human rights

On Thursday, October 29, over 20 organizations (including my employer, Advocates for Youth) that work across the spectrum of global health advocacy and practice came together on Capitol Hill in partnership with the Congressional Global Health Caucus to offer support and recommendations for Members of Congress and the Obama Administration on how to best realize the goals of President Obama’s Global Health Initiative, announced last May with the release of his Fiscal Year 2010 budget request.

During the briefing, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-4-MN) (Appropriator and Founding Chairman of the Congressional Global Health Caucus), Rep. Diane Watson (D-33-CA) (Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Democratic Chair of the Congressional Women’s Caucus) spoke to their commitment to the United States’ engagement with the rest of the world through investments in global health.

Rep. Watson put this messaging in context when she noted that throughout the war in Iraq, the United States has spent approximately $15 billion per month. “You do the math,” she said, emphasizing the disparity between our expenditures on military engagement overseas and our expenditures on global health (which are by no means small, but in comparison to the military, are quite meager). Rep. Watson stressed the need for the United States to engage with the world not with a gun but with a supportive hand, noting especially the need to “train and educate young people,” while Rep. McCollum noted the need to offer young women access to education and health care services so they can make responsible decisions for their future.

These points could not be more important to note in the entire reshuffling process that’s occurring right now in U.S. foreign assistance—from the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) at the State Department, to the President’s Study on Development (PSD) and the President’s Global Health Initiative (GHI) at the White House, to the re-write of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 being ambitiously undertaken in the House and Senate. With so many moving parts, all with the intent of ensuring that U.S. engagement with low and middle income countries is responding to so-called “21st-century challenges,” policy makers must seize this opportunity to engage the world’s three billion young people under the age of 25 in their efforts to make the United States’ foreign assistance have a sustainable and deeply-seeded positive impact for the long term.

The engagement of Millennials in the United States in the future direction of U.S. foreign policy and global health policy is crucial. Young people in the United States, especially students, many of whom have taken to degrees or minors in international affairs and/or global health, have been a driving force in raising the profile of global health policy and programs among fellow Americans in recent years. (See organizations such as the Student Global AIDS Campaign, Global Justice, University Coalitions for Global Health, Globe Med, among many others.)

In addition to those studying the subjects, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the number of American students studying abroad increased 150 percent from 1996 to 2006, and the number remains on the rise (though it has been constrained by a decreasing dollar value and increased higher education costs). Further, others fortunate to secure financial means to do so have participated in international volunteer trips and have contributed to development of healthcare infrastructure and provision of services in their volunteer work. Having been privileged enough to study abroad myself, this experience can transform one’s notion of what is “foreign,” making it clear that no matter where one was born, without health, it is very difficult to fully realize one’s dreams or one’s rights.

For many Millennials, it should be noted, these opportunities—both to study international affairs/global health and/or participate in study/volunteer/work abroad programs—are out of reach, due to any number of obstacles. And for many young people, the challenges faced by their local community—ranging from lack of access to education, healthcare, and civic engagement, among others—can be more pressing than anything beyond our country’s borders.

However, even these Millennials constitute part of the majority of young people who are making an indelible mark on the legal and philosophical and civic fabric of the U.S. approach to health policy through a strong belief in access to health care as a human right, not as a luxury good. According to a 2008 American National Election Study (ANES), “60 percent of 18- to 29-year olds support universal health care, compared to 48 percent of all other eligible voters.” In this sense, they are joining the leagues of young people around the world for whom healthcare is not perceived as a privilege, but as a right. This marks a sea change in American political thought and represents the emerging vision of the world that Millennials are building.

That vision for universal access to quality, affordable health care is the basis of the recommendations laid out by the civil society organizations at Thursday’s briefing. (The details of the briefing panel and the full report and recommendations made by the civil society group are available at The Global Health Initiative.) To date, U.S. financial contributions to global health have been larger than any other country on earth in absolute terms. Through U.S. leadership, our country has helped turn the tide in access to healthcare services, information, and education in many places on the planet.

But we have also faltered in a few ways as our global health policies and programs have evolved:

1. our policies regarding that immense funding have, in certain instances, fallen prey to petty battles for political capital usually stemming from politically controversial issues within U.S. politics—notably resulting in policies which limit provision of sexual and reproductive health care and which limit comprehensive sex education for young people;
2. global health programs are appropriated by Congress according to different issue sets and conditions such as maternal and child health, reproductive health and family planning, HIV and AIDS, neglected tropical diseases, healthcare workforce, etc. While all of these issue areas and specific conditions need particular attention, people’s lives, just like ours here, do not revolve around one health condition—and therefore we have to ensure U.S. global health programs are linked on the ground to provide integrated service delivery;
3. given the amount of money we spend engaging with low- and middle-income countries, the proportion of our funding spent on global health is but a miniscule fraction of what we spend on other efforts to engage with the world, especially the military. This does not mean military spending is not important, but that investments in global health aimed at the reduction of despair and empowerment of local individuals and communities may support and actually reduce the need for military interventions over the long term through constructing environments where people are not driven to violence for survival.

These faults are not unfixable. And in fact, a high-profile Senator from Maine said it well in reference to her vote on the proposed healthcare reform legislation in the Senate, “the consequences of inaction dictate the urgency of action.” Millennials get this. And we get that if we want our world to be more equitable, more secure, and more empowered when we’re no longer 18-29 year-olds, we have to act now to improve our policies and seriously invest in what works.

Originally posted on Amplify

I've written many times about HeadCount, the voter registration organization that originated within the jam band scene (disclosure: I'm on the advisory board). I think they've put together an amazing, national organization that accomplishes real political work without sacrificing the vibe of a small, tight-knit community. If you've ever been to a HeadCount show, you know there's a real connection between the fans, the music and the politics.

Over the last four years, they've built this community with far fewer resources than other political nonprofits, and they've expanded beyond their roots in the jam band scene. Now, they're morphing once again.

Yesterday, HeadCount relaunched their website and announced that they're expanding beyond their core work - voter registration - and into the realm of issue advocacy:

Building on the momentum of registering more than 100,000 voters last year, HeadCount has launched a new campaign called “What’s Your Issue?” that encourages fans of live music to take the next steps beyond voting to become more informed, active citizens. Anyone who answers a brief issue survey – either at a concert or online at www.HeadCount.org – will be entered in a drawing to win two free VIP tickets to Outside Lands Music Festival, held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park August 28-30, 2009, plus round-trip airfare for two on Southwest Airlines from anywhere in the U.S.

The campaign will visit concert tour stops this summer by Dave Matthews Band, Phish, The Fray and NINJA (Nine Inch Nails and Janes Addiction). Festivals such as Bonnaroo, ROTHBURY, High Sierra Music Festival, All Good Music Festival, Camp Bisco and Gathering of the Vibes will also host the “What’s Your Issue?” campaign. [...]

HeadCount continues to offer voter information and registration services at its concert tables and at www.HeadCount.org. The organization also provides a wide range of resources that facilitate civic participation. The HeadCount blog (www.HeadCount.org/blog) is a one-stop online community updated daily with news on “Music, Politics and Everything In Between.” HeadCount street teams are partnering with local nonprofit organizations, such as Save the Bay, and creating joint volunteer outings. HeadCount makes it easy to write to members of Congress, with pre-printed letters available at concerts and online at www.HeadCount.org. It’s all part of an effort to give music fans the tools to be involved, active citizens, while creating a real community of fans who are bound by shared ideals.

The “What’s Your Issue?” survey serves as the gateway to the HeadCount community. It lists six issues that, according to a recent online poll, are particularly important to fans of live music. They are:

• Food and Farm Policy
• Health Care Reform
• Personal Liberty
• Gulf Coast Recovery
• Human Rights
• Sustainability and Conservation

Once someone identifies the issue most important to them, they are sent a link to an area of HeadCount.org devoted to that issue. Users will find a blog, background information, artist interviews and links to related websites. Most important, they’ll also find a “Take Action” area that enables them to volunteer for a related organization or email their Congressional representatives.

This is a great organization and a great campaign. And their new website is super clean and a cut well above their previous site. As usual, I can't recommend HeadCount highly enough. Go check them out.

I have recently noticed the dramatic drop in interest in politics in my high school. While most of the senior class was enamored with Obama and the thought of having an African-American, let alone a democrat, in office before the election, that same excitement is no longer seen. People have lost an interest in politics and the issues which seemed urget just a month ago.

Therefore, I would like to bring about the issue of Human Rights Awareness Month, sponsored by Causecast

December 10 is International Human Rights Day and I hope everyone will do something to honor the day. 60 years ago, on December 10, the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

However, in the 60 years that the declaration has been in existence, there is still prevalent human rights violations. Tibet, Darfur, Burma, China, and Guantanamo Bay have been sites of blatant human rights violations. While most find themselves helpless in these situations, here are things youth and people of all ages can do to get involved this month.

• Amnesty International is hosting a write-a-thon between December 5-14 and is inviting people around the world to write letters to government officials regarding human rights issues.

  Serj Tankian, System of a Down Singer, shared his support for the write-a-thon on Amnesty International's website:

  "Amnesty International's and its members' strengths have been the realization of the release of prisoners of conscience and the establishment of justice around the world where it is long overdue. The letter writing campaign has been a vital weapon in this regard.

  It has kept hope alive for all those unjustly incarcerated and has also kept extra judicial governments in check, including our own."

• Send in Letters to the Editor to your local newspaper. I've gotten 2 letters published and you wouldn't believe how beneficial this can be.

• Volunteer at a human rights organization from your state. Here is Idaho's site.

• Most high schools and colleges have some sort of human rights club. Form one, join one, or at the minimum, bring some ideas to the leaders of the club about what you'd like to see them do.

Those are just a few ideas of how to get involved with human rights issues this month and I hope that people do something. I'll make it my goal to write a letter to the editor and to take part in Amnesty International's Write-A-Thon.