Earlier this week, I attended the Chicago Council's Symposium on Agriculture and Food Security, and for the second year in a row heard from experts in the fight against hunger. It's is one of the most important issues we need to address in the fight against extreme poverty - and with the introduction of the Food Aid Reform Act early last week in Congress, I'm ecstatic that smart changes are being proposed in order to more efficiently help the world's poor. The legislation, co-sponsored by bi-partisan leaders - Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Africa Subcommittee Ranking Member Karen Bass (D-CA) - will provide much needed flexibility and overdue reforms to the way the United States currently delivers its food aid.

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On Monday, May 27th, the US' President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, better known by its acronym PEPFAR, will turn 10.  To mark this milestone, here's a cheat sheet for the 10 things you should know about this incredible program: 1. It was truly groundbreaking when it was created for its focus on delivering treatment [...]

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Aljazeera: African Union seeks financial independence - The African Union has vowed to finance its working budget using mainly domestic resources as it marks its 50th anniversary this week. The new move is in line with Africa's renaissance and the commission's quest for complete independence and the commission wants to fully finance itself from resources [...]

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With little break after last year's spending challenges, ONE is once again gearing up for another major battle for the world's most vulnerable people.  That's right: it is time to begin work on the FY '14 appropriations bill. This week, the House Appropriations Committee announced how much they plan to make available or "allocate" in [...]

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Forbes: Mobile - A Bridge Across the Gender Divide - The digital divide continues to shrink throughout the world, but women in low-income countries do not have equal participation in this technological revolution. Although more than one billion women have access to a mobile phone in developing countries, a woman living there is still 21% [...]

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ONE Arts and Music Blogger Hannah Elansary interviews the ladies behind the Last Song Before the War, a documentary of the Festival au Desert in Mali. As Northern Mali continues to face instability, music serves as a powerful driver of cultural unification.  The riveting feature-length documentary, The Last Song Before the War, captures the importance [...]

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Earlier this week, I attended the Chicago Council's Symposium on Agriculture and Food Security, and for the second year in a row heard from experts in the fight against hunger. It's is one of the most important issues we need to address in the fight against extreme poverty - and with the introduction of the Food Aid Reform Act early last week in Congress, I'm ecstatic that smart changes are being proposed in order to more efficiently help the world's poor. The legislation, co-sponsored by bi-partisan leaders - Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Africa Subcommittee Ranking Member Karen Bass (D-CA) - will provide much needed flexibility and overdue reforms to the way the United States currently delivers its food aid.

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Forget "be the change" - try being the "momentum"!  A few months ago, Bono made a really huge statement during his TED Talk: Extreme poverty can be virtually eliminated by 2030. If it sounds too good to be true, consider this: it's going to take an extraordinary amount of support from both activists and world leaders [...]

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Stigma and discrimination are some of the worst things an HIV-positive person can encounter - and for those living in the developing world, it can be even harder if the person is gay.  Testing for HIV/AIDS. Photo credit: Morgana Wingard This can lead to being afraid of getting tested for HIV or getting treatment if [...]

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Yesterday, I had the fortunate opportunity to attend The Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium 2013, an annual event that brings some of the brightest and most innovative thinkers (and doers) to Washington, D.C. With an introductory message from USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and keynote remarks from Helene Gayle, CEO of CARE; Lauren Bush Lauren, [...]

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