UNIVERSITY COALITIONS for GLOBAL HEALTH

Action Alert: Call In and help “PEP Up PEPFAR”

Here’s a script for the super-urgent calls to Congress! We know that the bill reauthorizing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is great. However, some Republicans are threatening to strip all the new, bold visioning programs from the bill. The Democrats have promised to back the proposed bill - they just have to show up to vote. Now is the time to make sure the bill survives committee intact; now is the time to call the Democrats.

1. Call up the offices by Wednesday at the latest, and the receptionist will answer.

2. Say your name, and that you are with the University Coalitions for Global Health. If you are from the same state as the listed Member of Congress, say you’re from that state. If you’re not from his/her state, don’t worry about mentioning where you’re from. The key here is volume, so even if you’re not from the same state, call anyway.

3. Explain that you’d like Rep. ____ to make sure to vote in committee on Feb. 7th on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Here’s a sample script:

* On Feb. 7th, the Foreign Affairs Committee will be voting on reauthorization of U.S. global AIDS and health programs. Chairman Lantos has written a truly important bill that will prevent the senseless death of 3 million people worldwide each year.

* This bill needs to pass the Committee with at least $50 billion for global AIDS over five years, and include the important new targets for treatment, health workers, and require the purchase of the best quality medication available at the lowest cost.

* The only way to ensure that the bill emerges in the best form possible is for every Democratic Committee Member to show up at 1pm on Feb. 7th and stay until the voting is completed. Will Rep. ______ be attending the entirety of the markup?

Call the following members of the House Foreign Operations Committee:

HIGH PRIORITY: If your setting up a call in day, call all of these Representatives:
Faleomavaega (Amer. Samoa) — (202) 225-8577
Ackerman (NY) — (202) 225-2601
Delahunt (MA) — (202) 225-3111
Smith (WA) — (202) 225-8901
Klein (FL) — 202-225-3026
Sherman (CA) 202-225-5911

MID-PRIORITY: Have your core chapter members call all of these Representatives:
Wexler (FL) — (202) 225-3001
Engel (NY) — (202) 225-2464
Delahunt (MA) — 202-225-3111
Meeks (NY) — 202/225-3461
Watson (CA) — 202-225-7084
Carnahan (MO) — (202) 225-2671
Tanner (TN) — (202) 225-4714
Green (TX) — (202) 225-1688
Woolsey (CA) — 202-225-5161
Jackson Lee (TX) — (202) 225-3816
Hinojsa (TX) — (202) 225-2531
Crowley (NY) — (202) 225-3965
Wu (OR) — (202) 225-0855
Linda Sanchez (CA) — (202) 225-6676
Scott (GA) — (202) 225-2939
Costa (CA) — 202-225-3341
Sires (NJ) — 202-225-7919
Giffords (AZ) — (202) 225-2542

For background information, check out this site, and you can also download the Student Global AIDS Campaign “Pep Up PEPFAR” toolkit.

Email sdevita@globalhealth.org if you have an questions. Good luck!

Hello UCGHers!

As you’re participating in your call-in day to Representative Ros-Lehtinen below are some thoughts from the Student Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC) Mid-Atlantic Coordinator Tucker about why he was surrounded by hundreds of socks on Capitol Hill.

Tuesday was sock day. A group of dedicated activists from SGAC, ACT UP Philadelphia, Health GAP, UCGH, Americans for Informed Democracy and Advocates for Youth gathered on Capitol Hill to call on Congress to fund PEPFAR fully and create greater flexibility in the global AIDS legislation, including comprehensive sex education, accessible treatment, a repeal of the anti-prostitution loyalty pledge, and support for in-country healthcare workers.

Despite the cold and the rain, grassroots activists from DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey came together to deliver hundreds of socks strung on clotheslines and shoved into laundry bags and backpacks. We urged Representative Ros-Lehtinen and Senator Lugar not to get COLD FEET when it comes to PEPFAR.

Some congressional staffers were receptive to our concerns, reminding us that global AIDS is not a partisan issue and encouraging us to continue the struggle for universal access to prevention, care, and treatment.

Unfortunately, some members of Congress, despite recognizing that AIDS lies beyond party lines, will continue to weaken the legislation. Our goal as a student movement is to remind our representatives that PEPFAR is about one fundamental thing: saving lives. Apparently, that is easy to forget in the crazy political mess that is Congress. That is why we have to keep our representatives in line—hold them accountable! We must call upon important and influential representatives such as Ros-Lehtinen to stand for conscience and medical fact.

Those of us who took part in Tuesday’s action, those of us who have had the opportunity to lobby our representatives in Washington or in our home states, can attest that we have social power as students. We are the grassroots movement, and we do make a difference when we mobilize effectively. That is why we all must rally together in unison and urge Representative Ros-Lehtinen to forget about divisive political agendas when it comes to something so vitally important as saving lives.

- Tucker Landesman is a member of George Washington University’s SGAC chapter and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Outreach Coordinator

Hi All!

Check out this action that our partners Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) are doing for the State of the Union Address tonight.

Stay tuned to hear from UCGH on the State of the Union tomorrow!

Hi All—World AIDS Day was an eventful and productive weekend for UCGH. Our excellent student leaders and member organizations worked together to create a unified demand to change the U.S. approach to the global and domestic HIV/AIDS pandemic at events across the nation!

Here is a brief recap of the events:

Washington D.C.
In Washington DC, UCGH partnered with community and national organizations to hold a rally in front of the White House. This included some of our closest allies at the Student Global AIDS Campaign, Center for Health and Gender Equity, American Medical Student Association, DC Fights Back, Africa Action, among others. On Nov. 30th, these groups came together to hold a march, rally and vigil in Washington DC. Representative Eleanor Holmes Horton spoke on the need for AIDS relief both domestically and internationally (Washington D.C. has the highest rate of HIV infection in the U.S. and President Bush is recommending that Congress flat fund the PEPFAR program at $30 billion USD). Later, students took their complaints directly to the White House and performed an act of civil disobedience. The students’ white shirts proclaimed bold statements: “At Risk: Youth; At Risk: African American; and At Risk: Woman” were just some of the messages tattooed across their chests. As police gave their first warning for protesters to move off the White House lawn, students chanted back “Warning one, warning two, warning three, warning eight-We won’t leave until you cut the red tape!” The message was clear: more must be done at home and aboard to change the faulty and discriminatory polices of HIV/AIDS programming. The event received TONS media coverage and was a huge success! This rally launched our multi-city effort that linked to other UCGH World AIDS Day events across the country. Check out this media coverage of the D.C. rally.

Chicago
On November 30th, the day before World AIDS Day, over 100 medical students (mostly from the American Medical Student Association) from all over the Midwest joined the Chicago Women’s AIDS Project and other community members in downtown Chicago to ask the presidential candidates to reform PEPFAR. A rally was held in front of Senator Obama’s office, followed by a march to the Illinois Republican Party offices. We had three great speakers: Cathy from the Chicago Women’s AIDS Project who spoke on the need to remove the 1/3 abstinence-until-marriage earmark which puts women and youth at even greater risk, Matt Sharpe from the Test Positive Aware Network who spoke about his own experiences living with HIV and the need to sufficiently fund PEPFAR, and Senator Obama’s staffer who read a statement committing to our three demands. The rally and march got a great response from onlookers as the group chanted “Our Future, Our Crisis, Fight Global AIDS!”

San Francisco
In San Francisco UCGH, AMSA students and members of the community participated in a march and rally on World AIDS Day. Over 100 students marched to the steps of City Hall chanting for “PEPFAR Reform Now!” At the City Hall Steps, students were met by AMSA’s National President and Global AIDS Fellow, representatives from Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office, City Supervisor Tom Ammiano, and Dr. Sophy Wong from University of California, San Francisco. Together the students and speakers spoke about the need for PEPFAR Reform and the need for more physicians. The ralliers were met with supportive horn honking of cars passing by City Hall. An amazing success, many conference participants hailed this as the highlight of the weekend in San Francisco. This event got some excellent media coverage.

Dartmouth World AIDS Day Summit
Students and activists gathered from all over the Northeastern U.S. this past weekend for HIV/AIDS summit and activism training at Dartmouth College. The event was co-hosted by Americans for Informed Democracy (a UCGH member organization) and the UCGH student global health coalition at Dartmouth and included panel discussions with HIV/AIDS experts on topics ranging from how environmental factors impact the pandemic to the role that gender inequality has in contributing to the spread of the disease. Also, Dr. Nils Daulaire, M.D. M.P.H., C. Everett Koop, former U.S. surgeon general and Senator John Sununu gave the keynote addresses. This was an excellent opportunity for youth to see how politics impact AIDS. Following the educational morning sessions students were trained on advocacy techniques and how they can take action, especially during this U.S. primary season. Check out an article about this event.

At all of the weekend events students were collecting signatures for the UCGH “Reform PEPFAR” petition that we plan to deliver to congress and thus far, we’ve gathered over 200 signatures!

All of the students and national coordinators that participated in the UCGH events did an excellent job of making noise to create change! I hope everyone will join us in our efforts!

It’s an election year and that means our voices really matter-especially if you’re from New Hampshire, Iowa or South Carolina. Some of you will probably think I’m crazy and until a few months ago I would have entirely agreed with you, but I have seen the power that students have in influencing policy.

In the U.S. we are already utilizing the power of our voices to change the world for Presidential candidates. We’ve already changed the world for Senator John Edwards and Governor Richardson and are on our way with Senators Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Using a grassroots tactic called, bird-dogging, we have been able to influence the candidates’ domestic and global HIV/AIDS platforms.

Bird-dogging is the act of attending public appearances and asking questions about global health issues. Back in the 1980s, AIDS activists employed this technique to put the HIV/AIDS crisis on the map. We’re using the same strategy and demanding that our politicians deal with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This direct interaction between students and politicians can have a big impact! Simply by asking well articulated questions and attending public forums-like town hall meetings-we are able to influence and more importantly, educate politicians about global health issues.

In the U.S. there is a network of students from across the country hitting the campaign trail and demanding real answers to our global health questions. They have organized around the 08 STOP AIDS platform that includes language on everything from building health systems to ensuring fair trade laws for access to medications. We’ve already seen many successes, including Senator John Edwards’ public endorsement and incorporation of our recommendations into his HIV/AIDS platform

Recently, I had the privilege of attending the democratic debates at Dartmouth where I met some of the world’s best bird –doggers! They went to different candidates’ events and asked global health questions. After an hour of standing the rain and waiting for Senator Clinton to show, a student was able to get in a question;

“Senator Clinton, I’m happy to know that you intend to be the healthcare President, as a medical student health policy is essential to my work. I recently returned from studying in South Africa where I witnessed the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS in that country. I am worried that with PEPFAR flat funded at $30billion dollars the U.S. will not be a leader in combating the pandemic. As President would you be willing to spend at least $50billion dollars over the next five years to combat global HIV/AIDS?”

Senator Clinton responded by saying “Absolutely, more needs to be done for AIDS in developing countries.”

While this wasn’t a public statement, it is definitely a step in the right direction. In one night students were able to talk with Clinton, Biden, Obama, Dodd, Gravel and Kucinich!
I hope that you all will realize the importance of your opinions and become active in the election year!

Can I Change the World?

As students we should never underestimate our ability to change the world! It might sound cliché, but we are the future and if we intend to improve our world we need to start now. As the great Margaret Mead said “Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” All you have to do is find a way to get involved!

Hosted by the Global Health Council, UCGH is a coalition aimed at synergizing efforts among all global health-focused organizations and individuals with a university presence. Working at both the national and campus level, UCGH empowers and brings together student organizations to unite around common campaigns and projects, multiplying their impact on global health issues.

Every year UCGH mobilizes students around three global health issues. One of our most infamous campaign events occurred on World AIDS Day 2006. Students from all across the U.S. rallied, clutching the empty coats of doctors that have fallen victim to brain drain in sub-Saharan Africa, while 400 other students, dressed as giant needles, marched through the streets of Washington, D.C. demanding better legislation on access to essential medicines. Many people believe that the African Health Capacity Investment Act (currently in Congress) was introduced in part because of the student demand for increased support for health care workers-proof that students create change.

We’re considering the following global health issues for the coming academic year campaigns:
• Health as a Human Right
• Health Systems
• Access to Essential Medicines
• Child Health
• HIV/AIDS/PEPFAR Reauthorization

Please contact us if you have other ideas, want to learn more about UCGH or talk about the global health issues you’re been working to change!

In Solidarity,

Stephanie
UCGH Outreach Fellow