Mayor Nutter Declares Philadelphia a “ONE City”

Philadelphia, Penn.-Today, Mayor Michael A. Nutter joined local members of the global anti-poverty organization ONE at City Hall to declare Philadelphia a “ONE City” against global poverty and disease.

Mayor Nutter signed the “ONE City” proclamation and added Philadelphia to the list of more than 130 cities across the nation that are working to raise awareness and mobilize public support behind initiatives to fight poverty, combat diseases like AIDS and malaria, put children in school and increase opportunity for those living in extreme poverty around the world.

The ONE City event comes five years after ONE was launched in May 2004 at a kick-off event and rally at Liberty Mall in Philadelphia. The event was attended by faith leaders, heads of leading anti-poverty organizations, African citizens and activists, celebrities and policymakers from the right and left.

“In 2004, Bono stood at Liberty Mall in Philadelphia and announced ONE, an organization aimed at fighting global poverty and preventable disease,” said Deesha Dyer, leader of Philadelphia’s ONE group who worked to get the ONE City proclamation signed. “Five years later, it is wonderful to have Mayor Nutter continue that spirit by making Philadelphia a “ONE City.” This proclamation solidifies that we Philadelphians stand in solidarity with the world’s poor and will work to make sure our city and country take a leadership role in fighting extreme poverty. Today Philadelphia shows its brotherly love and sisterly affection to families around the world.”

Cofounded by Bono, who also attended the 2004 Philadelphia launch event, ONE today is made up of more than two million members, including thousands in Pennsylvania. ONE works closely with policy experts, African leaders, anti-poverty activists, and government officials to support initiatives that are saving lives and helping the world’s poor secure access to basic needs in order to make a better life for themselves and their children.

“Today we stand together as ONE,” said ONE member Pastor Matt Staniz of Temple Lutheran Church in Havertown. “We stand as ONE with those around the world struggling to live on less than a dollar a day and those fighting against preventable diseases like AIDS and malaria. We stand together with them committed to fighting poverty and disease and making this a better world for all of us. This is Philadelphia-style ‘brotherly love’ at its finest.”

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-initiatives backed strongly by ONE and its membership-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 34 million more children living in sub-Saharan African countries have gone to school for the first time, largely thanks to simple debt relief.