U S senate Introduces Energize Africa Act

The US Senate has introduced a bipartisan Energize Africa Act today. The bill is similar to the Electrify Africa Act, which passed the US House overwhelmingly in May. Both pieces of legislation aim to help African governments bring electricity access to 50 million people for the first time.
Reacting to the introduction of the bill, Tom Hart, US Executive Director of ONE, said: “We applaud Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Bob Corker (R-TN) for working together on a bill that not only promises to save and improve millions of lives, but offers a new way forward for assisting Africa – government working with private sector investment – at no cost to US taxpayers. We urge Senators from both parties to co-sponsor the legislation.
The Energize Africa Act, like the Electrify Africa Act that passed the House, is a transformative piece of legislation that would help millions of people access the electricity necessary to run hospitals, schools, factories, farms, and businesses. Taken alongside President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, which aims to double energy access in sub-Saharan Africa over five years, the US is putting the critical issue of energy poverty at the heart of the international development agenda.

Tackling energy poverty is critical to ONE’s core mission of fighting global extreme poverty. We frequently hear from African leaders, citizens, and development experts that one of the biggest challenges for overcoming extreme poverty is the inability for millions of people to access basic electricity.”

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"The Energize Africa Act, like the Electrify Africa Act that passed the House, is a transformative piece of legislation that would help millions of people access the electricity necessary to run hospitals, schools, factories, farms, and businesses."

-Tom Hart, US Executive Director of ONE

About ONE
ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organization of more than 4 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, we raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programs. ONE is not a grant-making organization and does not solicit funding from the public or receive government funding. ONE is funded almost entirely by foundations, individual philanthropists and corporations. We achieve change through advocacy. Our teams in Washington, D.C., New York, London, Johannesburg, Brussels, Berlin, and Paris educate and lobby governments to shape policy solutions that save and improve millions of lives. To learn more, go to ONE.org.

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