Global Weekly Update May 9, 2011

Join Saturday’s National Conference Call with UNICEF’s Executive Director Dr. Tony Lake

Join RESULTS’ National Conference Call at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, May 14 to hear from special guest Dr. Tony Lake, who brings more than 45 years of public service experience to his position as the executive director of UNICEF. Dr. Lake served as a senior foreign policy advisor to the campaign of President Barack Obama, and he also served as national security advisor to President Bill Clinton.

At UNICEF, Dr. Lake has spearheaded a renewed focus on equity to ensure that the poorest of the poor are not left behind in the race to meet the Millennium Development Goals. New research from UNICEF demonstrates that focusing on the very poor is not only the right thing to do, it is also cost-effective and yields the most impact. This approach runs contrary to the conventional wisdom that reaching the poorest and most marginalized populations is too expensive. In an editorial, the New York Times called this equity approach “counterintuitive and compelling.” Join us on May 14 at 2:00 pm ET to hear more from Dr. Lake on his vision for UNICEF’s leadership.

Are You In?  Heck, YES!

“Heck, YES!” should be the answer when asked if you are attending the 2011 RESULTS International Conference. Trust us. It will be just what your activist heart desires. Informative plenaries and workshops, time for laughter and connection, training in advocacy best practices, time on the Hill advocating for the end of poverty . . . it’s all in store for you.

To whet your appetite just a little more, read about the newest speakers added to the conference agenda! Helen Evans, the CEO of GAVI, will speak at the global health plenary on Monday, and Ambassador Mark Green, the current senior director of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and former member of Congress, will talk about working with your legislators on Sunday. Be sure to check out the IC information page on our website to find out the latest details, as we update it regularly. See you at the conference!

Top Action: Ask Your Member of Congress to Take Action on GAVI

Time is running short. The GAVI pledging conference is on June 13 in London. Can we get Congress to communicate to the president and his administration that the U.S. must go to London with a powerful request? The answer lies in your boldness in the coming weeks. How bold will you be?

Opportunity: Save 4.2 million children’s lives by 2015 with two new vaccinations to protect against rotavirus and pneumonia. With adequate funding, GAVI will make these new vaccinations available to kids in 44 countries. We need a three-year pledge totaling $450 million from the U.S. This pledge represents less than one-fifth of the overall need. The rest will come from other sources.

Some members of Congress will tell you that these are tough times and that we cannot continue spending money. We need to remind them that we elect them to lead and that all spending is not equal. Some spending cuts will result in tighter budgets, delayed projects, or less waste. Very few expenditures can promise to save millions of lives.

Here’s what you can do:

• WE NEED LEADERSHIP on a SIGN-ON LETTER to President Obama. Ask your member of Congress to become the lead sponsor of a bipartisan sign-on letter to the president. You can send him/her this draft letter as a starter. If you need help making your request, please contact Ken Patterson or Lisa Marchal. We’d like President Obama to receive bipartisan letters from both the Senate and the House with lots of signatures on them showing support for a bold U.S. pledge.
• Ask your member to send their own letter to the president. If your member of Congress is not willing to lead on a letter, ask him/her to write their own letter using our draft letter as a starting place.
• Generate media. Send our editorial packet to your local paper and ask them to write about GAVI. Or write your own write a letter to the editor using our online tool. For examples, see what activists Beth Wilson, Caroline Fleming, Nancy Gardiner, Ken Patterson, and Martha Clemons got published this weekend.
• Write to your member of Congress about GAVI and encourage others to do the same. Use our action alert to write to your member of Congress about the need to fund GAVI adequately in 2012 so that the world can undertake this critical vaccine initiative.

Speak Up for Funding for Vital Foreign Assistance Programs in Our FY12 Appropriations Process

1. Make a call to your representative this week. There are many members of Congress who understand how important foreign assistance is to the U.S. as well as how important it is to the individuals and families it ultimately reaches. Because foreign aid is not disappearing from our national budget, it is critical that even those who do not favor it insist that it be used in smart, effective ways. It is important that our representatives know that foreign aid is vital to our economy, our security, and our global leadership. Encourage your representative to support at least one of the effective solutions articulated in our appropriations requests (microfinance, TB, Global Fund, GAVI, Education for All). Our representatives must submit their requests electronically to the chairs of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee by May 20, so we need to act right away to give our representatives time to make the request. (The House is in recess May 16–20, but members can still make requests during that time.) Call and ask for the foreign policy aide, make the request to support funding levels for one of our priorities noted above, and follow up by sending appropriate information. Our action sheet can help you formulate your request(s).
2. Make a call to your senators. The Senate must refuse the House’s approach to reducing our federal deficit. Let both of your senators know that we expect them to do better. The House of Representatives passed a budget for 2012 that would make draconian cuts to foreign assistance programs—the same programs that boost U.S. exports, according to the Chamber of Commerce, and make us safer, according to 70 retired military leaders. Cutting foreign aid as the House recommends risks our economy, our security, and lives.

Did you know we have an interactive online grassroots forum? The forum will enable activists to communicate and collaborate more directly. Click on My RESULTS, get your personalized sign-in name, and start collaborating.

May 11: Continuation of the current New Activist Orientation series. 9:00 pm ET. Call (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. RSVP for the remainder of the series (May 11, and May 25) or get more information by contacting Lisa Marchal.

May 14: Global Conference Call. 2:00 pm ET. (888) 409-6709. Featured speaker will be Dr. Tony Lake, executive director of UNICEF. 

May 16–20: House recess

June 11: Global Conference Call. 2:00 pm ET (888) 409-6709.

June 19–21: RESULTS International Conference