UNIVERSITY COALITIONS for GLOBAL HEALTH

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