Global Action for Children
Global Action for Children (GAC) was an organization that generated awareness, policies and funding so every child has the chance to grow up safe and healthy. Formed in 2003, GAC advocated on the following issues that affect orphans and vulnerable children worldwide: basic education, child marriage, child sexual abuse, child survival and immunizations, children in conflict, community care, foreign aid reform, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. In December 2010, Global Action for Children ceased operations.
Advocacy Strategy
Global Action for Children works to generate awareness, policies and funding in Washington, DC to ensure that orphans and vulnerable children worldwide has the resources and support that they need to grow up safe and healthy. GAC's advocacy strategy:
- Policy Outreach - GAC collects and analyzes information about the issues that affect orphans and vulnerable children from our partners in the field. We then take our findings to policymakers and persuade them to allocate funds for programs that teach, nourish, and protect the world’s children.
- Media Outreach - Educating and inspiring the public about the challenges and opportunities for orphans and vulnerable children is a powerful way to grow political will in Washington, D.C. GAC regularly contacts journalists and places op-eds in top U.S. publications. We also reach out to the public directly through our monthly newsletter and updates to our website and social media.
- Coalition Building - Bring together diverse groups because when policymakers see a wide range of constituents united behind an issue, they listen. Our corporate partnerships also give us the support to fulfill our mission.
- Grassroots & Grasstops Mobilization - GAC’s policy, media and coalition work is strengthened when an engaged community of activists add their voices to our cause.
Successes
GAC's list of growing success stories include:
- Generating the support to pass the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act (P.L. 109-95) in 2005. It was the first comprehensive legislative response to the global crisis surrounding orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).
- Coordinating our partners in the AIDS-Free Generation coalition to boost the UNAIDS resource needs assessment from $1.2 billion to $4.5 million to account for 19 million orphans between 2008-2015.
- Leading efforts to authorize $3 billion (10 percent of PEPFAR funding) for OVC programs from 2009-2013.
- Placing op-eds and letters to the editor about orphans and vulnerable children in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Vanity Fair.
Timeline
2003
- Future partners of GAC work together to get an earmark of 10% of U.S. global AIDS funding for the care and support of orphans and
vulnerable children within U.S. Leadership against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003
- September: Founded as a coalition of nongovernmental, faith-based, and student organizations
2004
- Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act(PL-109-95) introduced, the result of GAC and Congressional allies working together
2005
- OVC legislation signed into law November 8, 2005 by President Bush[1]
2006
- GAC, in conjunction with more than 30 stakeholders, create Civil Society recommendations for instituting the OVC Act
- Jolie-Pitt Foundation contributes $1 million
2007
- GAC, in partnership with UNICEF, holds a summit in Brussels on establishing an AIDS Free Generation
- Organization is officially launched as an independent entity in April[2]
- GAC influences the Bush Administration’s appeal to Congress to increase the funding of PEPFAR from $15 million to $30 million, with 10 percent allocated to orphan care.
- GAC and UNICEF’s Unite for Children. Unite Against AIDS. campaign publish the AIDS Free Generation strategy report.
Board of directors
| Name |
Board position |
Title & Organization |
| Angelina Jolie |
Honorary Chairperson |
Jolie-Pitt Foundation |
| Paul Zeitz |
Chairperson |
Executive Director, Global AIDS Alliance |
| Kathleen Guy |
President |
Executive Director, Global Action for Children |
| Dr. Joanne Carter |
Secretary & Treasurer |
Legislative Director, RESULTS |
| Kathy Kretman |
Director |
Director, Georgetown University Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership |
| Susan McCue |
Director |
President and Chief Executive Officer, Message Global |
| Diana Aubourg Millner, Charles Blake |
Director |
Executive Director, Save Africa's Children |
| Richard C. Powell |
Director |
Chief Operating Officer, Burson-Marsteller |
Advisory Board
| Name |
Title & Organization |
| Trevor Neilson |
Senior Advisor, APCO Worldwide |
| Albina du Boisrouvray |
Founder and President, Association Francois-Xavier Bagnoud |
| David GartnerGlobal |
AIDS Alliance |
| James Haven |
Youth AIDS Summit, Saddleback Church |
| Kerry Olson |
Founder and President, Firelight Foundation |
| Jack Quinn |
Founder and Co-Chairman, Quinn Gillespie & Associates |
| Sara Sievers |
Co-Director, Brandeis Center for International Development and Director, Nigeria Initiative, Earth Institute, Columbia University |
References
External links