Tomorrow morning at 10 am, Rajiv Shah—President Obama’s nominee to lead USAID—is scheduled to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at his confirmation hearing to be USAID Administrator. The Obama administration nominated Shah — a medical doctor and current Under secretary for Research, Education and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—earlier this month, ending months of speculation over who would fill the vacant post.
We’ll keep an eye on the hearing tomorrow, and we’ll keep you posted as more news develops!
Today, on the eve of World AIDS Day, ONE’s sister organization (RED) announced that Nike, Inc. will become its newest partner in the global fight against AIDS, joining existing partners such as Apple, Starbucks, GAP, Hallmark, Converse, Emporio Armani and Dell.
Nike and (RED) will team up to market (RED) shoelaces, inviting people to “Lace up. Save Lives.” All of the profits from the sale of these laces will be split between the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Nike initiatives that promote education and awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention at a community level. Nike and (RED) are hoping that their unique partnership will support programs for prevention, treatment and education of HIV/AIDS.
At the launch of the new partnership in London today, international soccer stars joined (RED) CEO Susan Smith Ellis, Nike President and CEO, Mark Parker, Executive Director of the Global Fund, Professor Michel D. Kazatchkine and ONE and (RED) co-founder Bono.”The fight against AIDS in Africa needs great brands to drive awareness and engagement,” said Susan Smith Ellis. “Nike is the right partner to connect education with sport, and in so doing help drive social change, prevention and understanding of HIV/AIDS. We are thrilled to have them with us.”
Check out (RED)’s press release for more info and be sure to look out for Nike’s (RED) shoelaces in stores around the world starting tomorrow!
The Obama administration just announced (around the 12:50 mark in this video) that the International AIDS Society (IAS) will hold the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC in July 2012.
This move comes as a result of President Obama’s earlier announcement that the U.S. will lift its travel and immigration ban on those living with HIV, effective January 4, 2010. The IAS had announced previously that it was interested in holding the 2012 International AIDS Conference in DC, but that the final decision would be contingent upon whether the U.S. travel ban was lifted.
The International AIDS Conference, the world’s largest conference in the field of health and development, is an annual event that brings together individuals from around the world to share information and discuss the global response to AIDS. The U.S. has not hosted the International AIDS Conference since 1990 due to the introduction of the existing HIV travel ban.
Reuters Africa: Back in Ethiopia, Geldof warns about climate change:
Twenty-five years after arousing a global response to its 1984 famine, Irish singer and activist Bob Geldof returned to Ethiopia this week, arguing that climate change could undo progress the country had seen since in the past two decades. Geldof maintained that the effects of climate change are having a terrible impact on both Ethiopia’s economy and communities. Said Geldof, “What is happening to them now, science says will happen to the rest of us in the near future should we not change as these Africans are being forced to do.”
The Globe and Mail: Harper stands firm on ‘modest’ emissions cuts despite UN plea:
The Globe reports that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sidestepped the UN Secretary-General’s plea that Canada offer deeper targets for cutting greenhouses, saying Canada plans only “minor adjustments” to its commitments heading into major climate-change talks in Copenhagen. Mr. Harper said that in his opinion what really matters is the shorter-term commitment period to 2020, maintaining that “Canada will essentially match greenhouse gas reduction commitments for the United States laid out by President Barack Obama.”
The Guardian: EU accused of risking Copenhagen climate talks with stance on aid funding:
According to the Guardian, the EU was accused of threatening the global climate talks after confidential papers showed it wants existing overseas aid funding to be used to help poor countries adapt to global warming, not new and additional funds. The papers, seen by the Guardian, show that the EU has removed lines in the negotiating text of the Copenhagen climate change summit which stress the principle that climate change aid comes on top of existing development aid. The Guardian also reports that while developed countries accept they must pay poorer countries to adapt to the effects of climate change, Europe is known to be split over whether existing aid should provide the cash.
The Huffington Post: Impacting AIDS this World AIDS Day (Op-Ed):
In honor of 21st annual World AIDS Day on Tuesday, the Huffington Post reflects on the “daunting challenges” the world faces in the battle against AIDS, arguing that although huge strides have been made over the past two decades, “We are, in many respects, continuing to lose ground as new infections outpace our ability to deliver treatment.” As the next USAID Administrator considers his opening moves in his war against HIV/AIDS, the Post suggests that if “we are to make some dent in the vast number of new HIV cases that appear annually, we will have to use our most effective tools.”
AFP: Developing countries urge Doha Round conclusion:
More than 100 developing countries called Sunday for an “urgent” conclusion of negotiations for a world trade liberalization pact, a day before a key World Trade Organization ministerial conference. Launched in 2001, the Doha Round aims at lifting developing countries out of poverty by striking an accord that will cut agriculture subsidies and tariffs on industrial goods. The G20 ministers expressed in an official statement the “urgent need to translate political statements into concrete engagements in Geneva in order to accomplish the shared objective of concluding the Round in 2010.”
The New Times (Rwanda): Africa: Africa At Risk (Op-Ed):
The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, argues that climate change will hit Africa “first and hardest,” despite contributing “virtually nothing to bring it about.” Zenawi, who is head of the African delegation to the negotiations on climate change in Copenhagen, calls for the upcoming climate negotiations to address the specific problems of Africa and similarly vulnerable poor parts of the world. The leader also maintains that developed countries are “morally obliged to pay partial compensation to poor and vulnerable countries and regions to cover part of the cost of the investments needed to adapt to climate change.”
I recently caught up with some high school ONE members in northern Virginia who are fighting illiteracy in Africa through the service and awareness- raising group “Action Africa.” Below, Thomas Jefferson High School student Sydney Schrider tells us more about their incredible work.
Action Africa is a service club at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. We are trying to increase awareness of African issues and complete service projects at our school.
One of our ongoing projects is a pen pal relationship with a school in Bupoto, Uganda. Last year, as our big spring service project, we did literacy outreach with the Arlington Academy of Hope (AAH), a school in rural Uganda. We collected easy-reader books and recorded them on tapes, and then sent the books and tapes to the students of AAH in Bupoto.
We continue to learn about different issues, such as food security and AIDS awareness, and are working with ONE on many more events.
–Sydney Shrider, Thomas Jefferson High School, Alexandria, VA
Twilight’s Ashley Greene just sent this email to ONE members giving them a sneak peek at the brand new PSA she helped create for ONE. She stars in it alongside her Twilight costars Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, and Jackson Rathbone, Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester, Jessica Szohr and Ed Westwick, Heroes’ Hayden Panettiere, High School Musical’s Corbin Bleu, 90210′s Tristan Wilds, Star Trek’s John Cho and Tropic Thunder’s Brandon T. Jackson.
The PSA will air for the first time on television during Wednesday’s Gossip Girl. Check it out. http://www.one.org/buzz.
The more people talk, the more we can accomplish. Just sharing your commitment to fighting global poverty with your friends can inspire them to make the same commitment, and start up a buzz that will build into a roar of collective action.
For World AIDS Day tomorrow, I joined some of my friends from TV and film to make a video sharing our commitment to defeating extreme poverty and preventable disease. I hope you’ll watch, and share your own commitment by passing it on to people you know:
Throughout history we’ve seen how committed people, together, can change laws, break barriers and decide elections. And together, we can defeat extreme poverty and eradicate preventable, treatable diseases including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
But it takes all of us working together across borders, time zones, cultures…through advocacy, action, and awareness-raising.
You can help us raise awareness about ONE and build a better future for millions of people living in poverty. Please join Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone and me, Ashley Greene, from Twilight; Leighton Meester, Jessica Szohr and Ed Westwick from Gossip Girl; Corbin Bleu from High School Musical; Hayden Panettiere from Heroes; Tristan Wilds from 90210; Star Trek’s John Cho and Tropic Thunder’s Brandon T. Jackson by sharing our video to create a buzz in your community:
Today NBC aired an interview with Bill and Melinda Gates on “Meet the Press”. David Gregory asked the Gates various questions about global health and poverty issues.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
