Bob Dickerson, who can’t be with us today, shares his love with us!
Thank you, Bob, for your incredible work in the quest to end poverty.
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October 2014 National Grassroots Conference Call – Global Campaigns
Dr. Joanne Carter, Executive Director
Welcome everyone to our RESULTS October national conference call focused on global poverty issues
First a special welcome to any folks who are on the call for the first time. We are thrilled to have you. Welcome to new groups in Topeka and Phoenix, and I think I welcomed Burlington last month, but no downside in welcoming you again!
Our campaign is focused on one of the most powerful ways to accelerate the end of preventable child deaths by massively scaling up lifesaving vaccines and the infrastructure for countries to deliver these and other critical health interventions. And specifically our focus is to get the US government to come to the table with a bold $1 billion US 4-year pledge for the Gavi Vaccine alliance so that Gavi can support countries to vaccinate 300M kids and save 5-6 million children’s lives, AND protect tens of millions more kids from illness and malnutrition.
You have been doing fantastic work both with building support (and demonstrating support) for Gavi in Congress through the bipartisan Gavi resolutions. And also sending powerful messages to the administration (and to Congress) with the great media you’ve been generating.
It’s important to understand that you are the main folks in the US driving this Congressional support for Gavi AND media for the Gavi replenishment. I know we have this reflex to think that we’re a small part of the picture, but you’re not—you’re drivers of this campaign.
Our Legislative Director John Fawcett will provide more details later in the call but this is the moment where it’s critical to build on the great work you’ve done with Congress to now get our members of Congress to weigh in directly with the Obama administration in support of Gavi. If we can get members to weigh in directly with the Obama administration it can have a huge impact—I have seen this over and over in the last 20 years—literally that a few dozen letters from Congress can impact the administration or the World Bank to move hundreds of millions of dollars or key policies. That and your ongoing media are the best ways to secure US leadership.
The election season is a powerful tool for us—members are out in public more, want to be responsive AND are reading the media more carefully. Let’s keep using all of that to our advantage.
The Ebola emergency is understandably grabbing huge attention—and it’s critical to be responding with the urgency and scale needed. But in the midst of that tragedy is also a powerful opening—there is a focus on global health issues in ways we’ve rarely seen—I saw this when I was in NYC around the UN General Assembly and also at meetings here in DC—and policymakers are thinking about health capacity and how we build or rebuild systems to respond in the future.
Now it’s my real honor to introduce our very special conference call guest who is from Tanzania but who is with us in the RESULTS office in DC today:
Dr. Namala Mkopi is a pediatrician and leading advocate for child health and access to vaccines in his home country of Tanzania and he currently serves as the Secretary General for the Pediatric Association of Tanzania. He has deep expertise in pediatric medicine, research, and community-based child health issues. And he is a prominent voice for child health in Tanzania. He has presented and published on such subjects as under-nutrition among HIV positive children and the rotavirus vaccine in preventing diarrheal diseases in children.
He has been generous enough to take time from his intense work schedule in Tanzania to come to the US and help us to advocate for Gavi. Dr. Namala has been with a number of you across the country in the last few weeks—he’s been to Washington State, Portland, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, and Minneapolis and we’ve seen media pieces already in Seattle and Salt Lake and more to come.
We’re so grateful for your partnership.
Dr. Namala Mkopi
Opening questions from Dr. Carter: Just in the last two years, Tanzania has introduced new vaccines to protect against pneumococcus—which can cause pneumonia—and rotavirus—the leading cause of severe diarrhea. Can you share about the impact of those vaccines and the transformation you’ve seen since the roll out? And how does U.S. support for Gavi help reinforce the work you’re doing every day to care for children?
Gavi helped us to launch vaccines against rotavirus and pneumonia in 2012. Used to see 20 beds with 3 kids + kids on floor - now may only see 5 or 10 kids at one time.
But not every child has equal opportunity to receive these vaccines.
When my son was born 3 years ago, rotavirus vaccine wasn’t in the country at the time. Had to be obtained from Nairobi. Power cuts were happening, so keeping the vaccine at the right temperature was a challenge.
As a pediatrician – and as a father – I see hope and changes on the horizon.
And now that I know RESULTS and have worked with you, I am a different person.
Q&A:
Q: What percentage of kids in Tanzania have been vaccinated from rotavirus now? At the 80 + 90% level, depending on location.
Q: How has Gavi been able to assist in strengthening health infrastructure in Tanzania? There is an infrastructure problem, but it has been worked on for some time and has seen significant improvement over the past 15 years. Gavi has been hard at work at infrastructure improvement in many areas, and there is a knock-on effect for dealing with other healthcare issues. Tanzania is one of the examples of how health care infrastructure and vaccine delivery work hand-in-glove.
Q: During your recent US media tour, have you learned anything about main objections newspapers have re: covering this issue? Or things that have clicked? Children have a right to live. And the recipient countries’ own funding commitments are growing and noteworthy. Self-sustainability is a key goal.
Dr. Carter, continued:
- I mentioned last month that New York Times columnist Nick Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn have a new book, A Path Appears, about civic engagement in solving poverty issues and there is a powerful page and a half early on in the book about RESULTS and it is a wonderful opportunity because Nick Kristof really wants the book and his work to help the issues and help RESULTS.
Look for book tour opportunities, share the book with folks who may not know us, and we’ve invited him to the International conference:
- Our 2015 RESULTS conference in Washington DC is July 18-22. So please mark your calendars—we want to see all of you there!
- Malala’s Nobel Peace Prize powerfully raises the issue of the right for every child to be in school but also the power of individuals as advocates and our ability to shape our response to circumstances.
Malala’s quote from her 2013 UN speech:
They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed. And out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born…Dear sisters and brothers, I am not against anyone. Neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I am here to speak for the right of education for every child.
John Fawcett, Legislative Director
Unfortunately, because of global health crises like the tragic Ebola outbreak, we have a very uncommon opportunity to be part of water cooler conversations happening on global health, health system infrastructure, etc. Gavi is a leader on that.
H.Res. 688, led by Reps. Reichert + McCollum – 15 Rs, 35 Ds. A cosponsor’s name can only officially be added to the resolution, so if a Rep. has said she/he would cosponsor, check back after the election. Senate Foreign Relations will be leading on a Senate version of the resolution after the long recess.
We are also asking our members of Congress to write the White House about requesting a $1 billion, 4-year pledge at the 2015 replenishment conference for Gavi. Even a small number of letters will pack a huge punch. We have an action sheet and supporting materials to help you.
Top key Democrat leaders will be leading their own sign-on letter, co-led by Reps. Schiff and Engel, and we have about 20 key signer targets. If your representative is a target signature, you’ll be hearing from staff soon. Otherwise, your legislators can still write their own letter.
Plus, our media work – that’s the kind of work that made the historic Global Fund pledge last fall possible. You are already hard at work with this as well.
Open Phones: What’s a message, story, stat you’ve used in town halls or in media that’s working? That didn’t work? That you want to ask opinions about?
- Reaching out to grasstops: The power of NOW. Know you’re offering a great opportunity to your contact, and tap into the fact that your effort to connect with others is part of your commitment to ending poverty in the world.
- Who can you be talking to? Pediatricians (American Academy of Pediatricians), Lions Club
- Remember to build relationships with aide staff, both in DC and in-state of in-district. Think strategically about the leadership positions and interests your members have. And remember to go for it in terms of your requests, both in boldness but also in articulating your personal commitment to the issue. (And follow up!)
- A striking number of metaphorical plane-loads of children “crash” each day due to the poverty-related diseases we are trying to prevent. If this kind of reality is conveyed passionately and personally by you – or if you offer illustrations that are relatable – that makes an impact on the listener.
Ken Patterson, Director of Global Grassroots Advocacy
Thanks for all the great ideas on today’s call. It’s important for us to learn from each other and remember that the when we end preventable child deaths is a decision, a question of political will, and we are helping drive that timeline. On slide 6 of today’s PowerPoint, you’ll see the graph that was put up at the IC with three lines on it representing three paths to ending preventable child deaths. Nowhere on that graph does it say, “if we find a vaccine to a particular ailment we can end child deaths earlier.” No scientific breakthroughs are required—it’s all a matter of choice. And if I’m a woman thinking about having children in Africa or a man thinking about starting my family in southeast Asia, I kind of want us to hurry up so that I have the best chance of having my children survive.
I have a couple of announcements and a share today before do a quick polling question and learn the laser talk:
- We have some financial resources to support groups in doing outreach to build your groups and build partnerships in your community. The application will be out this week. You’ll give us your concept, plan, and budget, we’ll review and let you know if you can proceed. When you’ve complete your project you’ll submit your receipts and be reimbursed. I encourage you to think about how you can bring in new potential activists and to consider working with local members of the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) and your local Lions Club. We can help you find local AAP members and you can find Lions Club chapters on the internet. Lions is a contributor to Gavi.
- As you all know by now, there is a nice section in Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s new book, A Path Appears, on RESULTS. This is a great opportunity to show up at their book signings and events and give them an opportunity to speak about RESULTS and invite them to the IC.
- I want to thank all of the groups and individuals who are planning fundraising events so far this fall. There is a great list of these on slide 8 in the powerpoint as well as links to their events and fundraising pages. We are needing to raise about $13k with our Friends and Family campaigns between now and the end of the year so it would be great if more of us organized some individual or group campaigns to fill that gap. Jen DeFranco () from our development team can help you set up a fundraising page. There are some ideas and resources for this on slide 9 of the PowerPoint.
- One more announcement, a reminder that the November national conference call is at 11:30 am ET on November 8 and it will be an international webinar with partners from the UK and Canada joining us. Geoff, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at Gavi will be our guest speaker.
- So here is our polling question for today: How many Reps and Senators will you ask to write to the President on Gavi in the next 3 weeks? (Responses will be tallied and shared with group leaders.)
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Laser Talk
Asking Your Rep. or Senator to Write to the President on a $1 Billion Gavi Pledge
Engage: Health crises like the Ebola outbreak are dominating the headlines, and Americans are wondering, “What can we do to help those who are suffering and protect ourselves?”
Problem: If we don’t create stronger health delivery systems, we undermine our ability to respond to these crises.
Inform: Fortunately, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is providing lifesaving vaccines to poor nations and strengthening their healthcare systems to better handle crises.
Call to Action: Gavi is a good investment. Will you write to President Obama and ask that the US commit to $1 billion over 4 years at the January 2015 Gavi replenishment conference?
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Additional Fundraising information
Some of our groups, and volunteers, have events coming up before the end of the year, or have already kicked off their Friends and Family Campaigns for the fall, and we want to thank them for hosting either an actual, or virtual, event to support RESULTS/REF. Note that there is still time to successfully execute an online donation campaign before the end of the year - simply contact Jen DeFranco () or Jerusa Contee () to set up your Friends and Family Virtual campaign today!
Columbus, Ohio - October 19th
Santa Fe, New Mexico - November 9th
Detroit, Michigan - November 16
Houston, Texas - November 21
Austin, Texas - November 22
Portland, OR - December 6
Seattle, WA - December - December 15
RESULTS Dallas - Virtual Thanksgiving Feast
RESULTS DC - Virtual Thanksgiving Feast
Lisa Marchal's Birthday Page
Bloomington, Indiana Friends and Family
Cindy Levin's Race to End Poverty
We are trying to reach our Friends and Family goal of $25,000 by the end of the year... we are currently well short of that goal - will you help us reach it? We have the following campaigns up and ready to participate today!
• Friends and Family Campaign site:
• Virtual Thanksgiving site:
• Friends and Family Celebrations site:
• Friends and Family Run site: