Washington, D.C. – As President Bush concludes his six-day trip to Africa, ONE members delivered more than 90,000 signed petitions to the presidential candidates today urging them to visit Africa during their first term in office if elected. The petition drive was the latest effort of ONE Vote ’08, a nationwide initiative made up of tens of thousands of volunteers and high-profile political and policy experts working to engage voters and the presidential candidates on issues of global poverty and disease in the 2008 election.

“President Bush’s trip this week has shown again that progress is real in Africa and that American leadership is saving lives. ONE wants to make sure the next president doesn’t miss a step. We want the next president to visit Africa in his or her first term to build upon the vital, proven, life-saving work America is doing. We believe the next president can make historic progress in the global fight against extreme poverty and disease,” ONE President and CEO David Lane said.

“I’ve seen the power of health diplomacy through my firsthand experiences in Africa.  I’ve seen with my own eyes children who are alive thanks to American medicine. And I’ve met mothers and fathers who are able to watch their children grow as a result of our country’s generosity. It’s one thing to know we can save millions of lives in Africa and around the world by investing in known, readily available, affordable solutions. It’s another to act.  Seeing the results of such leadership – the babies, the teachers, the farmers who lead productive lives because of American assistance – is a deeply moving experience. As a ONE member and co-chair of ONE Vote ’08, I urge the next president to visit Africa to witness America’s generosity in action – and to understand that we have an incredible opportunity to do so much more,” said ONE Vote ’08 co-chair and Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

The campaigns of each of the five remaining candidates-Senator Hillary Clinton, former Governor Mike Huckabee, Senator John McCain, Congressman Ron Paul and Senator Barack Obama-received more than 90,000 petitions signed by voters and ONE members from across America. The petitions read:

“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.”

Today’s petition delivery added to the pressure ONE Vote ’08 has brought to bear this election on the presidential candidates on behalf of those living in extreme poverty across the world. Since its launch in June 2007, ONE Vote ’08 has organized tens of thousands of voters and ONE members across the early caucus and primary states of Iowa (20,000 members), New Hampshire (15,000 members), Nevada (18,000 members), South Carolina (20,000 members) and Florida (100,200 members) where they have been engaging directly with the candidates on the ground and with their campaign teams about the fight against extreme poverty and global disease. ONE members are relentless advocates for the world’s poor, breaking through in a crowded political process and making direct one-on-one contact with the candidates more than 800 times to date.

To amplify this grassroots firepower, ONE Vote ’08 utilizes a team of political strategists and policy experts, including national co-chairs and former Senate Majority Leaders Bill Frist and Senator Tom Daschle. ONE educates the candidates and their staffs about ONE’s issues and encourages them to craft commonsense, effective initiatives to include in their foreign policy platforms. As a result of both the grassroots mobilization and policy-level interaction, presidential candidates are releasing plans that address ONE’s core issues in an unprecedented fashion.

The leading Republican and Democratic candidates have provided concrete poverty-fighting commitments as part of ONE Vote’s “On the Record” Challenge, producing videos and providing specific answers to questions on HIV/AIDS, malaria, infant mortality, clean water and education in the world’s poorest countries. Voters can compare all the candidates’ plans at the interactive “On the Record” website. The website features user-friendly web tools to view and discuss the candidates’ stances, as well as links to news articles and blogs about the candidates’ positions. The non-partisan site does not endorse any candidate; instead the site provides voters with information and tools to review the candidates on these issues like never before.

ONE, through its ONE Vote ’08 initiative, is not endorsing or opposing any candidate, but is encouraging all presidential candidates to address these critical issues.

On The Record is a project of ONE Action to educate voters about the presidential candidates’ plans on issues of importance to ONE Action’s members. Only 501(c)(3) activities are funded by The ONE Campaign.