Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) to Focus on Implementation of Strategic Plan at February 28th Board Meeting

WHO:

IHRC Co-Chairs: Jean-Max Bellerive, Prime Minister of Haiti
President Bill Clinton

IHRC Board Members

WHAT:

IHRC Board meeting
Press Conference following Board Meeting


WHEN:

Monday, February 28th, 2011
12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

WHERE:

Karibe Hotel Convention Center
Juvenat 7
Pétionville
Port-au-Prince, Haiti

WHY:

Focus on the implementation of the IHRC’s Strategic Plan
Vote on US $255 million in proposed new reconstruction projects
Review of plans for Performance and Anti-Corruption Office (PAO)
Update from International Monetary Fund on the macroeconomic situation in Haiti
Update on donor funding vs. commitments
Presentation of outreach campaign to targeted stakeholders
Signing ceremony marking Japan and Spain’s contribution of US$30M each to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund


About the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission

The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) was created by presidential decree on April 21, 2010, in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. The mission of the IHRC is to undertake the expeditious planning, coordination, and facilitation of development projects and priorities, including reviewing and approving projects and programs funded by bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs and the private sector. The IHRC is co-chaired by Prime Minister of Haiti Jean-Max Bellerive and President Bill Clinton and is guided by a Board, which includes Haitian and non-Haitian stakeholders in reconstruction efforts.

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SKYY SPIRITS UNVEILS TWO NEW EXOTIC FLAVORS TO ITS ALL NATURAL SKYY INFUSIONS® LINE: DRAGON FRUIT AND BLOOD ORANGE

First Nationally Available Dragon Fruit & Blood Orange All Natural Infused Vodkas Hit Stores This Month


SAN FRANCISCO (February 1, 2011) – Expanding its innovative, award-winning line of vodkas made with all natural ingredients, SKYY® Vodka introduces new SKYY Infusions® Dragon Fruit and SKYY Infusions Blood Orange – the first of their kind available nationwide. Inspired by exotic locales and current culinary trends, these new infusions blend authentic dragon fruit and blood orange with SKYY’s premium distilled vodka, creating two alluring, distinctively different spirits. All Natural SKYY Infusions Dragon Fruit, which has already been awarded a Gold Medal by the prestigious Beverage Testing Institute of Chicago, and SKYY Infusions Blood Orange join the brand’s existing line of unexpected flavors, which includes Pineapple, Ginger, Cherry, Grape, Citrus, Raspberry and Passion Fruit. Read more »

President Clinton Documentary to Air Tomorrow

In a documentary airing tomorrow at 10:00 PM EST on MSNBC, Chris Matthews calls President Clinton a one-man Peace Corps.

Though I know he's far too humble to ever say that himself, President Clinton's work the past 10 years has been remarkable.

From his life-changing work with the Clinton Foundation and his disaster relief efforts for the Indian Ocean Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti earthquake, to his humanitarian actions to free two journalists from North Korea and the convening power of the Clinton Global Initiative that brings together businesses, governments, nonprofits, and individuals to implement real solutions to the world's most urgent challenges -- his work today is directly improving hundreds of millions of lives. It is not a stretch to say what he has accomplished with friends and supporters like you is truly changing the world.

And I know this is just the beginning of what we can do.

This President's Day, there will be a special documentary -- The President of the World: The Bill Clinton Phenomenon, Monday, 10:00 PM EST on MSNBC, about the 10 years since President Clinton left office. At the Clinton Foundation, we are celebrating his last 10 years as a private citizen with a Decade of Difference. I hope you will join us and see the role you have played in President Clinton's work during the last 10 years.

When: 10:00 PM EST, Monday, February 21, 2011
Where: MSNBC, Hardball with Chris Matthews
What: President of the World: The Bill Clinton Phenomenon

Thank you again for all your support. I look forward to what we can accomplish together in the next 10 years.

Laura Graham
Chief of Staff to President Clinton
Chief Operating Officer
William J. Clinton Foundation

Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) Co-Chairs Meet with Presidential Candidates, International Supporters to Discuss Future of Reconstruction

IHRC Co-Chairs: Jean-Max Bellerive, Prime Minister of Haiti
President Bill Clinton

- Presidential Candidates: Mirlande Manigat
Michel Martelly

IHRC Co-Chairs will meet with Haitian presidential candidates to address continuity of reconstruction and Commission work after change of government. This meeting will be closed to the press.

Meeting with International Supporters:

Club de Madrid: Felipe González, Former Prime Minister of Spain
Lionel Jospin, Former Prime Minister of France

UNESCO: Michaëlle Jean, Former Governor General of Canada and Special Envoy to Haiti
CARICOM: P.J. Patterson, Former Prime Minister of Jamaica and Special Representative for Haiti

IHRC Board Members

IHRC co-chairs and board members will meet with international reconstruction supporters, including Club de Madrid, UNESCO and CARICOM to discuss education, institutional reinforcement and capacity building initiatives. This meeting will be open to the press.

Press Conference:

IHRC Co-Chairs: Jean Max Bellerive, Prime Minister of Haiti
President Bill Clinton

IHRC co-chairs will discuss day's meetings.

WHEN:
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
11:30 Photo Opportunity with Mirlande Manigat and IHRC Co-Chairs
12:20 Photo Opportunity with Michel Martelly and IHRC Co-Chairs
2:30 PM International Supporters Meeting
4:30 PM IHRC Co-Chair Press Conference

WHERE:
Karibe Hotel
Juvenat 7
Pétion-ville
Port-au-Prince, Haiti

About the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission
The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) was created by presidential decree on April 21, 2010, in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. The mission of the IHRC is to undertake the expeditious planning, coordination, and facilitation of development projects and priorities, including reviewing and approving projects and programs funded by bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs and the private sector. The IHRC is co-chaired by Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and President Bill Clinton and is guided by a Board, which includes Haitian and non-Haitian stakeholders in reconstruction efforts.

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President Clinton Announces First Clinton Global Initiative Commitment of 2011


City Year to Unveil Significant New Citizen Service Program


Announcement made at Event Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the Dayton Accords


New York, NY - Building on his long-standing support in Bosnia, President Clinton today announced that City Year has committed via the Clinton Global Initiative to host a delegation of community, civic, and youth leaders from Bosnia with the goal of educating and inspiring Bosnia's youth to become involved in shaping the future of their country through service. The delegation will be exposed to key U.S. leaders in philanthropic, non-profit, and government institutions.


The commitment will result in open and on-going dialogues between members of the delegation and the networks they forge, as well as applicable knowledge of a range of service models for citizens of different ages and backgrounds. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund is contributing financial support for this commitment.





"I am so pleased that our first CGI commitment of the year is focused on a region that holds great significance to me and America's foreign policy, made by an organization near and dear to my heart," President Clinton said. "Fifteen years after the Dayton Accords ended the violence in Bosnia, City Year's commitment to connect young Bosnian leaders with their counterparts here in the United States will help strengthen the capacity of Bosnia's civil society to address the challenges that remain in building a more prosperous, more stable Balkan region and a better future for us all."


The announcement was made during "America at a Crossroads: The Dayton Accords and the Beginning of 21st Century Diplomacy," a two-panel discussion on the Dayton Accords place in history and Bosnia's prospects for continued economic development and integration with Europe.


The first panel featured Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State; Wesley K. Clark, General, U.S. Army (Ret.); and Peter W. Galbraith, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia. Ronald Brownstein, Editorial Director of the National Journal Group, moderated the panel discussion, which explored not only the success of the Dayton Accords in establishing lasting peace in Bosnia, but also the transformative role these negotiations played in re-orienting U.S. foreign policy after the Cold War and amid the emergence of a highly- interdependent world.


The second panel, involving current leaders from the region, examined how economic development and further integration with Europe can help create jobs and enhance prosperity for all households in Bosnia, thereby further enhancing the peace established 15 years ago by the Dayton Accords. Bakir Izetbegovic, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ivo Josipovic, President of the Republic of Croatia, Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative, James B. Steinberg, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, and ABC News Anchor Christiane Amanpour participated in the second panel discussion.


The Dayton Peace Accords were signed in December 1995, ending a war that displaced almost 250,000 people and claimed the lives of over 100,000 others, and establishing a peace that endures today. Upon their signing, and despite domestic political opposition, President Bill Clinton ordered the deployment of 20,000 U.S. troops as part of a joint NATO-Russian mission. The peace agreement, and the success of the mission which enforced them, marked an end to what Richard Holbrooke once described as "the greatest collective security failure of the West [in Europe] since the 1930s." By ending the violence, the Clinton administration re-oriented American foreign policy to the challenges of the global age, and set the standard for successful 21st century diplomacy.


The Dayton Peace Accords were signed in December 1995, ending a war that displaced almost 250,000 people and claimed the lives of over 100,000 others, and establishing a peace that endures today. Upon their signing, and despite domestic political opposition, President Bill Clinton ordered the deployment of 20,000 U.S. troops as part of a joint NATO-Russian mission. The peace agreement, and the success of the mission which enforced them, marked an end to what Richard Holbrooke once described as "the greatest collective security failure of the West [in Europe] since the 1930s." By ending the violence, the Clinton administration re-oriented American foreign policy to the challenges of the global age, and set the standard for successful 21st century diplomacy.

For Immediate Release: January 18, 2011
Contact: Clinton Foundation Press Office, 212.348.0360
press@clintonfoundation.org

Statement by President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton on the Passing of Sargent Shriver

"We are greatly saddened by the passing of Sargent Shriver. He leaves behind an astonishing legacy of people helped, lives transformed, and communities improved. Through his work and his passion, he helped build a better America and a more humane world. And he did it with boundless enthusiasm, infectious joy, and the deepest love for his family, his nation, and his work.

Sarge has been a presence in our lives for decades. We went into public service because of the example of leaders like Sarge, who translated President Kennedy's call to service into action, leading first the Peace Corps and then the War on Poverty. As young activists, we were inspired by his leadership in the McGovern Campaign in 1972. He launched many of the organizations and efforts that became touchstones of our careers, opening access to legal services, child care and jobs for America's working families. For the signing of the bill creating AmeriCorps, he offered the pen that President Kennedy had used to establish the Peace Corps. In 1994, we were honored to welcome Sarge to the White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Today, as we travel the world, we see Sargent Shriver's lasting influence in the impact made by the nearly 200,000 Americans who have served in the Peace Corps. We see it at Head Start centers and Special Olympics competitions that give children the chance to begin living up to their God-given potential. And we see it in an ethic of service and responsibility that continues to animate Americans of all ages.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Shriver family, Sarge's many devoted friends, and with the nation that has lost one of its most dedicated champions for equality and opportunity."

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OP-ED by President Clinton in the Independent: "Saving More Lives With Less"

The op-ed was published in today's Indepedent

On World AIDS Day ten years ago, as I was preparing to leave office, the world was only beginning to grasp the severity of the AIDS crisis. Nearly 36,000,000 men, women and children were living with the disease, but only about 200,000 were receiving the treatment they needed. Funding was nowhere near the levels needed to prevent the disease from reaching pandemic levels.

Over the last decade, we have seen dramatic progress in both treatment and funding. In 2008 alone, $15 billion was invested to fight AIDS in developing countries, up from $6bn just three years earlier, due in large part to the U.S. Government’s PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) program.

This summer, I witnessed one of the greatest examples of this progress when I attended the World Cup in South Africa , which has the largest number of people living with HIV/ AIDS in the world. For too long, the South African government did too little, but this year, it committed to testing tens of millions of South Africans and to more than double the numbers on treatment. I’m honored that they have invited the Clinton Health Access Initiative to work alongside them to reach this goal.

South Africa’s new actions reflect a sense of urgency and shared purpose in Africa – and in other parts of the world – that didn't exist ten years ago. Donor nations, the Global Fund on AIDS, TB, and Malaria, and non-governmental organizations, including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and many others, have provided indispensable contributions to raising the level of consciousness, concern, and commitment to a level that will save millions of lives.

In spite of these efforts, only one-third of people who need treatment are receiving it. We risk losing our momentum, unless we find new ways to fill the gaps left by reductions in government funding caused by the global economic crisis. And we need to save more lives with the money we do have.

The most promising way to raise more funds is through very large numbers of small contributions which can be made in user-friendly ways. For example, France raises a lot of money every year from a service fee on airline tickets. The amounts raised provide much of the funding the International Drug Purchase Facility UNITAID, which buys medicines to treat AIDS and other diseases in poor countries. We are now trying to give airline passengers in other nations the opportunity to make small, voluntary contributions when they purchase tickets.

In the meantime, we must do more with less. That means saving money on commodities and promoting better coordination of funding between donors and national governments. It means ensuring that low- cost/ high-impact interventions are widely adopted; and asking donor nations to improve their own delivery systems so that a higher percentage of aid funds are spent in the nations and on the problems they are intended to help.

My foundation has focused on lowering the cost of commodities since we began our work in 2002. Thanks to those efforts – along with the support of organizations like UNITAID, the Global Fund, PEPFAR, and the Gates Foundation – the cost of antiretroviral treatment (ARVs) has gone down to below $200 per person per year. The cost of CD4 tests, which allow doctors to assess how patients are responding to treatment, and other laboratory tests has also dropped by over 50 percent. But we need to break down remaining barriers – including trade agreements that prevent generic manufacturers from supplying effective ARVs for the developing world and do a better job in forecasting demand, to avoid over-st ocking, drug shortages, and expired inventory.

Secondly, we must coordinate funding flows better between donors and national governments to ensure that resources are aligned with the most pressing national priorities. We must also reduce duplication and underinvestment. For example, the government of Rwanda has required that its implementing partners submit budget and expenditure data. From these reports, the government learned some areas were receiving $15 per capita of external aid per year, whereas others only received $4. The Ministry of Health used this data to form agreements with partners to ensure more equitable and efficient allocation of resources. Other governments should follow Rwanda ’s lead.

Third, we can maximize our return on investment by ensuring that low-cost/ high-impact interventions are adopted on a wider scale. For example, providing all HIV-positive people in sub-Saharan Africa with the antibiotic Cotrimoxizole - from the time that they are diagnosed - would dramatically lower mortality from common conditions such as pneumonia and diarrhea at a cost of just $0.37 per patient per year. This should be a basic standard of care. Another important intervention is the prevention of TB, which directly causes 1 in 4 deaths among HIV-positive patients. Treatments like Isoniazid prophylaxis can reduce TB infection amongst HIV patients by up to 64 percent.

Finally, all of us should continue to urge donor nations, as Bill Gates and I did before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to review their own budgets with a view to reducing overheads If the cost of consultants from donor nations were cut more aid could be spent saving lives. These are just a few ways in which we can maximize the impact of our efforts in a period where funding isn’t keeping up with the increasing needs. We have to keep finding ways to do things better, faster, and at lower-cost. For example, at our 2006 Clinton Global Initiative Meeting, Levi Strauss & Co. committed to provide all of its employees and their families with access to HIV/AIDS treatment, counseling, preventive care and education in more than 40 countries where the company operates. To date, the program has enrolled more than 3,000 employees and managers. In 2010, their second voluntary counseling and testing campaign in South Africa has tested more than 75 percent of their employees - one of the highest participation rates nationwide.

This World AIDS Day, in spite of the economic crisis and the increased competition for aid funds, we can continue saving more lives by giving more people a chance to help and doing more with the funds we already have.


Bill Clinton, the founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation, was the 42nd President of the United States