Global Poverty Weekly Update September 5, 2016

September 5, 2016

Global Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | Week of September 5, 2016

Quote of the Week
Join Us September 10 for Mark Shriver of Save the Children
The U.S. Pledges Big for the September 16 Global Fund Replenishment Meeting!
Ask Your Legislator to Speak to Leadership. Help the Reach Act Move.
Report Your Meetings
Upcoming Learning and Action Opportunities
Resources at Your Fingertips

Quote of the Week

"The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has been successful and is ready to continue its lifesaving work, if funded."

– Willie Dickerson, RESULTS Snohomish, in the Washington Post

Join Us September 10 for Mark Shriver of Save the Children

September 10, 2 pm ET. National Webinar/Conference Call for Grassroots. Login: https://www.fuzemeeting.com/fuze/f2988286/30204806. Or to join by phone only, dial (201) 479-4595, meeting ID 30204806.

Mark K. Shriver is President of Save the Children Action Network, where he leads an effort to mobilize Americans to end preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths globally and to ensure that every child in the U.S. has access to high-quality early childhood education. Shriver’s career fighting for social justice in advocacy and service organizations, as well as elected office, has focused on advancing the right of every child to a safe and vibrant childhood.

The U.S. Pledges Big for the September 16 Global Fund Replenishment Meeting!

From John Fawcett, Director, Global Policy and Advocacy. You did it! Great news from Washington: [last week], the U.S. pledged to invest up to $4.3 billion in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria over the next three years. This is exactly what we've been asking for from the White House. Thanks to your tireless advocacy, we just took a critical step toward the end of these epidemics. National Security Advisor Susan Rice announced the U.S. will match one dollar for every two dollars pledged by other donors to the Global Fund. The announcement comes two weeks before world leaders gather in Montreal to make additional commitments. The U.S. match can help inspire other donors to come to the table, ready to help the Global Fund reach its full $13 billion target. It's hard to overstate your role in this success. At our June conference, you helped build deep, bipartisan congressional support, and this summer you've generated media on the Global Fund in every corner of the country. But your role in today's win goes back even further: for fifteen years, you've fought for U.S. investment in the Global Fund, generating support from hundreds of members of Congress and publishing over 1,000 pieces of media. We couldn't have gotten to where we are today without you. Of course we're not done yet – there's still work to do to reach the full $13 billion target next month, setting the Global Fund's partners on track to save 8 million more lives by 2019. We're working closely with our partners across the globe to make sure that happens. More importantly, even when we hit $13 billion, we need to stay focused on the work that remains to end these epidemics for good. After the meeting in Montreal . . . we'll have more to share. But right now, take a minute to celebrate your amazing accomplishment. Your work is changing the world.

We just finished a terrific national Global Fund media tour. Has your local paper written on the important of the Global Fund this year? Now's the perfect time as we celebrate and anticipate a strong showing by the U.S. at the fall Global Fund replenishment meeting. Check out the editorial packet we are using to support Global Fund replenishment and write a letter heralding the upcoming U.S. pledge! Or grab this earlier summer Action Sheet designed to help you write a letter to the editor.
Also, view this extraordinary video, "A Tuberculosis Patient's Personal Story."

Ask Your Legislator to Speak to Leadership. Help the Reach Act Get Passed.

You did it again. Reach Act media has appeared in all 50 states, plus DC and Puerto Rico, thanks to your work! Incredible!

And we have 176 cosponsors (including leads) on H.R.3706 and 26 cosponsors (including leads) on S.1911, the Reach Act.

So, the next moves:

Ask your members of Congress to encourage the leadership of the House Foreign Affairs and Senator Foreign Relations Committees to work on the Reach Act (H.R. 3706/S.1911). Use our laser talk or this action sheet to make that request.
Check out our updated editorial packet and make the pitch to your editors that they need to write about the Reach Act.
Ask your representative and/or senators to join the list of cosponsors at an in-district or in-state meeting. Maybe your member of Congress would be interested, as they have showed interest in this issue area via their support of the Global Food Security Act or by virtue of members in the House Women's Caucus. Remember: cosponsors wil officially be added now that the summer congressional recess is over.

Check out the resources mentioned and more on our maternal/child health issue page as well as on our media toolkit page.

Report Your Meetings

During the long summer recess that just ended. . . if you attended a town hall or book an in-district meeting, let us know what happened! Please report each of your lobby meetings through this reporting form right after they happen, and catch up on any missed meetings, as this information is extremely valuable to our advocacy progress and process as a whole. Think about the outreach you did to House and Senate offices as the conference concluded, and make a plan soon with your team to follow up with each office with whom you met.