Senators Daschle and Frist just returned from a trip to Rwanda where they learned some very encouraging things -- due to in large part an increase in bed net and anti-malarial medicine, there has been a 66% drop in deaths from malaria. But there is still much to be done.
In a couple of weeks, Senator Daschle and Frist will be meeting their parties' leaders as they write the policy agenda that will presented at the party conventions in Denver and Minneapolis. Tackling global poverty must be part of these policy priorities.
Sign the ONE petition seen below, and the Senators will deliver your signature when they meet with representatives from the Democratic Republican Parties to ask these political leaders to include extreme poverty and global disease in their 2008 platforms.
The petition: As a proud American, I urge you to make ending extreme poverty and global disease in the developing world a core part of your 2008 platform by including commitments to:Fight AIDS, TB and malaria and improve basic health services, particularly for mothers and young children Ensure access to clean water, basic sanitation and sufficient food supplies Spur economic growth through equitable trade and investment policies Modernize and increase development assistance, focusing on partnership, transparency and accountability Achieve universal primary education
As Sen. Daschle says: "My late friend Paul Wellstone was fond of saying that, “The poor don’t have a lobbyist. That’s why I went to Washington.” The hope for a better future that Senator Frist and I saw in Rwanda shows what’s possible when two million of us “go to Washington” on behalf of the world’s poorest people. This summer, together, we have the chance to go to Denver and Minneapolis and show that ending global poverty is a priority for both political parties."
Sign the petition at ONE.
