Advocates Raise Global Poverty Concerns on Capitol Hill at CARE's National Conference

Advocates Raise Global Poverty Concerns on Capitol Hill at CARE's National Conference


WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 13, 2007) - Presidential campaigning is heating up the debate over the United States and its role in the world, helping to mobilize more Americans to get involved in issues, like poverty, that shape our global community. This year, more than 300 CARE supporters from across the country are traveling at their own expense to Washington, D.C., to advocate for the poor by participating in CARE's National Conference on June 13 and 14. Many are members of the CARE Action Network, or CAN, which helps Americans influence U.S. policies that affect global poverty

This marks the fifth year of the conference and the ranks of supporters continue to swell, inspiring the conference theme: "The Voice of One, The Power of Many." "It's striking just how many people are looking for ways to become engaged in the fight against global poverty," says Kate Bunting, deputy director for CAN. "People are recognizing that they can change policies and decisions by making their voices heard."

Participants will take part in panel sessions exploring critical issues such as climate change and poverty; gender based violence; global health, including HIV and AIDS; education; and hunger. CARE President Helene D. Gayle will open the conference with reflections on CARE's work today, 61 years after its founding. Keynote addresses will follow from Ann Compton, ABC News White House Correspondent; Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., Chair, House Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee. A special highlight will be the "I Am Powerful" award, presented by actress and CARE ambassador Sarah Michelle Gellar to a woman who has become empowered to change her community for the better.

"I am honored to present the 'I Am Powerful' award," says Sarah Michelle Geller. "I just returned from visiting CARE programs in Guatemala, where I saw firsthand how empowering women can lead to a better life for everyone. I feel strongly about recognizing women who are taking action to change their lives and improve their communities."

The following day, Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP and former executive vice president at CARE, will address the gathering prior to a day of meetings with members of Congress and other influential policymakers. Conference participants will proceed in groups to Capitol Hill, where they will go door to door, urging their congressional representatives to take action on key issues in the fight against global poverty, including:

Support for robust funding for poverty-focused development programs, including basic education, family planning, maternal and child health, clean water and emergency relief in places like Darfur, Sudan.
Support for legislation to eliminate the arbitrary abstinence provision in funding for HIV and AIDS.
Support for education for girls through the Education for All Act of 2007.
CARE addresses the complex social, economic and political causes at the root of poverty in 66 countries, placing a special emphasis on empowering marginalized women and girls. Worldwide, 1.3 billion people battle to survive on $1 a day or less. Nearly 70 percent of these people are women and girls.

"CARE's work clearly shows that empowering individuals, especially women and girls, has a dramatic impact in overcoming poverty," Dr. Gayle says. "This impact is felt across generations and across communities because the power of women has a ripple effect that spreads far and wide. It is women who weave families and societies together, making the whole stronger than its parts. We in the United States have the opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with these women by making sure that our representatives know just how much reducing world poverty matters to us."

Media Contacts:


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Washington, D.C.: Alina Labrada, labrada@care.org, (404) 457-4644

CARE Kicks Off National Conference 2007

CARE Kicks Off National Conference 2007


Sen. Chuck Hagel leads the evening plenary session at CARE's National Conference 2007. (photo ©Lincoln Oviedo)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 13, 2007) - CARE's National Conference 2007 began with a sense of excitement and purpose. Opening the event, CARE board member Monica Vachher stated simply and succinctly, "As an essential extension and integral part of CARE's poverty-fighting work, we must also be effective advocates here in Washington."

More than 350 CARE constituents arrived in Washington, D.C., to play their role in the global movement to end poverty and empower women. Welcoming the largest group ever to attend CARE's National Conference, President and CEO Helene Gayle said: "The poor don't have a voice here, so our government isn't pressed to consider their needs. We need to become their voice in this country. It's our job to convince those who don't believe in the virtues of fighting global poverty that it is a worthwhile and doable endeavor." ABC White House correspondent Ann Compton delivered an entertaining and inspiring keynote to cap the morning's first session.

After an afternoon of workshops on hunger, education, health and other issues, attendees got briefed about what to expect during their visits on Capitol Hill Thursday. Participants roll-played during dinner, presenting their arguments for increased funding for poverty-fighting programs, flexible and effective AIDS funding and support for the Education for All bill.

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel led the evening's plenary session, saying: "Organizations like CARE shape the world in truly human ways. But you can't do it all. We as policymakers have some responsibility to help far more than we have been helping." Throughout the day, staff and speakers emphasized the importance of demonstrating to elected officials a personal commitment to the issue of poverty reduction. New York Representative Nita Lowey rallied the group when she said, "We must link arms, forge ahead, knowing that each woman who starts a new business, every child who enrolls in school, every HIV-positive person who gets medication brings us one step closer to a safer, more stable world of equal opportunity for all."

The evening ended with CARE Ambassador Sarah Michelle Gellar, recently returned from CARE project visits in Guatemala, presenting the "I Am Powerful" Award to Stanojka Tesic, a project participant from Bosnia who has helped unite women of different ethnicities to work for stable, prosperous communities following the conflict that racked their nation. Accepting the award, Stanojka said that she would take the happiness and smiles of the day back to the women in her community.

Sheila C. Johnson Issues Challenge for a Movement to End Global Poverty

Sheila C. Johnson Issues Challenge for a Movement to End Global Poverty
Philanthropist and businesswoman teams with CARE to activate and empower women

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 12, 2007) - Philanthropist and businesswoman Sheila C. Johnson and CARE President Helene D. Gayle announced today at the National Press Club the launch of a new movement to activate and empower women in the fight against global poverty. They called on individuals and businesses in America to take Sheila's I Am Powerful Challenge.

Sheila's I Am Powerful Challenge aims to generate awareness and support to empower women who make up about 70 percent of the world's poorest people. Armed with business skills and access to health and educational opportunities, these same women can become the world's greatest natural resources for fighting global poverty.

"The lives of women have reached a tipping point where, just like in America 150 years ago, a powerful women's movement is needed, but this time on a global scale," said Johnson, who recently visited CARE programs in Guatemala and Tanzania, witnessing the effects poverty has on women and girls, as well as the actions they are taking to change their lives and improve their communities. "It's not about the power of one, but instead activating the combined power of many both domestically and abroad. Over the years, women in America have proven that when the right assets and networks come together, we can create the art of the possible. Today, we possess the talent and resources to make a real difference in the lives of women, their families and, ultimately, our global community."

By issuing this challenge, Johnson is not only putting her money where her heart is, investing $5 million to jumpstart a movement — $4 million of which will be used to double the power of donations to CARE over the next two years by matching them dollar for dollar — she's also using her voice to call on women in America to ask questions, educate themselves about the issues, and advocate against social inequity that has held back women around the world far too long. Individuals can also triple the power of their efforts by engaging with the businesses they work for to match their donations and to join the movement by helping build awareness.

"In order to create a better and more secure world that we all desire for our children, we must work together, combine our resources and start a process of bi-directional learning and problem solving," said Johnson. "In today's world, global issues intertwine heavily with domestic issues and, ultimately, regarding the issue of poverty, women are disproportionally affected."

Women produce half the world's food, but own only 1 percent of its farmland.
Eighty percent of the world's refugees and displaced people are women and girls.
Of the 900 million illiterate adults in the developing world, two-thirds are women.
Of the 77 million children worldwide who are not in school, about 60 percent are girls.
Each year more than 500,000 women — roughly one every minute — die from pregnancy-related causes that are largely preventable.
Yet CARE's work demonstrates that, for example, improvements in girls' education can lead to increased family income, improved health and nutrition, smaller families and decreased child and maternal mortality.

"Investing in women's lives is central to breaking the cycle of poverty," said Dr. Gayle, who became CARE's president in April 2006 after heading global HIV/AIDS and health programs for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Together we can start something different, something big. Joining Sheila's I Am Powerful Challenge is a first step toward realizing a tremendous opportunity to engage each other on behalf of the global community."

And it has begun. In early March, Johnson collaborated with Dr. Gayle to bring together three dozen influential women from different backgrounds in business, education, entertainment and media to her home in Middleburg, Va. for the first ever I Am Powerful retreat. At the retreat, participants bonded around issues affecting women around the world and brainstormed ideas to generate awareness. And key partnerships to advance the movement are being formed with the WNBA, Parsons The New School for Design, the Jackie Robinson Foundation, the National Association of Female Executives and Working Mother Media.

Join the movement: Visit www.iampowerful.org.

Media Contacts:


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Allen Clinton, clinton@care.org, (404) 979-9206

Help CARE Fight Poverty - Donate Now

Help CARE Fight Poverty - Donate Now




In the past year, CARE's work reached 55 million people in 66 countries. Thanks to donors like you, poor families got the resources they need to send their children to school, combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, learn new business skills and build a better life for themselves.

You can help us continue to fight poverty and respond to desperate need by giving a donation today.

Click here to make a monthly contribution to CARE

Make this donation in honor of someone

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Join the World Hunger Campaign today!

Join the World Hunger Campaign today!



Every minute of every day, somewhere in the world, 21 children die of malnutrition and preventable diseases. Even when it doesn't kill, chronic malnutrition can cause blindness, deformities and brain damage. That's the shocking truth. But we don't have to accept it. We can choose to stop it - through feeding programs, education, microcredit loans, sustainable agriculture and other projects to help families lift themselves out of poverty. Please give now!

Help CARE Win Daily Victories Over Poverty!

Help CARE Win Daily Victories Over Poverty!



The Victories Over Poverty Campaign supports integrated programs that include emergency relief, post-emergency rehabilitation and recovery, and long-term poverty-fighting projects.

Whether it's teaching new farming techniques, training teachers or helping improve access to health care, CARE works with communities to create solutions that last.

Recurring donations make it easier than ever to support CARE
Make your gift to CARE go further with Corporate Gift Matching
Make this donation in honor of someone

By the end of last year, an estimated 42 million people around the world were living with HIV/AIDS.

Each year, at least another 5 million people are newly infected and about 3 million people die.

With your help, CARE can advance poverty-fighting projects like those stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Recurring donations make it easier than ever to support CARE
Make your gift to CARE go further with Corporate Gift Matching
Make this donation in honor of someone

Your donation to CARE helps women, children and communities around the world live safer, healthier lives.

Your donation to CARE helps women, children and communities around the world live safer, healthier lives.
Good health is critical to the fight against poverty. CARE's comprehensive approach to the problems of health and poverty aims to help individuals, families and communities identify, prevent and manage health risks. Your generous support allows us to improve vital health services and provide other important poverty-fighting programs to the world's most vulnerable people.

Recurring donations make it easier than ever to support CARE
Make your gift go further with Corporate Gift Matching
Make this donation in honor of someone

Your donation to CARE helps support education projects and other important poverty-fighting work.

Your donation to CARE helps support education projects and other important poverty-fighting work.

Education is one of the best investments toward fighting global poverty. By helping children gain the knowledge and skills to succeed, CARE helps lay the groundwork for healthier, more productive families, communities and societies.

Recurring donations make it easier than ever to support CARE
Make your gift to CARE go further with Corporate Gift Matching
Make this donation in honor of someone

Children in the developing world spend most of their childhood just struggling to survive

Children in the developing world spend most of their childhood just struggling to survive.
Treatable illnesses, such as pneumonia, malaria, diarrhea and malnutrition, become life-threatening when combined with poverty, war, poor sanitation, inadequate health care and insufficient preventive measures.

For those who survive childhood, the path to a secure and happy future is still filled with obstacles. Children in developing nations have limited access to education, which limits opportunity and reduces potential. Won't you please help children and their families with a gift today?

Recurring donations make it easier than ever to support CARE
Make your gift to CARE go further with Corporate Gift Matching
Make this donation in honor of someone.

Help CARE Save Lives in Sudan and Around the World

Help CARE Save Lives in Sudan and Around the World


The situation in Darfur is going from bad to worse for millions of displaced and vulnerable people. Your gift can help us save lives and create long-term solutions in Sudan and in other countries around the world.


CARE has over 60 years of experience delivering emergency aid. Our emergency response focuses on the needs of the most vulnerable, particularly women and children.


Please help us continue to fight poverty and respond to desperate need by giving a donation today.

Crisis Response Team

Make a difference!


No matter where they strike, disasters hit poor people hardest. We saw it with the Asia tsunami, and more recently with mudslides in Central America and the powerful earthquake in Pakistan and India. The same is true for manmade crises like the violence in Sudan. CARE is there to respond to these disasters, but we need your help.

Click here to view CARE's privacy policy. If you have questions about donating online, please email us, or call 1-800-422-7385.

A copy of the latest financial report and registration filed by this organization can be obtained by contacting CARE toll-free 1-800-422-7385, or by writing directly to CARE, 151 Ellis St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30303-2440. Residents of certain states can click here to find out how this information can also be obtained.

CARE is organized under the laws of the District of Columbia, United States and is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization (EIN/tax ID number: 13-168-5039).



Stand side by side with CARE by joining the Crisis Response Team! Steady support is a crucial part of being prepared. Your monthly commitment will help CARE reach people threatened by disaster and poverty around the world.

If you would prefer to make a one-time gift, click here.

Join CARE in Supporting The ONE Campaign

Join CARE in Supporting The ONE Campaign
Add Your Name to The ONE Campaign Declaration!
CARE is a founding member of The ONE Campaign, a nationwide effort to rally Americans to fight the emergency of global poverty. ONE brings together a growing number of Americans in a historic pact to fight poverty by allocating an additional one percent of the U.S. budget toward meeting basic needs for people in the poorest countries in the world.

By speaking out with CARE and ONE, you can show our leaders that we want to do more to fight global poverty. It's a crucial step toward securing the resources to help millions of women make a better future for themselves, their families and their communities. Sign The ONE Declaration today!


What's At Stake?
Join CARE in Supporting The ONE Campaign
What is The ONE Campaign?
ONE is a new effort co-founded by CARE to rally Americans – ONE by ONE – to fight the emergency of global poverty. The ONE Campaign is engaging Americans through a diverse coalition of faith-based and anti-poverty organizers to show the steps people can take, ONE by ONE, to fight global AIDS and poverty.


What is the goal of The ONE Campaign?
The ONE Campaign seeks to give Americans a voice, to ring church bells and cell phones, on campuses and in coffee shops, for an historic pact to fight the global AIDS emergency and end extreme poverty. We believe that allocating an additional ONE percent of the U.S. budget toward providing basic needs like health, education, clean water and food, would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation of the poorest countries.

Who founded The ONE Campaign?
The ONE Campaign was founded by Bread for the World, CARE, DATA, International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Oxfam America, Plan USA, Save the Children US, World Concern, and World Vision, and works closely with the National Basketball Association, Rock the Vote, and the Millennium Campaign.

Who has signed The ONE Campaign declaration?
ONE participants include celebrities such as Bono, lead singer of U2 and co-founder of DATA; Dikembe Mutombo, NBA All-Star and advocate for Africa; Michael W. Smith Grammy Award winning Musician; Agnes Nyamayarwo, Ugandan nurse and AIDS activist, and representatives of national advocacy organisations such as Bread for the World, World Vision, Global Health Council, The Better Safer World Coalition, DATA and many others.

Full Petition Text:

WE BELIEVE that in the best American tradition of helping others help themselves, now is the time to join with other countries in a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty.

WE RECOGNIZE that a pact including such measures as fair trade, debt relief, fighting corruption and directing an additional one percent of the U.S. budget toward meeting basic needs -- education, health, clean water, food, and care for orphans -- would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries.

WE COMMIT ourselves -- one person, one voice, one vote at a time -- to make a better, safer world for all.

Sincerely,
Lincoln Oviedo
90 stayman turn ct
Linden 22642

Tell Your Legislator: Women are Key to Fighting Poverty

Tell Your Legislator: Women are Key to Fighting Poverty
Speak out! Ask Congress to support policies that help women in poor communities. To send a message to your elected officials, just sign your name to the e-mail below. It's a simple action that will make a difference in the lives of poor women around the world. By telling your members of Congress that you think fighting global poverty is a priority, you can influence their decisions and have a powerful impact.

What's At Stake?
Tell Your Legislator: Women are Key to Fighting Poverty
CARE's poverty-fighting work takes many forms, from providing access to clean water to training teachers to helping women create economic opportunities. But sometimes this work is not enough. In addition to our programs in the field, CARE also pursues our mission by speaking out about policies and laws that could help or hinder women's efforts to lift themselves out of poverty.


But CARE can't do this alone. We need you to join the global movement dedicated to defending dignity and fighting poverty. By telling your elected officials that you think fighting poverty is a priority, you can influence their decisions and have a powerful impact.


Send a message today. Tell your elected representatives how important it is to consider the impact of their decisions on poor women. By lending your voice, you will join thousands of others who are speaking out for policies that help break the cycle of poverty.

Dear [ Decision Maker ],


I am writing to ask you to support U.S. foreign policies and programs that address the social and economic inequalities that leave women in the developing world subject to a life of poverty.

As a general rule, women are more vulnerable than men when it comes to poverty. Consider the facts:
- Women constitute 70 percent of the poorest people in the world today.
- Women produce half the world's food, but own only 1 percent of its farmland.
- Of the 876 million illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women.
- In some countries in the developing world, women are more likely to die in childbirth than reach the sixth grade.

Changing these circumstances is no small order, but it can be done. Women and their families can succeed when they have the right tools and resources available to them - economic opportunity, basic health care and education, the ability to participate in decisions that affect them and recognition of their basic rights and dignity.

Giving people an opportunity to improve their lives is what America is all about. As you make choices in this year's budget process, please remember that your decisions about U.S. foreign assistance programs will affect millions of women. I will keep in touch as specific opportunities arise.

Thank you for your consideration.

Take Action on this Issue
Send this message to:
Your Congressperson
Your Senators

Sincerely,
Lincoln Oviedo
90 stayman turn ct
Linden VA 22642

Sign the petition to stop female genital cutting

Sign the petition to stop female genital cutting
Female genital cutting, also called female circumcision, has affected more than 135 million women and girls worldwide. Complications from FGC can include severe bleeding, infection, long-term difficulties with intercourse and childbirth, and even death.

Working with community leaders, CARE has already made progress in ending female genital cutting. Now we need the help of people like you. By signing this petition today, you’ll be raising awareness and taking a stand to stop the painful practice of female genital cutting. Fill out the form below to send your petition today!

Full Petition Text:
I am signing this petition to take a stand against the practice of female genital cutting. Nearly 2 million young girls are at risk of female genital cutting this year alone. We must do all we can to encourage the communities where this practice takes place to put a stop to it.

Together with CARE and concerned people across the world, we will do all we can to save these girls from a lifetime of pain and suffering.


Signed by:
Lincoln Oviedo
90 stayman turn ct
Linden VA 22642

Sign the Petition to Protect - and help millions in Darfur

Sign the Petition to Protect - and help millions in Darfur
We need your support — your signature — to show the world that we as global citizens will not stand idly by while millions of people in Darfur are being terrorized, driven from their homes and, in many cases, killed.

Over 2 million people have been displaced and more than 200,000 have been killed while the world watches. This needs to end. We must reverse the tide of violence in Darfur, so that women, children and families can lead the safe and happy lives they deserve.

Please sign our "Petition to Protect" and encourage your friends to do the same.

Send this petition to:
Representative Frank Wolf

I am writing to express my concern for the worsening conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. This conflict has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions of men, women and children to leave their villages and homes. These people are doing everything they can to survive, and they deserve our help.

Continued, positive diplomatic engagement by the United States, along with the larger international community, is needed to resolve the crisis in Darfur. Until progress is made, the United States must continue to provide vital resources for humanitarian assistance that is saving lives. This support is especially critical now given the continuing decline in the security environment. You are a necessary part of that support. I ask that you give your time, assistance, and vote to the people of Darfur.

Thank you very much for your time and attention to the families in the midst of this urgent crisis.


Signed by:
Lincoln Oviedo
90 stayman turn ct
Linden va 22642

Sign CARE's 60th Anniversary Women CARE declaration

Sign CARE's 60th Anniversary Women CARE declaration
What do actress Meg Ryan, Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin and model Christie Turlington Burns have in common? They are all powerful women, and they have all added their names to CARE's 60th anniversary Women CARE declaration.

Stand with CARE and women around the world in urging world leaders to fulfill the promises made at the United Nations to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015. Based on CARE's years of experience, the declaration asks the United Nations member states to place a special focus on improving the lives of poor women.

Fill out the forms below to sign the Women CARE declaration.
What's At Stake?
Sign CARE's 60th Anniversary Women CARE declaration
Poverty has a woman's face: today, 70 percent of the 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty are women. Around the world, women are on the front lines of poverty. However, when given the opportunity and resources they need, poor women have the power to change their lives and the lives of their families and communities.


In 2000, all member states of the United Nations committed themselves to address this problem by setting eight goals - the Millennium Development Goals:

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Ensure environmental sustainability
Develop a global partnership for development
The Women CARE declaration, in honor of CARE's 60th anniversary, urges world leaders to fulfill these promises and to place a special focus on improving conditions for poor women around the world. On October 17, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, CARE presented the declaration at the United Nations in Geneva.


Some amazing women have signed the declaration, from artists and actresses to heads of state and Nobel Prize winners. Check out the list of signers below!


Sign the Women CARE declaration today!


Signers of the Women CARE Declaration

Name Country Occupation
Yoko Abe Japan Chair of CARE Friends Tokyo
Kate Adie UK Journalist
Marisa Berenson USA Actress
Cate Blanchett Australia Actress
Ruth Cardoso Brazil Former First Lady of Brazil
Supornthip Choungrangsee Thailand Businesswoman
Cyrielle Clair France Actress
Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi Austria Journalist, publicist, commentator
Mireille Darc France Actress
Marina de Brantes France Vice-Chair of CARE International, Chair of CARE France
Princess Caroline de Hanovre Monaco Chair of AMADE, Princess of Monaco
Philippine de Rothschild France Producer of Rothschild wines
Nathalie Dessay France Opera Singer
Albina du Boisrouvray Switzerland Founder of the NGO "FXB" (François-Xavier Bagnoud)
Neide Duarte Brazil Journalist
Shirin Ebadi Iran Nobel Peace Prize (2003)
Birgit Fischer Germany German Sport Champion of the Year 2004 (canoeing)
Shirley Franklin USA Mayor of Atlanta
Jeanne Gapiya-Niyonzima Burundi Founder of ANSS, an association for people living with AIDS
Marie Chantal Gellé Madagascar Singer
Frene Ginwala South Africa South African newspaper editor, politician and activist. Member of the United Nations Advisory Panel of High-Level Personalities on African Development
Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing France Former First Lady of France, Chair of the Fondation pour l'Enfance
Janice Gross Stein Canada Director of the Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto
Jerry Hall UK Model and actress
Anne Hathaway USA Actress
Barbara Hendricks USA Singer
Hanne-Vibeke Holst Denmark Author, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador
Marine Jacquemin France Journalist
Judith Jamison USA Artistic Director, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Elfriede Jelinek Austria Nobel Prize in Literature (2004)
Sheila.C Johnson USA Educator, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Co-founder of Black Entertainment Television and President of the WNBA Washington Mystics
Eva Joly Norway Former Examining Magistrate in France, Special Counsellor to the Norwegian Government
Farah Karimi Netherland Member of Dutch Parliament
Arisara Khamthoncharoen Thailand Actress
Simone Larsen Norway Singer
Joanna Lumley UK Actress
Eva Lystad Norway Chairperson, CARE Norway
Chiwoniso Maraire Zimbawbe Singer
Lydia M. Marshall USA Chair, CARE International
Alessandra Martines Italy Actress
Liza Minnelli USA Singer
Gertrude Mongella Tanzania President of the African Union Parliament, Member of Tanzanian Parliament, Chair of the Beijing Conference
Immaculée Nahayo Burundi Speaker of the House of Parliament, Founder of organizations promoting women in peace building and conflict resolution
Jessye Norman USA Singer
Sonia Picado Costa Rica Chair of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, politician
Line Renaud France Singer, Vice President of Sidaction, an NGO dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS
Mary Robinson Ireland Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, former President of Ireland
Eve Ruggieri France French TV Anchor
Meg Ryan USA Actress
Heide Schmidt Austria Former politician and speaker of the Austrian Parliament
Kristin Scott-Thomas UK Actress
Sister Emmanuelle Belgium Humanitarian figure
Jutta Speidel Germany Actress
Britta Steilmann Germany Fashion Designer
Rita Süssmuth Germany Former President of the German Parliament
Hazel Thompson UK Photojournalist
Lynni Treekrem Norway Singer
Christie Turlington Burns USA Model and Entrepreneur
Sofia Vari Botero Greece Sculptor
Simone Veil France Former French Minister, former President of the European Parliament
Margrethe Vestager Denmark Member of the Danish Parliament
Vaira Vike-Freiberga Latvia President of Latvia
Unni Wilhelmsen Norway Singer
Anne Will Germany News Anchor



Sign the Women CARE declaration today!

We urge our political, economic, religious and cultural leaders to mobilize the resources needed to fulfill the commitments to the Millennium Development Goals and to place special focus on improving women's conditions all over the world.

Join Meg Ryan and take action for mothers

Join Meg Ryan and take action for mothers
Motherhood and pregnancy should be a time of great joy, but in the poorest parts of the world, motherhood can be deadly. In some countries, women have a 1 in 6 chance of dying from pregnancy-related complications, compared to as little as 1 in 30,000 in northern Europe. These statistics are especially devastating because almost all maternal deaths today are preventable and most complications can be avoided or treated effectively with modern care.

We know what works. A comprehensive investment can save countless lives and help millions of women build a better future for themselves and for their families. Urge Congress to support CARE's Safe Motherhood Platform today.

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

As your constituent and a supporter of CARE, I am writing to ask you to support CARE's Safe Motherhood Platform, which would provide more resources for improving maternal health worldwide and a plan to invest those resources more wisely.

Each year, 500,000 or more women die from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Ninety-five percent of them are in Africa and Asia. The lifetime risk of dying during pregnancy is 1 in 16 in sub-Saharan Africa, as compared with 1 in 2,500 in the United States.

We can do better. Almost all of these deaths are preventable, and a modest investment to help a pregnant woman survive childbirth and deliver a healthy baby yields enormous benefits to her, to her family and to her community.

I urge you to:

- Invest more, and more strategically, in reducing maternal mortality by providing family planning and maternal health care. The United States invests far too little in these priorities, despite the death of some 1,400 women every day from preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Over the last 5 years, U.S. commitments to maternal and child health funding have declined by over 11 percent - and this year alone, the administration has proposed a 23 percent cut in family planning funding.

- Support the better use of resources through a package of legislation. You can make significant progress in addressing the global issue of maternal mortality by supporting H.R. 2266, H.R. 1225 and S. 805 - a trio of legislative initiatives to improve the health of mothers and children, improve voluntary family planning programs, strengthen health care systems and address workforce shortages.

Together we can make a difference. Healthy mothers, healthy babies and healthy communities are possible if we work together and make smart choices by investing in CARE's Safe Motherhood Platform. I respectfully urge your support for these critical priorities.
What's At Stake?
Join Meg Ryan and take action for mothers
How can we help women achieve safe motherhood?

Maternal mortality is a devastating problem in the developing world, claiming well over 500,000 lives each year. In the poorest parts of the world, a woman's lifetime risk of death from complications during pregnancy and childbirth is 1 in 6, compared to as little as 1 in 30,000 in northern Europe. For every woman who dies in childbirth, at least 30 others are injured, leaving many disabled or socially isolated.

Almost all maternal deaths today are preventable. Most complications can be avoided or treated effectively with modern obstetric care.

While we know there isn't a simple, "one size fits all" solution, CARE has made significant progress in addressing maternal health in places like Peru, Sri Lanka and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ultimately, CARE's experience in poor communities strongly supports both the need for increased investment of U.S. resources, and better use of those resources.

CARE's Safe Motherhood Platform

CARE's Safe Motherhood Platform for 2007 translates these lessons into a comprehensive legislative framework for Congress:

Increased Investment of Resources

Increase maternal and child health funding
Over the past five years, U.S. funding commitments to maternal and child health funding have declined by 11 percent. This funding helps provide trained birth attendants, lifesaving drugs and stronger health care systems.


Recommit to the importance of family planning
Family planning is one of the most cost-effective investments the United States can make in the future of women, children, communities and nations. It returns enormous value in terms of health, development and national security.But the administration's budget request proposes a 23 percent cut in family planning funding for 2008.
Using Resources More Effectively

Legislation now making its way through Congress, if passed, could make positive changes to programs addressing maternal health. Urging policy makers to support these bills as a comprehensive package helps to address the underlying causes of maternal mortality.

The Focus on Family Health Worldwide Act (H.R. 1225)
This bill would improve voluntary family planning programs in developing countries. Family planning helps women to space out childbirth and avoid unintended pregnancies.


The United States Commitment to Global Child Survival Act (H.R. 2266)
This bill would improve the health of newborns, young children and mothers in developing countries by doubling current funding, mandating an integrated strategy and establishing clear guidelines for child survival and maternal health programs.


African Health Capacity Investment Act (S. 805)
This bill would strengthen health care systems in developing countries by supporting struggling health care systems and addressing health care workforce shortages. This would help to ensure that women facing complications in pregnancy or childbirth had access to the help of trained medical professionals.
Together, these legislative initiatives could help to make safe motherhood a reality for millions of women around the world. When women in poor communities have access to family planning services, appropriate prenatal care, trained birth attendants, and emergency obstetric care, motherhood can be a great joy — instead of a great danger.

Ask your legislators to support CARE's Safe Motherhood Platform today!

Helene D. Gayle Testifies Before Congress on Maternal Health


WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 18, 2007) - Helene D. Gayle, president and CEO of CARE, testified before the Senate Committee on Appropriations today during a hearing on maternal and child health, family planning and reproductive health. Though her testimony affirmed the important progress the United States has made in improving maternal and child health worldwide, Dr. Gayle stated that "CARE's experience in poor communities strongly supports both the need for increased investment of resources, and better use of those resources" in improvements to public health care.

1) Testimony of Helene Gayle, MD, MPH
President and CEO, CARE USA
***
Hearing of the Senate Committee on Appropriations,
Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs
“Maternal and Child Health, Family Planning, Reproductive Health”
***
April 18, 2007
Chairman Leahy, Senator Gregg, Subcommittee Members. I am honored to be here,
discussing issues that are vital to the future of millions of people. For the past 61 years, CARE
has worked across a spectrum of poverty-fighting arenas – from child survival to clean water,
and from basic education to HIV/AIDS. We believe that poor health and extreme poverty are
intertwined, and that one cannot be overcome if the other is neglected. That is why we work on
a broad range of health issues, including maternal and child health, infectious diseases, ranging
from HIV/AIDS to avian influenza, and reproductive health. My testimony today reflects
CARE’s experience in thousands of poor communities throughout the world over the course of
half a century.
We are here today to consider some basic, yet heart-wrenching, questions. Why does one
woman die every minute of every day from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth?
(99 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries, and the reasons are basic: women
hemorrhage to death, they lack access to antibiotics to prevent infection or they don’t have the
option of a cesarean section.) Why do 10.5 million children die each year before their fifth.

2)birthday (greater than the number of adults who die from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined), when most of these deaths are preventable? Why, at a time when contraception is
cheap and effective, do 120 million couples have an unmet need for family planning? Why,
when some 70 percent of young women in Africa become sexually-active as adolescents and
more than 20 percent have their first child by 18, do we hesitate to confront that reality?
Despite the magnitude of unmet need that remains, the U.S. government can be proud of the
difference it has made in the global health arena.1 For example, American leadership in family
planning has contributed to some impressive gains. In 1960, only 10 percent of married women
in developing countries used modern contraception. By 2000, this figure had risen to 60 percent
– and the average number of births per woman had fallen from six to three. More broadly, in the
past 50 years, life expectancy in the developing world has risen from 40 to 65 years, and a
child’s chance of living to the age of five has doubled.
We have learned that large-scale improvements in public health are achievable. We have
seen the real difference made in lives saved and economies strengthened. Sri Lanka’s long-term
commitment to a range of safe motherhood services has, over four decades, decreased maternal
mortality from 486 to 24 deaths per 100,000 live births. In Egypt, a national campaign that
promoted the use of oral rehydration therapy helped reduce infant diarrheal deaths by 82 percent
between 1982 and 1987. China’s national tuberculosis program helped reduce TB prevalence by
40 percent between 1990 and 2000, and translated directly into social and economic benefits: for
1 A recent analysis of six projects funded by USAID’s Child Survival and Health Grants Program indicates that
mortality of children under five has been reduced by approximately 8 percent in project areas due to interventions
supported by the program.

3)each dollar invested in the program, $60 was generated in savings on treatment costs and
increased earning power of healthy people.2
Even though important progress has been made, the need remains enormous and urgent. The
knowledge and experience we have already gained position us to invest resources more wisely –
and the partnerships formed reflect greater capacity to turn resources into effective action. Yet,
even as efforts to fight HIV and AIDS are receiving greater attention and resources (as they
should), we are becoming too complacent about basic public health issues like maternal and
child health, family planning, and adolescent reproductive health. And we are not paying
sufficient attention to building the strong, accountable health systems (both infrastructure and
workforce) required to support any health interventions, be it neonatal care, family planning or
AIDS treatment. Ultimately, CARE’s experience in poor communities strongly supports both
the need for increased investment of resources, and better use of those resources.
Our first, and most important, insight has been that “technical solutions” alone don’t bring
lasting results. For health impacts to be sustainable, they must address underlying causes of poor
health, be tailored to each cultural context and be broadly owned by local communities. For
example, emergency obstetric care is vital to reducing maternal mortality, but lasting
improvements in maternal health are not achieved simply by making such care available.
In rural Ayacucho, in Peru, CARE found that only one-third of women who needed obstetric
services actually accessed them; and of every 100,000 live births, 240 women died (by contrast,
in the United States, this ratio is 17 of every 100,000 live births). CARE did not approach this
2 Center for Global Development, Millions Saved: Proven Successes in Global Health, 2007 edition.

4)challenge as an exclusively medical problem. Rather, we tried to understand the health system in
Ayacucho as a unique social institution embedded in a specific community. We found that
women did not seek care because health center staff often did not speak Quechua (the local
language) and women did not feel welcome there. Health center staff felt inferior to regional
hospital staff and often felt ridiculed by them when they referred an emergency case; they also
did not have means to transport emergency cases. Hospital staff were frustrated that emergency
referrals were often misdiagnosed or came too late to save women’s lives.
By working to understand the needs of rural women and health workers at various levels, and
removing blocks in the emergency referral system, CARE has helped to reduce maternal
mortality in Ayacucho by half. Now, all health centers in our project area and the regional
hospital have Quechua-speaking staff, a friendly environment, and culturally-appropriate options
for childbirth (such as vertical birthing chairs, preferred in Ayacucho). Emergency obstetric
protocols were developed by collaboration among doctors, nurses, midwives and Ministry of
Health staff, drawing from ideas and realities of rural health personnel. As a result of
competency-based training provided to rural health personnel and cost-effective resources like
two-way radios and ambulances, women’s conditions can now be diagnosed more accurately and
they can be transported to hospitals quickly. Currently, 75 percent of women who need obstetric
services can access them. A key aspect of CARE’s approach was building broad political will to
address the exceedingly high maternal mortality rate. As a result of Ayacucho’s success, in
January 2007, the Peruvian Minister of Health established new national clinical guidelines for
obstetric emergencies, based on those developed by this project.

5)Second, CARE has learned that individual and collective empowerment has much to do with
access to health care services, accountability of health systems and the ultimate health status of
the most vulnerable. Less power means less voice and less access, and that inequity results in
poorer health. In most developing countries, women and youth are the least powerful, and their
needs are often neglected. The roots of the health problems they face are often hidden, but we
must strive to uncover, understand and address them.
In Bangladesh, where CARE had been implementing a safe motherhood initiative, we
concluded that domestic violence was one of the greatest risks that women faced during
pregnancy. Even the best prenatal, obstetric and post-partum care could not fully help these
women, unless the phenomenon of rampant violence against women was also addressed.
CARE’s modified approach, of incorporating efforts to prevent and respond to violence against
women into safe motherhood work, holds much more promise not only of helping women have
healthier pregnancies but also of securing safer societies. In isolated southern Maniema province,
in the Democratic Republic of Congo, local health systems were devastated by war and women
had encountered brutal violence and rape in war-time. Many women had married young and had
multiple pregnancies, and CARE’s promotion of family planning and birth spacing was
welcomed as a respite – a chance to control at least one aspect of their bodies and lives. A young
woman named Anifa told us: “Normally, I’d be pregnant again, and able only to concentrate on
my new baby, and not my other children. Now that I can control my pregnancies, I can be sure
that my kids go to school. I will see a better life through my children.”

6)Third, we have learned that dividing public health into various categories may be convenient
for allocating donor funding, but these inherently related issues have to be understood and
addressed within a broader and more integrated context. For example, we talk about maternal
mortality and child survival as separate issues, but we know that they cannot be separated. In
some countries, if a mother dies, the risk of death for her children under 5 doubles or triples.
When women cannot space the births of their children, both they and their children are less likely
to be healthy. Sometimes – as with HIV/AIDS and reproductive health – we not only pursue
them as separate issues, but also build parallel systems to deliver services. This is ultimately a
less efficient investment of resources as well as a barrier to effectiveness – for example, HIV
information and testing could reach many more women, in ways that are potentially less
stigmatizing, if they were made available through family planning or prenatal care services.
Even within CARE, which is considerably less complex than the U.S. government, maintaining a
system-wide view and integrating across various sectors and technical specialties is a challenge.
We are constantly trying to do better.
Finally, we at CARE have been dismayed to witness the increasing politicization of U.S.
foreign assistance related to programs that deal in any way with sex or reproduction.3 For
example, the abstinence-until-marriage earmark in the Global AIDS Act of 2003 requires that
one-third of all HIV prevention funding be spent on abstinence programs. Administrative
guidance issued by the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator translates this earmark into a
requirement that fully two-thirds of funding for preventing sexual transmission of HIV be spent
on abstinence and fidelity programs. It also permits condoms to be provided only to sexually-
3 In addition to the abstinence-until-marriage earmark and the Mexico City Policy, increased politicization is also
evident in the requirement of the Global AIDS Act of 2003 that organizations must adopt a policy opposing
prostitution and sex trafficking in order to be eligible for HIV/AIDS funding authorized under the Act.

7)active youth, with little recognition of the fact that those who are not sexually-active today may
be so tomorrow (no matter how much we urge them to be abstinent) due to economic pressures
driving transactional sex or vulnerability to sexual violence. Although the earmark governs only
the U.S. government’s HIV/AIDS responses, the message that A and B are the priorities have
strongly influenced U.S. reproductive health programs – especially those working with
adolescents. The spillover effect is that reproductive health programs targeting youth are
increasingly constrained in terms of the information and services they can provide – as a result,
U.S. funded programs are less effective at protecting young people from pregnancy, or HIV and
other STDs.
From CARE’s perspective, family planning and women’s reproductive health have become
too politicized and are losing ground on the U.S. global health agenda. The Mexico City Policy,
in particular, is symbolic of this politicization and has caused much difficulty for implementers
of reproductive health programs. Much of the work of international NGOs like CARE is done in
partnership with local organizations. In the reproductive health field, many of the best local
organizations provide comprehensive family planning services, sometimes including counseling
on safe abortion. The Mexico City Policy prohibits organizations like CARE from working with
such organizations, and in some cases, prevents us from working with the only organizations that
are capable of providing the most basic family planning services. Thus, it diminishes not just the
availability of these services but also their quality.
These are just some of CARE’s experiences that are pertinent to the matters at hand today.
Given what we have learned, I want to urge you to consider the following:

8)First, invest more – and more strategically – in reducing maternal mortality and child
survival. On this, the twentieth anniversary of the global safe motherhood movement, the slow
progress on reducing maternal mortality undermines America’s deeply-held commitment to
strengthening health and well-being throughout the world. We must gather the will and do much
better. Over the past five years, U.S. commitments to maternal and child health funding have not
kept pace either with unmet needs or with increasing growth in other international health
accounts. I urge you to provide strong funding levels for international maternal and child health
programs in 2008. In particular, CARE strongly supports the requested U.S. “fair share” levels
outlined by Nils Daulaire on behalf of the Global Health Council for maternal and child health,
and I urge their adoption by this committee in the coming appropriations process.
The vast majority of maternal deaths are due to hemorrhage, infection and obstructed labor
and can be easily prevented or treated. For each of the half a million women who die of
complications during pregnancy and childbirth, 30 others are injured, many of them in seriously
disabling and socially devastating ways. Women with obstetric fistulas, for example, are often
abandoned by their families and condemned to isolation. The lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy
or childbirth is 1 in 16 for women in developing countries, as compared to 1 in 2800 in
developed countries. In Afghanistan, where 95 percent of women deliver their babies at home,
without a skilled attendant on hand, the lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy or childbirth is one in six.

9)We must invest more strategically, not only to strengthen and expand all levels of health care
(particularly speed of emergency referrals and quality of emergency obstetric care) but also to
remove barriers to women’s access to health systems and services. We must strive to ensure that
all pregnant women have a skilled attendant at delivery; this need not be a doctor, but must be
someone who can diagnose complications, administer drugs to manage them, and (where
possible) refer women to emergency obstetric care. Drugs like misoprostol, which are cheap and
easy to administer, can help strengthen contractions and control post-partum haemorrhage, and
could ultimately increase the effectiveness of skilled attendants and reduce maternal mortality.
Maternal health and child survival go together—this is why funding to reduce maternal
mortality is such a smart investment. Four million babies die each year in the first month of their
life; that is roughly the equivalent of all babies born in the United States in one year. Simple
interventions like promoting breastfeeding, oral rehydration therapy, vaccinations, clean water,
and insecticide-treated bed nets could make a huge impact on child survival, even where health
systems are weak. USAID’s Child Survival and Health Grants Program has done excellent work
in this area and deserves your increased support.4 In partnership with this program, CARE has
worked in the extremely poor far-west region in Nepal to reduce under-five mortality by 53
percent. A key approach in Nepal was community case management, whereby volunteers are
trained to provide an antibiotic to treat pneumonia. This intervention effectively prevents
pneumonia deaths in communities where many families do not have the money or means of
transportation to see a doctor in time. In settings as diverse as Nepal, Mozambique and Sierra
4 The analysis referenced in Footnote 1 indicates that these projects saved more than 16,000 lives of children under five.

10)Leone, CARE has achieved significant reductions in under-five mortality for a cost per life saved of between $740 and $980.
Second, recommit to the importance of family planning. Access to family planning
services represents one of the most cost-effective investments the U.S. can make in the future of
women, children, communities and nations. Family planning returns enormous value in
improved health outcomes, economic development and national security. Yet, the
administration’s budget request proposes a 23 percent cut in family planning funding for 2008.
I urge you to not only restore the cut, but also provide significantly increased funding levels for
international family planning, as the request outlined by the Global Health Council indicates.
The ability to decide when, with whom and how often to have children is key not only to the
individual futures of women and girls, but also to the development of countries struggling to
overcome poverty. Although methods for avoiding unwanted pregnancies are cheap and
effective, every year, 80 million women have unintended pregnancies. The unmet need for
contraception is closely related to maternal mortality: if every woman who needed contraception
had access to it, an estimated 20-35 percent of maternal deaths could be averted. However, with
other health priorities taking precedence, family planning seems to be declining in importance.
Between 1995 and 2003, donor support for family planning (commodities and service delivery)
fell from $560 million to $460 million.
The rationale provided by the administration for the 23 percent cut in family planning funds
for 2008 is that these efforts have been so successful that they don’t require as much U.S.

11)investment going forward. Unfortunately, that is hardly the case. Large pockets of substantial
unmet need still remain, and gains are reversed all too quickly when they are not reinforced.
Kenya, for example, had a fertility rate of about eight births per woman in the 1960s. After
decades of investment in family planning services, the fertility rate had fallen to 4.8 births per
woman in 1998. In the past few years, however, attention has shifted away from family
planning. As a result, availability of contraceptives at health facilities declined, as did outreach
services. Sadly, between 1998 and 2003, the proportion of births reported by mothers as
unwanted rose from 11 percent to 21 percent.
On a related note, I also want to register our concern about recent reports that the World
Bank’s draft health, nutrition and population strategy omits any commitments to family planning.
This strategy is under review as we speak today and, if approved, could deal a serious blow to
reproductive health programs all over the world. CARE urges the United States, as the largest
shareholder of the World Bank, to underscore the importance of family planning and
reproductive health in achieving progress on multiple fronts, including economic development,
basic education and public health.
Third, commit to evidence-based reproductive health programming for youth that is
grounded in sound public health practice. The impending “youth bulge”, anticipated by
demographers, demands that we act effectively, realistically and rapidly. Sadly, the new strategic
framework for U.S. foreign assistance fails to highlight the specific needs of youth, and places
their critical needs underneath a broader umbrella. Although the intent to “mainstream” youth
reproductive health is laudable, our observation is that fewer and fewer U.S. funding.

12)opportunities are addressing youth issues – and we believe this important issue may be falling
through the cracks.
Young people, especially girls and young women, are vulnerable on many fronts, but
especially when it comes to pregnancy, STDs and HIV/AIDS. They are less likely than older
people to protect themselves, either because they are not aware of – or cannot access – the
protective measures that can keep them safe or because they have less control over the terms of
sexual relations. We must ensure that the needs and rights of the most vulnerable young people
are protected: for example, adolescents at risk of inter-generational or transactional sex; girls at
risk of child marriage; young people who are victims of gender-based violence; and youth in
conflict or post-conflict settings. Many young people fall into the category of orphans and
vulnerable children (OVCs), orphaned or made vulnerable due to HIV/AIDS, other diseases and
conflict, and are left without parental guidance and are particularly vulnerable to sexual
exploitation. These young people are at risk of unplanned pregnancies, HIV/AIDS and other
STDs, and therefore, are badly in need of comprehensive reproductive health services
Fourth, eliminate legal barriers that impede evidence-based programming in
reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, especially related to vulnerable women and
adolescents. I urge Congress to repeal the abstinence-until-marriage earmark and request the
Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator to revise its ABC guidance in a way that promotes
(rather than discourages) comprehensive sex education. I also urge Congress to repeal the
Mexico City Policy – there is no evidence that having this policy in place has reduced the
number of abortions performed. In fact, by cutting off funds to foreign family planning.

13)organizations that reject its conditions, the Mexico City Policy has most likely increased the
number of unplanned pregnancies and led to increased numbers of abortions sought.
In some of the countries in which CARE works, we see the implementation of the ABC
approach translating into the operational message that abstinence and fidelity are the most
desirable and moral options, and positioning condoms as something used only by people
engaging in risky sex or as a “last resort”. When Uganda first developed the ABC approach, it
was compelling because it demystified HIV/AIDS and communicated that individuals had the
power to protect themselves by choosing among A, B or C options. Delaying sexual debut and
partner reduction is absolutely vital to preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections,
but that does not mean that A, B and C should be broken up into parts and promoted to different
segments of the population. In settings where risk of HIV infection is high, it is a disservice to
not provide comprehensive information and prevention methods to young people who are not yet
sexually active. The young girl who we counsel today about abstinence may be married
tomorrow (or coerced into transactional sex), and we have an obligation to prepare her for the
future.
Finally, invest more broadly and strategically in global health and development. The
U.S. leadership on HIV/AIDS has been admirable, but it must be accompanied by broader
investments that promote community-led development, strengthen health care systems and build
workforce capacity. We cannot save babies from contracting HIV only to see them dying of
diarrhea or languishing without access to basic health and social services. Our investments in
drugs, tests and other health interventions will be constrained if there are not enough health.

14)workers to administer them. If all boats don’t rise at similar levels, the bold investment in
HIV/AIDS may fail to deliver on its promise – and other areas in which gains have been made
over several decades may be undermined. We cannot let that happen.
I want to thank you for inviting me here today and I look forward to answering your
questions. CARE has been a partner in the fight against global poverty with the U.S.
government and the American people for more than half a century and we are grateful for what
your support allows us to do in thousands of poor communities around the world. We look
forward to a future of productive partnership and exchange.


For the past 61 years, CARE has worked across a spectrum of poverty-fighting arenas — from child survival to clean water, and from basic education to HIV/AIDS. We believe that poor health and extreme poverty are intertwined, and that one cannot be overcome if the other is neglected. That is why we work on a broad range of health issues, including maternal and child health, infectious diseases, ranging from HIV/AIDS to avian influenza and reproductive health.

Take Action on this Issue
Send this message to:
Representative Frank Wolf
Senator Jim Webb
Senator John Warner .

Sincerely,
Lincoln Oviedo
90 stayman turn ct
Linden VA 22642

Help keep lifesaving medicines affordable

Help keep lifesaving medicines affordable.

Tell Novartis: Drop the Case!

For millions of poor people throughout the world, generic drugs manufactured in India are a lifeline. In AIDS-wracked countries like Lesotho and Zimbabwe, more than 90 percent of lifesaving antiretroviral drugs are imported from India.

The pharmaceutical company Novartis is suing the Indian government to change a section of the country’s patent law that safeguards public health. If Novartis wins this case, the production of Indian generic drugs could be cut back – and millions of people around the world could lose access to the medicine they need to survive.

Join us in telling Novartis that people are more important than patents! Add your name to the petition below asking Novartis to drop the case.

Dear Dr. Vasella:

As a supporter of CARE and an advocate for the world's poor, I urge you to drop your lawsuit challenging the public health safeguard in Section 3(d) of India's patent law.

Novartis' action could constrain poor people's access to essential drugs, not only in India but also worldwide. In most developing countries, access to Indian generic drugs is a lifeline for people who cannot afford innovator dugs. In fact, the ability of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to dramatically increase the numbers of people on AIDS treatment has been made possible partly by Indian generics.

The TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration provide flexibility for developing countries to balance patent protection with public health imperatives. I urge you to respect the public health safeguards in India's patent law.

What's At Stake?
Help keep lifesaving medicines affordable
Poor health and poverty go hand-in-hand. Often, lifesaving drugs are widely available, but priced out of reach of the people who need them most. While this inequity cannot be solved through the production of generic drugs alone, generic competition has been critical in expanding access and saving lives in the face of the devastating AIDS pandemic.

In the 1990s, before pharmaceutical companies made major price reductions and generic antiretroviral drugs, or ARVs, were accessible in developing countries, HIV meant a rapid decline in health and certain death. Indian-made generic alternatives sold at a fraction of the price of brand-name drugs have been key to making lifesaving AIDS treatment a reality for more than 2 million people.

In fact, Indian generic drugs have enabled the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to rapidly expand access to AIDS treatment. Purchase of generic drugs has led to cost savings that enable PEPFAR to provide additional ARVs to thousands more people.

International trade and patent rules provide developing countries the flexibility to balance patent protection with public health imperatives. The government of India has used this flexibility to define what is “patentable” in India: Innovative drugs are issued a patent, and those that reflect minor changes to an existing drug are not.

After its patent application for Glivec, a cancer drug, was rejected for not meeting the standard of innovation required, Novartis filed a lawsuit challenging Section 3(d) of India’s Patents Act, which defines what is patentable. If Novartis wins this lawsuit, incremental changes to existing drugs would be patentable and thus fewer drugs could be generically produced. Ultimately, this could jeopardize access to vital medications for millions of people.

Two-thirds of generic drugs manufactured in India are exported to other developing countries. In the context of the global AIDS crisis, the Novartis lawsuit threatens to reverse impressive treatment gains at a critical time. More than 5 million people who urgently need ARVs still do not have access to them. We cannot allow anything to impede the global effort to achieve universal access to treatment by 2010.

CARE urges Novartis to drop its Section 3(d) lawsuit in India and pursue solutions that do not have potentially grave consequences for the lives of poor people. We call upon our supporters and friends to ask the same of Novartis. Click here to add your name and ask Novartis to drop the case.

Take Action on this Issue
Send this message to:
Dr. Daniel Vasella

Sincerely,
Lincoln Oviedo
90 stayman turn ct
Linden VA 22642

I know that Novartis strives to be a socially responsible company. I call on you to demonstrate such responsibility in India. Lives are at stake - please drop the case!

Act now to stop violence against women

Welcome to my CARE Corps Online advocacy Blog.

The fight against poverty can't be won alone.

Please join me in speaking out now about the important issues below.

1)Act now to stop violence against women.
Gender-related violence is a daily, and often deadly, fact of life for millions of women and girls around the world. One in three of the world’s women will experience violence in her lifetime – whether she is attacked on the street, in the workplace, in the home or during times of war and armed conflict.

Now is the time to take action against the acts of violence perpetrated daily against women around the globe. As a world leader, the United States must take a stand!

Ask your members of Congress to support legislation to increase the U.S. commitment to eliminating violence against women.

As a constituent and supporter of CARE, I am writing to ask for your support in the global fight to stop violence against women.

One in three of the world's women will experience violence in her lifetime. This systemic abuse presents an enormous barrier to the advancement of women, limiting a woman's ability to live a full and productive life and hampering her potential contributions to family, society and economic development.

In the coming weeks, Congress will introduce the International Violence Against Women Act. This bill will seek to increase the U.S. commitment to eliminating violence against women globally. It will integrate policies that help prevent and reduce gender-based violence into existing U.S. foreign assistance and development programs.

I urge you to learn more about this issue and support legislation to help stop global violence against women!

Thank you very much for your time and attention and please support any and all efforts to eliminate violence against women worldwide.
What's At Stake?
Act now to stop violence against women
Gender-based violence is a problem of epidemic proportions that has far-reaching consequences. Violence against women is linked to some of the world's greatest development and human rights challenges, including poverty, conflict, HIV and global health.

Violence against women is a human rights violation that has devastating impacts on the health of women and impedes a woman's right to equality, development, security and peace.

The terms "violence against women" and "gender-based violence" are used to refer to a range of abuses committed against women that stem from gender inequality and women's subordinate status in society relative to men. In 1993, the U.N. Vienna Declaration and Program of Action defined "violence against women" as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."

Throughout the world, violence against women and girls is perpetrated within marriage and families by husbands, intimate partners and relatives; within communities by strangers and traditional leaders; in the workplace; across international borders as women are trafficked for sex and labor; and as a tool of war by military forces.

Gender-based violence is a barrier to women's economic and social development and is a widespread international public health issue. Violence and coercion can result in serious injury, death or illness, and contribute to unintended pregnancy, complications of pregnancy and childbirth, maternal mortality, unsafe abortion, HIV infection, child and infant mortality and a host of other adverse outcomes. Violence against women also undermines efforts to improve child, family, and community health and reduce the spread of HIV.

Although the picture is bleak, there are steps we can take to find a solution. As a global leader, the United States must continue to invest in a world where women feel safe in their homes, on the streets and at their jobs. This will enable them to build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities. Countries can take critical steps in ending violence against women by improving women's status in society, enforcing laws to protect women and prosecute perpetrators, and offering treatment for women. The United States can take critical steps in ending violence against women by:



Increasing women's economic empowerment and education
Increasing women's access to health care
Improving security in humanitarian and crisis situations
Promoting legal reforms and social norms to better address gender-based violence

U.S. investments to help reduce violence against women can create safer, more stable communities and improve the quality of life for women and their families worldwide!

In the coming weeks, Congress is expected to introduce the "International Violence Against Women Act." This bill will seek to increase the U.S. commitment to eliminating violence against women globally by integrating policies that help prevent and reduce gender-based violence into existing U.S. foreign assistance and development programs.

Urge your member of Congress to learn more about this issue and support legislation to help stop global violence against women!


Send this message to:

Representative Frank Wolf
Senator Jim Webb
Senator John Warner

Sincerely,
Lincoln Oviedo
90 stayman turn ct
Linden VA 22642