ActionAid <actionaid>

"End poverty. Together"

Stop press: 3 million on AIDS treatment!508 days ago
 
It can often make pretty grim reading when AIDS hits the headlines. So I’m delighted to be able to pass on some brilliant news from the UN this week.

With barely a whisper in the media it’s been announced that there are now three million people receiving antiretroviral treatment. That compares to just 200, 000 a few years ago when we started campaigning on this issue.

However, whilst the new figures are great news, a shocking 6 million people still cannot get the drugs they desperately need. Our Invisible Women campaign argues that for the global AIDS response to ensure treatment for all - women’s rights must take centre stage. You can take action today and help ensure a good news story for every one of those 6 million people.
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Invisible Woman wins minister’s heart508 days ago
 
Our Invisible Women campaign reached a high point this week as DFID finally launched it’s new seven year AIDS plan.

The fantastic news is that most of ActionAid’s demands are in there. DFID minister, Douglas Alexander, even wrote in his introduction ‘this document places at its heart the needs and rights of women’ – exactly what we’ve been calling for. Some of the text is so close to what we wanted that we wondered if we’d written it ourselves!

Big things to celebrate include promises to:

• Increase treatment for pregnant women to prevent transmission to their babies.
• Help women caring for orphans and people living with HIV.
• Increase by 50% funding for HIV prevention methods women can control, like female condoms.

So is it all good news? The one letdown is that while it ticks all our boxes, the strategy doesn’t set out exactly how DFID will tackle complex, long term issues like violence against women. Without an action plan, Douglas Alexander may find it hard to stick to his word.
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Journey to justice577 days ago
 
In May 1998 more than 70,000 people formed a human chain in Birmingham to demand that the G8 'drop the debt'.

The scale of the protest took world leaders by surprise and proved a historic day for campaigning. As a result of consistent public pressure, $88 billion of debt has now been cancelled, and many lives have been transformed. But the debt crisis is far from over.

On Sunday 18 May the Jubilee Debt Campaign is gathering people in Birmingham once again to celebrate the progress made during the Jubilee 2000 and Make Poverty History campaigns – and to demand further action on the unjust debt that still remains. There’s an fantastic line up of speakers, and lots more information here:
http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk
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Send my friend to school593 days ago
 
Be part of the world's biggest lesson on Wednesday 23 April and demand education for all.

The Global Campaign for Education is inviting UK schools to ask all politicians and decision makers to speed up their efforts to provide a primary education for all by 2015.

With only 7 years to go, 72 million children around the world are still missing out on a primary education, with millions more forced to drop out of school before they can complete even a basic education.

Lots of exciting things have happened over the past 3 years including sending one million cut out people - known as buddies - to world leaders when they met at the Gleneagles G8 in 2005.

This year we're going one step further. We want to get as many students as possible to take part in a record-breaking attempt to hold the world’s biggest lesson on Wednesday 23 April.

Young people in 120 countries will be taught the same lesson at the same time. Gordon Brown, MPs and other politicians from around the world will be invited to attend one of their constituency-based schools.

Sign up for the world's biggest lesson, download resources and take action here: http://www.sendmyfriend.org/
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Women rock!613 days ago
 
We don’t give much away for free round these parts, but today we’re giving you the chance to get your mitts on a sumptuous stick of (virtual) rock!

Women’s rights run through everything we do – so we’ve come to the considered conclusion that women do indeed rock. Help help us put women's rights at the centre of the fight against poverty by sending it on to other women in your life who rock?

If you want to get the real thing, just pass on the virtual gift to five or more friends and we will send you a bonafide real stick of ActionAid rock stright to your door.

Log on to www.actionaid.org.uk/rock to get yours!
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Too many eggs in your basket?613 days ago
 
Choose a Gift in Action this Easter and help give a new beginning to a family in poverty
Easter wouldn’t be Easter without chocolate egg indulgence, but many of us are inundated with so many eggs from friends and family that they are simply left to be a melted mess.

ActionAid is offering some unusual and thoughtful alternative presents this Easter that will be a sweeter gift for any friends or family and make a real difference to those living in poverty.

For little more than the cost of a chocolate egg, you could give a Gift In Action, helping to fund projects such as cocoa tree seeds for farmers in Ghana or a chicken breeding programme for poor families in Malawi. The recipient of a Gift In Action will receive an interactive pop out card, illustrating the kind of work your donation might make possible.

For more information, log onto www.giftsinaction.org.uk or order by phone on 0800 085 8550
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