Matthew Kavanagh

Since President Obama nominated Dr. Jim Yong Kim as President of the World Bank commentators have weighed in on his past writings, his nationality, his part in upholding an unjust U.S. domination of the Bank, and his qualifications. But at the heart of this presidential decision is a fundamental question...

The blogsophere and Washington rumor-mill are working overtime right now on the question of who might be the next president of the World Bank -- whispers, rumors, and what the AFP just called a "brewing battle!" Will it be failed-Harvard President Larry Summers reborn yet again? Crusading economist...

So much for pro-life. Hal Rogers, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, has put forward a plan of life-ending, community destroying cuts -- crowing how they're the biggest in history -- just month after House Republicans insisted it was absolutely essential to cut taxes on millionaires and billionaires.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals Summit has concluding here in New York and it seems clear that there is good news and bad news. The good news is that people from around the world have gathered to continue to fight poverty, food insecurity, and poor health. The bad news...

UPDATE: Lady Gaga not only met with Vikter and Amelec, but she actively spoke out in her concert, denouncing the law and lifting up US immigrant communities.
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I have some new heroes. They are the courageous LGBTQ migrants in Arizona who are organizing their communities, under...

Yesterday we filed an official complaint with the United Nations asking the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health to call on President Obama to halt Bush-era trade policies that deny people's access to life-saving medicines.

Joined by groups of people living with HIV and their supporters...

UK global health and anti-poverty campaigners and director Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral fame) teamed up today to launch a campaign for a simple idea:

A tiny tax (less than one quarter of one percent or less) on currently-untaxed financial transactions like currency speculation and high...

World leaders including President Obama quickly took to the airwaves to pledge fast and bold support to Haiti, ravaged by the recent earthquake. "You will not be forsaken," the President said, and I think we all hope that the search teams, food, temporary shelter, and needed medical help can get...

The Obama Administrations' major, high-profile foreign policy initiative in the developing world cannot be 30,000 new troops in Afghanistan. Now it looks like some Democratic members of congress are realizing that.

Yesterday Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee and Committee Chairmen Henry Waxman, John Conyers, Donald Payne and Eliot...

Today is World AIDS Day -- the 21st World AIDS Day, I believe. And there is much to celebrate. The global response to AIDS is beginning to work: death rates are falling, those with access to AIDS drugs are living healthy lives and returning to the work of building strong...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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...

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....

"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...