Matthew Kavanagh is an AIDS and human rights activist. He was previously the director of Global Justice, a national human rights organization working on AIDS, trade, and child heath, and is an active member of the AIDS activist group DC Fights Back. He has worked with a wide variety of NGOs and social-movement organizations in the US, Latin America, and Southern Africa—recently on water rights and Apartheid reparations campaigns in Johannesburg. He has written articles and curricula on issues ranging from US family law to the economic roots of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Blog Entries by Matthew Kavanagh

African Activists Demand: Show Us the Money

Posted July 27, 2009 | 01:15 PM (EST)


At the International AIDS Society conference in Capetown South Africa this past week, leading AIDS and human rights groups from the region launched an impressive and innovative campaign. Some may remember that African leaders committed to putting 15% of their budgets toward health--yet most are far, far behind.

So...

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Paul Farmer Joining the Obama/Clinton Team? We Can Hope...

13 Comments | Posted May 19, 2009 | 03:10 PM (EST)


In Washington, change can be slow, difficult work or it can come swiftly when smart leadership and circumstances converge. The financial crisis has shown just how quickly as sweeping changes to the US economy--for better or worse--came through quick, far-reaching actions by the Treasury department.

This year Congress and the...

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Obama's Global Health Plan's Missing the Money

2 Comments | Posted May 6, 2009 | 04:21 PM (EST)


Yesterday President Obama announced a new "Global Health Initiative." Gayle Smith from the National Security Council and Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, the chief of staff's brother, summoned a number of my colleagues to the Old Executive Office building early yesterday to announce this new initiative with great excitement.

...
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Who Will Obama and Clinton Tap on Global AIDS? How about a Search Committee?

Posted January 26, 2009 | 06:27 PM (EST)


A week into the Obama administration and AIDS is making waves behind the scenes. The question of who will be the next Global AIDS Coordinator--heading one of the largest single foreign aid programs in the world--has been occupying many. Just a week ago the Washington Post reported that Ambassador Mark...

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Hope that Obama Will Lead on AIDS and Poverty, But ...

Posted November 10, 2008 | 04:41 PM (EST)


The other night as I wandered through Washington, DC I was so inspired that the people of my city were literally dancing in the streets at the election of Obama. I got congratulatory text messages on election night from South Africa. I had to cancel a conference call with colleagues...

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At Key AIDS Moment: Where's Obama? Clinton? McCain?

Posted February 28, 2008 | 04:39 PM (EST)


The fight against AIDS got a healthy boost Wednesday when the House passed a big new bill out of committee -- increasing funding for AIDS, TB and malaria to $50 billion and beginning to fix a lot of what doesn't work in the Bush AIDS plan. If it makes its...

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No Sex, No Drugs: A Very Bad Week for the Fight Against AIDS

Posted June 11, 2007 | 04:18 PM (EST)


The last two weeks have been pretty terrible for those of us who care deeply about the struggle to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Somewhere around 55,000 people died in the last week from AIDS and many more than that were infected with HIV -- tragedies we know how to stop....

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Bush On AIDS: Smoke and Mirrors, and Broken Promises

Posted June 4, 2007 | 02:21 PM (EST)


"Bush Seeks to Double Spending for AIDS Program" blared the headlines this week. "President Bush should be commended," trumpeted one development organization, for his "vital leadership."

Great... except that Bush's plan ISN'T going to double funding and his press conference was essentially called to spin major broken promises...

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