ONE VOTE'08

On February 12, ONE members started a petition asking each of the 2008 presidential candidates to pledge to visit Africa during his or her first term in office. In just two week, more than 100,000 have added their names to the action.

Here's the petition text:

As a voter in the 2008 Presidential election, I'm asking you to pledge to visit Africa during your first term in office. It is my hope that your trip will increase U.S.-African cooperation, save lives and help build a better, more secure future for millions of the world's poorest people.

Last week and this week, ONE members delivered these petitions to each campaign office in person. See each candidate's official reply below.

"Today I received a petition from more than 85,000 Americans who are members of the ONE campaign. I applaud their activism and share their urgent concern for the challenges of poverty and AIDS, especially in Africa. I want to assure the ONE campaign and all Americans that I am committed to aggressively combating poverty and disease around the world. I support the bipartisan renewal of the PEPFAR program, and as President I will go further. I have called for spending at least $50 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS worldwide. I have also called for spending $10 billion over five years to get kids in school around the world, and have committed to the bold goal of ending malaria deaths on the continent of Africa by the end of my second term. I am also committed to visiting Africa during my first term as President, to see the progress of our efforts and to assess first hand the necessary strategies to combat disease and poverty. I look forward to working with the ONE campaign and other organizations when I am President to ensure that addressing the needs of the world's poorest countries is an essential component of our nation's foreign policy."


"The ONE Campaign members have been a significant presence throughout this election season and have done a tremendous job of raising awareness of the plight of the poorest people on earth. ONE recently delivered a petition to me with almost 100,000 signatures asking if I will commit to go to Africa in my first term as President. I believe it is our moral imperative, as Americans, to continue U.S. leadership in helping those who are most vulnerable. As we were reminded from President Bush's recent trip to the continent, the current Administration has laid a strong foundation on which I intend to build. I will go to Africa in my first term and will continue to make a difference globally by strengthening such initiatives as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President's Malaria Initiative and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. As President, together with the efforts of the ONE Campaign, I will help combat global poverty and disease."


Chicago, IL -- "The ONE campaign stands as an example of how ordinary people can come together to change the world from the bottom up. I was honored to receive a petition from 75,000 ONE campaign members, and share your commitment to fight global poverty and disease - particularly in Africa. I will continue to fight for bipartisan renewal and expansion of the global HIV/AIDS relief program, and look forward to visiting Africa during my first term as President of the United States. Together, we can deepen engagement between the United States and Africa, and work for a world that advances our common security and common humanity."

"I have received the petition from more than 85,000 Americans who are members of the ONE campaign. I am proud of the volunteer-driven effort behind ONE and the commitment ONE's members have shown toward serving a cause greater than their own self-interest.

Fighting poverty and disease across the globe is in America's strategic and moral interests. As president, I will establish the goal of eradicating malaria -- which afflicts millions of people in some of the world's poorest nations and stands as the number one killer of children under five in Africa -- from the African continent. I believe that many nations, in Africa and elsewhere, will not reach their true potential without outside help to combat entrenched problems, such as HIV/AIDS. It is critical that we face this crisis head-on, which is why I have consistently supported the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program, known as PEPFAR. Our commitment must be sustained, and our nation must always be committed to helping people in need in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere cope with the ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Aid is not the only way of fighting disease and extreme poverty. I will press nations on the critical importance of good governance and economic and legal reform, because no amount of assistance can succeed when governments fail their people. As president, I look forward to visiting Africa and working with afflicted nations there and elsewhere to communicate that we expect a level of governance, transparency, and effectiveness from them in order to ensure that their aid makes a concrete and positive impact on people's lives."