Brownsville, TX-Today city leaders joined local members of the global anti-poverty  organization ONE to officially declare Brownsville a “ONE City” against global poverty and disease.

By becoming a ONE City, Brownsville joins more than 130 cities across the  United States working to get people involved in efforts that are fighting  global poverty, saving lives from disease, putting children in school and  increasing opportunity in poor countries around the world, particularly in Africa.  ONE is a grassroots advocacy group with more than two million members worldwide, including many in South Texas, dedicated to fighting extreme  poverty and preventable diseases like AIDS and malaria.

“Today, Brownsville stands together as ONE with those struggling against extreme  poverty and diseases like AIDS and malaria around the world,” said Brownsville ONE member Paulina Sosa. “Problems like global poverty and disease,  which once seemed so distant, are no longer far off challenges that we can  ignore in today’s globalized, interconnected world. I’m  excited Brownsville is joining ONE to raise awareness of smart American efforts  that are saving lives and building opportunity for the world’s poorest people-and helping make our world a better, more stable place for all of us.”

Brownsville was unanimously declared a ONE City at a City Commission Meeting in  2009, and several city leaders gathered at Brownsville City Hall for today’s  public announcement. In attendance were: Edward Camarillo, Brownsville City Commissioner; Paulina Sosa, ONE Member and ONE Brownsville Coordinator;  Pastor Brad Burkes, Brownsville City Commission Chaplain; Luis Cavazos, Past  Sunrise Rotary President; Dr. Enrique Escobedo, Brownsville Independent School  District Trustee; Connie Hensley, Brownsville Chamber of Commerce Trustee; Gloria Miranda, The University of Texas at  Brownsville and Texas Southmost College; and Roscoe Mapps, ONE Regional Field  Director.            

ONE achieves change through advocacy and public mobilization, pressuring  global leaders to adopt smart policies and invest in tested, proven solutions  that save lives and combat extreme poverty. ONE works closely with policy  experts, African leaders, global health organizations and its millions of  grassroots members to move these effective policies forward.

In  just the last several years, America’s global poverty-fighting and disease-fighting efforts have delivered historic  results. U.S. support for programs like PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria have contributed to putting nearly 4 million  people living with HIV/AIDS globally on lifesaving medicines, up from just  50,000 people in 2002. Millions more are surviving malaria thanks to the  delivery of bed nets and medicines by U.S. and other donors. Some 42 million more  children living in sub-Saharan African countries have gone to school for the first time, largely thanks  to debt relief.