Peace Corps Polyglot

Inspector General Reports on Peace Corps Medical Clearance

The National Peace Corps Association has summarized the findings of an Inspector General's report on Peace Corps' Medical Clearance System (MCS).

The recently completed report includes 55 recommendations to improve the MCS, as well as agency responses to the findings.

Follow this link for our summary.

In the coming months, NPCA will continue to provide updates on efforts to address concerns related to medical clearance for Peace Corps applicants.

Be a Voice for Poor Nations During Climate Change Debate

Next week, the United States Senate begins debate on legislation to establish national targets to reduce global warming gas emissions.  The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008 seeks to establish a so called "cap-and-trade" system to reduce emissions from the manufacturing, transportation and electric power sectors.

For those concerned with international development, one key provision would establish a funding mechanism to assist the world's least developed nations adapt to the worst impacts of climate change (See Title IV, Subtitle H of the legislation).  Considered a vulnerable part of the legislation, citizen voices are needed to support an international adaptation fund.

Oxfam America has posted an action opportunity so you can quickly contact your Senators.  Please consider editing and personalizing your message to reflect your views and (when appropriate) share your Peace Corps experience.  Then, share the action with others!

Interested in signing up for a dedicated NPCA list on climate change/clean energy?  Contact us at advocacy@rpcv.org to sign up.

Sen. Obama Vows to "Double the Peace Corps"

Over the weekend presidential candidate Barack Obama, standing in for Senator Edward Kennedy, gave the Wesleyan University Commencement address and urged graduates to devote themselves to public service. Senator Obama stated that serving abroad is especially important "at a time when our security and moral standing depends on winning hearts and minds in the forgotten corners of the world" and vowed to double the Peace Corps over the next few years if elected President. He specifically pointed to the one hundred and sixty-four Wesleyan graduates who have joined the Peace Corps since 2001 as examples of people who, by dedicating themselves to serving abroad, are "writing the next great chapter in America's story." He called attention in particular to two members of the class of 2008 who are headed to Kenya to bring alternative energy sources to impoverished areas.   

Senator Obama emphasized that his speech was inspired by the dedication to public service of Senator Kennedy and his family. He referenced how Ted's brother, President John F. Kennedy, "called a generation of Americans to ask their country what they could do" in part by fostering service abroad through the Peace Corps. An article in the Huffington Post highlights the connections Obama drew to the Peace Corps and the Kennedy legacy.

The video of Obama's May 25, 2008 speech can be seen here.

Measuring Peace

For the last two years, former NPCA President Chic Dambach has headed up the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), a coalition of diverse organizations working together to build sustainable peace and security worldwide.  This week, AfP collaborated with partners in releasing a second annual report on the level of peace in 140 countries around the world.

The Global Peace Index (GPI) seeks to measure peace in a nonbiased and nonpartisan way. Founded two years ago by Steve Killelea, an Australian technology entrepreneur and philanthropist, and maintained by The Economist, it uses 24 qualitative and quantitative indicators, measuring internal and external factors, to define the peace index of a country. The GPI then uses the results from this data to determine what other factors correspond with high or low levels of peace. As might be expected, countries at the top of the list have well-functioning governments, low violence, low corruption, high education levels and friendly relations with their neighbors.

What might not be expected is the GPI ranking for the United States.  Click here to learn more about the GPI for the U.S., Peace Corps countries of service and other nations around the world.

Harris Directory Update Underway

Every few years the National Peace Corps Association contracts with Harris Connect to produce a directory of the Peace Corps community. The last one was published in 2005.

Starting this month you should expect to receive an e-mail from NPCA asking you to update your contact and Peace Corps service information. We appreciate your help in this effort.

A comprehensive update of our records allows us to communicate more effectively with you - and in turn for you to better connect with your fellow returned Peace Corps volunteers.

Thank you in advance for your co-operation!

Whither Peace Corps?

Amid growing concerns about America's standing in the world, policy makers and opinion leaders are starting to talk about Peace Corps-and NPCA is playing an important role.

Next month NPCA will convene a diverse gathering of thought leaders and original Peace Corps architects to discuss the future of Peace Corps. How might Peace Corps be enhanced in ways to improve its effectiveness for its next 50 years? How can it better respond to demand from countries who want Peace Corps programs and individuals who want to serve?  The resulting policy ideas and recommendations will be shared with the major party Presidential candidates and the broader Peace Corps and international community.

The fall issue of WorldView magazine will also focus on the future of Peace Corps and include a range of viewpoints.

Meanwhile Peace Corps critic Robert L. Strauss has once again stirred controversy, this time with a pointed opinion piece on the Foreign Policy Web site. Yale professor and development blogger Chris Blattman offered his thoughts, as did countless bloggers and commentors, pro and con.  And don't forget a recent story about Peace Corps in the Christian Science Monitor. 

Stay tuned!  There's sure to be lots more discussion!

HIV Positive and Volunteering?

A recent Washington Post column by Stephen Barr and a subsequent editorial about Ukraine Peace Corps volunteer Jeremiah Johnson’s removal from his post after testing positive for HIV has sparked discussion and Congressional interest regarding the Peace Corps’ policy related to volunteers who are HIV positive.

Ukrainian law (and that of many other host countries) requires proof that volunteers are not HIV positive to obtain visas, residency permits and other official documents required for volunteer service.  The Peace Corps has a long-standing policy of not automatically excluding applicants who are HIV positive but rather to treat each HIV positive applicant as an individual case and consider placement in a location where reasonable medical care is available. 

Peace Corps' medical information, recently revised, can be read here:  Peace Corps Medical Information (.pdf).  An NPCA affiliate,Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual RPCVs, has additional information about HIV status and Peace Corps service on its website. 

This past week NPCA received this message from Burkina Faso RPCV  Rebecca Coulborn:

Dear RPCVs,

Some of you may have read the recent story about Jeremiah Johnson who was medically separated from the Peace Corps for testing HIV positive.  Peace Corps has stated that Jeremiah Johnson is the first volunteer to test positive for HIV and want to return to his post.  Eight years ago I tested positive for HIV and was medically separated from the Peace Corps.  I wanted to return to Burkina Faso and finish my service but was told that this was not a possibility.  I believe this is the result of antiquated policies from the 80's based on fear and prejudice.  If you test positive for TB or contract malaria you receive treatment, but if you test positive for HIV you are sent home.  I love the Peace Corps, but to date, eight years later, receiving my diagnosis still pales in comparison to being sent home for testing positive.  Peace Corps can do better than this!  We, as Americans, can do better than this!

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Rebecca Shore from the ACLU and Senator Chris Dodd’s Foreign Policy Advisor and other staff members. (Chris Dodd, btw, is an RPCV and Chairman of the Subcommittee for Peace Corps.)

Senator Dodd and the ACLU are interested in HEARING FROM RPCV's who:

a) tested positive for HIV or hepatitis, and/or
b) tested positive for TB, and/or
c) contracted malaria.

If this applies to you, I would greatly appreciate it if you would contact Rebecca Shore at the ACLU. Her phone number is 212-549-2605 and her email address is lgbt_rs@aclu.org. 

With great appreciation,

Rebecca Coulborn, RPCV Burkina Faso 2000-2001