Archive for December, 2010
Well, guys — this is it. I can’t believe that 2010 is actually coming to an end. It’s been an amazing year and we’ve accomplished so much together. Remember when we sent Nelson Mandela that birthday card? When we tweeted the White House and asked for President Obama to support the Global Fund? Or how about that time when we joined forces to erase Haiti’s debt? We couldn’t have done any of those things without your voices and support.
I know that next year is going to be just as jam-packed with anti-poverty actions as this year — but for now, we bid you adieu. Our staff will be on holiday break from December 24 to January 3, so things may seem a little light on the blog and our Facebook and Twitter pages.
I’ll leave you with a photo that our lovely photographer Morgana Wingard took of our DC staff during a recent holiday party. You might even recognize some of those faces from ONE events around the country.
Thanks for being such awesome members, blog readers, Facebook-likers and Twitter-tweeters. I’m excited to get back to you guys next year!
Yesterday, the Senate and House passed a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government running at current levels until March 4, 2011. We are disappointed that our key priorities –- such as the Global fund, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), and agriculture programs — will continue to be funded at FY2010 levels instead of receiving the increases that the House and Senate Appropriations Committees had endorsed.
The new Congress that convenes in January will need to once again address the funding levels before the CR expires. Although it is unclear how they will proceed, it is possible that the funding levels will be simply extended until the end of the fiscal year. Congress could also decide to revisit the funding levels, and given the budget climate, even propose cuts to existing levels. At the same time, Congress will have begun working on the FY12 funding. The bottom line is that this limited three month CR is the worst-case scenario for us.
While we are disappointed in the final result, with your great help our work this year contributed to fairly good increases in all appropriations drafts until now. The final omnibus bill –- a grouping of all appropriations bills — developed by in the Senate was very positive. We would have received substantial increases in many of our priority programs. For example, as you will recall from our recent campaign, we advocated for $1.3 billion in funding for agriculture programs. The omnibus would have provided even more with $1.4 billion allocated. For GAVI, the omnibus proposed $105 million instead of the $78 million it received in the CR, and the Global Fund was funded at $1.05 billion instead of the $1.125 billion included in the omnibus. Unfortunately, the deal on the omnibus fell apart at the last minute and it was not brought to the floor for a vote.
As this congressional session concludes, we wish everyone happy holidays. We will continue to work with Congress when they return in 2011, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of the world’s poor.
Dec 22nd, 2010 4:00 PM UTC
By Field
ONE member Kim Dixon Perez recounts her experience traveling with a mobile HIV-testing clinic with the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance in Malawi.
A women’s finger is pricked for the HIV test
Five-year-old Charles was warming himself by the fire when his shirt caught the flames and most of his back was burned. His mother had to carry him -– on foot -– four miles for help.
Charles’ family lives in a remote village in Malawi. Because most Malawians lack transportation to medical care, the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) brings care to them. “Mobile clinics” offer HIV testing, prenatal care, family planning and care for acute illnesses. Separately, 250 caregivers visit homes in 60 villages.
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Erin and Chris hold up ONE posters at the “Today Show” in New York City.
This morning, we asked some of our friends on Twitter and Facebook this question: “What are the qualities that make a good activist?” Almost 70 of you commented on Facebook and nearly 50 tweeted us your answers on Twitter. Here’s a sample of our favorite responses:
Tamtam Finn: a good activist should be able to inspire other people, should believe in every word he says and should really love what he’s doing. in this case he’ll be very loyal to the idea.
@RuthAnslow: what makes a good activist is a stubborn refusal to accept how it is!
Buffi Owens: Not backing away or giving up when the going gets tough, when the wall of opposition seems insurmountable – keeping up the good fight.
Troy Lucas: Persistence and not being afraid to speak publicly, even when others don’t care to hear what is being said.
Jim Cieri: Selflessness, putting us before me (and us is everyone).
@inigondan: persistence persistence persistence and more persistence
@andeans: “reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.”-Gibran
Julia Maganini: Good men or women who are not afraid to stand against evil and wrongdoing in the world. Men or women who, in the face of all odds, fights just because it’s right.
@EricMayle: an activist is someone who is forever burdened by humanity’s inability to catch up with its potential.
Have anything to add? Tell us in the comments below.
African Farmers Displaced as Investors Move In: Across Africa and the developing world, a new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land.
World Bank Freezes Loans to Ivory Coast: World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the lender froze loans to the Ivory Coast over Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to cede power after disputed elections on Nov. 28. The Central Bank of West African States, or BCEAO, also halted lending to the world’s top cocoa producer because of the “terrible” situation brought on by Gbagbo’s refusal to accept defeat, Zoellick told reporters in Paris today.
Ballot papers arrive in South Sudan for Jan. vote: More than 7.3 million ballots have arrived in Southern Sudan for an independence referendum that is likely to create the world’s newest country.
No Link Found Between HIV and Intimate Partner Violence among Women in 10 Developing Countries: Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been reported in previous studies to increase women’s risk for HIV infection. However, a new study by HSPH associate professor S.V. Subramanian and doctoral student Guy Harling found that IPV is not consistently associated with HIV-risk worldwide.
Ethiopia Gets $224.3 Million Funding for Power Lines: Ethiopia secured $224.3 million from the African Development Bank to fund the construction of four electricity transmission lines to improve its own power supply and help development in neighboring countries, the lender said.
Dec 22nd, 2010 10:46 AM UTC
By Field
Frustrated by the lack of health care and resources in Haiti, ONE members Arnel Eugenio, a dentist, and his wife Jasmine, a pediatrician, decided to take matters into their own hands. Here’s an update on what they saw on the ground in Haiti.
Many villagers wait in line for a dental examination from Arnel.
It was all so surreal. We were detained by Hurricane Tomas on the day we were to leave Haiti. As the storm hit landfall, I could see people scurrying in the dark trying to brace for the onslaught. One of the villagers slit his foot in the frenzy, so my wife Jasmine was left to suture a 10-inch gash with what medical supplies we had left. The owner of the guesthouse didn’t want blood tracked through her place so we had to improvise with a lounge chair and flashlight on the patio while the storm raged behind us.
Had it really been only a week since we arrived? It felt more like a year. Almost as soon as we arrived, word spread through the little town of Carries (just north of Port-Au-Prince), that doctors were in town. Through the course of the week, we must have treated more than a thousand patients in a makeshift clinic that had no running water and only electricity from a generator. All the diseases of poverty were there… malaria, malnutrition, dental disease. Fortunately, cholera had not yet reached the area, but we took precautions by bringing our own water. I personally had to treat dental patients with a flashlight and a battery-operated drill.
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The Chidamoyo Christian Hospital in rural Zimbabwe is like no other hospital. It’s probably one of the only places in the world that allows patients to pay with peanuts – literally.
Hit by a serious inflation rate in 2008, many Zimbabweans turned to the barter system to get by. Although the economy has somewhat stabilized, cash remains so scarce that the Chidamoyo Christian Hospital still lets its patients barter. According to the New York Times, studies have found that fees are a major barrier to medical care in rural areas, so trading goods like peanuts helps “plug in some of the holes.”
Although the Chidamoyo Christian Hospital is underfunded, the staff is resourceful and judicious about how they use their supplies — helping to save money and keep the establishment running. By working with the locals and adapting to their needs, the hospital has found a way to keep health care accessible for all people. Kudos, Chidamoyo Christian Hospital, and keep up the good work!
Read the full story on New York Times’ website and be sure to watch the video above.
