and a half months since ONE delivered 143,863 petition signatures to the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), urging them to stand up to Big Oil by releasing a corruption-fighting rule… and we’ve heard crickets. However today, Oxfam America, our Publish What You Pay Coalition partner is turning up the heat in a big way. They’ve filed a lawsuit against the SEC for unlawfully delaying the issuance of a strong final rule that would require disclosure of payments to from oil, gas and mining companies to the US and foreign governments. The final rule was due on April 17, 2011. This was a follow up to Oxfam’s letter of April 16, 2012, asking the SEC to issue a final rule within 30 days or face litigation. And that deadline just expired as of today. |
Talking G8, hunger and food security with USAID’s Don Steinberg
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As you know, the G8 Summit is just a few days away. ONE has been working over the past few weeks to rally our ONE members to sign our petition to world leaders, asking them to prioritize global hunger and malnutrition at the Summit. To help put our petition into context, we interviewed with our friend Ambassador Don Steinberg, current Deputy Administrator at USAID with three decades of US diplomatic service. The questions we outlined below answer some of the most important points that our ONE members should look out for during and after the Summit.
ONE: Hunger is a global issue — how is a focus on growth in the agricultural sector so central to poverty reduction, and why is an emphasis on Africa particularly important? |
Obama, Bono, G8 leaders… and YOU!
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Clear some space in your schedule this Friday for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security, a discussion on new activities to advance global agricultural development, food and nutrition security in Africa.
This event is a dream come true for us here at ONE — we’ve been trying to “plant the seed” in the G8 to put sustainable global agriculture at the top of their agenda at this year’s summit. And now, thanks to this event, President Obama, G8 and African leaders, businesses, international organizations and civil society, Bono and more will have the opportunity to devote time and attention to this topic. Although we can’t be certain it will affect the outcomes of the Summit, we think it’s a great way to kick off the G8. |
World economists agree: child nutrition is a best buy in development
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What would you do if you had $75 billion and four years to improve the world’s well-being? Recently 65 world-renowned researchers, economists and Nobel laureates got together and answered that question. They released their findings yesterday after more than a year of reviewing proposals and evidence, thanks to the Copenhagen Consensus Center. Being economists, they weighed their choices carefully using cost-benefit analyses. Seventy-five billion dollars may sound like a lot, but $18.75 billion (1/4 of $75 billion) represents only a 15 percent increase on top of the current $130 billion that developed nations spend annually on foreign aid.
Given the budget constraint, only 16 interventions stood out to the panel as worthy investments:
If you follow ONE’s blog and campaigns regularly, you’ll notice that ONE advocates for many of these interventions. Currently, Thrive –- ONE’s campaign to break the cycle of poverty and malnutrition — is campaigning for #1, #4, #6, and #7 (in bold above). Intervention #1 bundles micronutrients, deworming and nutrition education, and the panel’s Outcomes Report recommends that donors spend $3 billion of the $18.75 billion per year on this bundle — very similar to what ONE recommended in our report “Food. Farming. Future.” This research is also corroborated by what our friends at 1,000 Days have been saying for, oh, nearly 1,000 days. Almost 300,000 ONE members have signed our petition to lift 50 million people out of poverty and prevent stunting in 15 million kids. Despite this and clear evidence that agriculture and nutrition interventions are best buys in development, it is still unclear whether the world’s richest governments are going to seize this opportunity. Now, with just four days until the G8 summit at Camp David, leaders need to take action on country-owned agriculture and nutrition. Tweet at @ONEstreettweet to get your 40-character message to the G8 printed on the road. |
Peter Braid MP attends ONE Canada event in Ottawa
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When Ben Leo, director of ONE’s global policy team and Sara Messer, policy manager from ONE in Washington, D.C., recently traveled to Ottawa, it seemed like a great chance to have a meet up with some of our ONE members in the Ottawa area.
The event drew about 25 local members, many of whom were also members of our partner organization Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB). Ben Leo talked about the exciting campaigns that ONE is currently running –- the Beginning of the End of AIDS and THRIVE, which includes an online petition to the members of the G8 to keep the world’s most poor and vulnerable at the top of the agenda at the upcoming G8 Summit. |
What We’re Reading: African growth depends on food security
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Africa must end hunger to sustain growth – U.N. – The United Nations Development Program said on Tuesday that “Africa needs to boost agricultural productivity and address the debilitating hunger that affects 27 percent of its populations if it is to sustain its economic boom.” The report highlighted that “investment in agricultural productivity was important not only for reducing hunger but also in creating jobs for Africa’s rapidly growing population.” (Reuters, Katy Migiro) Business, NGO leaders join hands to push progress on health goals – The MDG Health Alliance is a new private-sector led global effort to improve health in developing countries that will be launched on May 15. The organization was convened by the U.N. secretary-general’s special envoy for malaria, Raymond Chambers. The alliance “seeks to work with the United Nations, nonprofit organization and other stakeholders to support efforts to boost progress toward meeting health-related MDGs.” (Devex, Ivy Mungcal) |
Bob Geldof: G8 leaders still capable of ending poverty
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This week Bob Geldof returned to Ethiopia to highlight various issues in the country including food security, in the run up to the G8 Summit due to take place at Camp David this weekend. Bob Geldof has called on the leaders of the G8 to make good on their promises to tackle extreme poverty and hunger. Over 290,000 ONE members have signed our Thrive petition calling on the G8 to support a global plan to ensure 50 million people escape poverty through agriculture and 15 million children no longer endure chronic malnutrition. Plus, this week thousands of ONE members have been sending messages to be written on the road leading to the summit by the ONE street tweet robot. You can watch the full report from ITV here, or as featured on MSNBC below: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy |
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From Our Members
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Sowing the ‘seeds of change’ at Des Moines’ Downtown Farmers Market
May 10th, 2012 | Posted by Libby Crimmings -
Thrivin’ in Pennsylvania with Rep. Charlie Dent
Apr 26th, 2012 | Posted by Brian Sweeney -
Working together as ONE at Loyola Academy
Apr 25th, 2012 | Posted by Field
From Our Partners
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A human yardstick
May 15th, 2012 | Posted by Guest Blogger -
UN report calls for a realignment of agricultural reform
May 8th, 2012 | Posted by Guest Blogger -
Interview: Ugandan NGO founder on the joys of helping HIV+ children
May 7th, 2012 | Posted by Paulena Papagiannis
