Global Action for Children - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

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

Basic education

Basic education refers to the whole range of educational activities taking place in various settings , that aim to meet basic learning needs. According to the International Standard Classification of Education , basic education comprises primary education and lower secondary education...

, child marriage

Child marriage

Child marriage and child betrothal customs occur in various times and places, whereby children are given in matrimony - before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America: in...

, child sexual abuse

Child sexual abuse

Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...

, child survival and immunizations, children in conflict, community care, foreign aid reform, HIV/AIDS, and malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

. 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.

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

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
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 Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...	Honorary Chairperson	Jolie-Pitt Foundation
Paul Zeitz Paul Zeitz Note: The founder and former Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance is also named Paul Zeitz. However, this is not the same person.Paul Zeitz is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of San Francisco...	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

External links

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