20 years of Shamefully Scarce Funding for Feminists and Women’s Rights Movements For decades, the women’s rights movement and women’s rights organizations have been severely underfunded. AWID research in 2010 revealed that the median budget for 740 women’s organizations all over the globe was a miserly US$20,000. 'In the same year, as a point of reference, the income for Save the Children International and World Vision International was US$1.442 billion and US$2.611 billion … [Read more...]
Top 10 Issues for Women’s Health
"In 2015, in too many countries, “women’s empowerment” remains a pipedream - little more than a rhetorical flourish added to a politician’s speech..." Dr Flavia Bustreo, ADG We've come a long way since 1995--and it is time to celebrate women and their achievements. But it is also time to take stock of how women’s rights are fulfilled in the world --especially the right to health. Twenty years after countries signed pledges in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, women still … [Read more...]
International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, MAY 23
International Day to End Obstetric Fistula 2015 On 23 May 2015, the United Nations, Member States, partners of the Campaign to End Fistula and others around the globe will mark the annual International Day to End Obstetric Fistula. The Latin word fistula (UK /ˈfɪstjʊlə/ or US /ˈfɪstʃələ/ or /ˈfɪʃtʃələ/, plural fistulas /-ləz/ or fistulae /-li/ or /-laɪ/) literally means tube or pipe. In medicine, a fistula is an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces (technically, two … [Read more...]
World Malaria Day, April 25
On April 25th people across the globe take part in a wide range of activities to mark World Malaria Day. For half the world every day is malaria day - a day to keep up the fight against this killer disease. This website is a communication and advocacy platform for civil society north and south to showcase your work , share resources , engage in dialogue, contribute views, ideas and events to mobilise the world against malaria. Key Facts In 2013, there were 198 million cases, and 584 000 … [Read more...]
2014 Partners’ Forum – Johannesburg, (June 30/July1)
Violence against Women Intimate partner and sexual violence against women Introduction The United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life." Intimate partner violence refers to behavior by an intimate partner or ex-partner that … [Read more...]
Gender inequalities and HIV
According to the latest (2008) WHO and UNAIDS global estimates, women comprise 50% of people living with HIV. In sub-Saharan Africa, women constitute 60% of people living with HIV. In other regions, men having sex with men (MSM), injecting drug users (IDU), sex workers and their clients are among those most-at-risk for HIV, but the proportion of women living with HIV has been increasing in the last 10 years. This includes married or regular partners of clients of commercial sex, IDU and … [Read more...]
10 Baby Foods ‘not’ to make at home!
Making your own baby foods at home is neither as challenging nor as involved as it seems at first blush, and it allows you the opportunity to control each and every ingredient so that you know exactly what your baby is eating. In a world where genetically modified food and questionable agricultural practices make parents more concerned than ever about what they’re feeding their children, homemade baby food seems like the healthiest and most viable option. After all, the lack of transparency … [Read more...]
Global and regional estimates of ‘violence against women’
WHO report highlights violence against women as a ‘global health problem of epidemic proportions’ JUNE 2013 | GENEVA - Physical or sexual violence is a public health problem that affects more than one third of all women globally, according to a new report released by WHO in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council. The report, Global and regional estimates of 'violence against women': Prevalence and health … [Read more...]
UN General Assembly – What, Who, Why and When?
The sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly will open in September 2013. The President of the United Nations General Assembly was chosen from the GRULAC with Antigua and Barbuda's John William Ashe being the consensus candidate, thus bypassing the need for an election. The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. Comprising all 193 Members of the United Nations, it provides a unique forum for multilateral … [Read more...]
World Immunization Week 2013, celebrated April 20 – 27
World Immunization Week, beginning on 20 April, aims to promote one of the world’s most powerful tools for health – the use of vaccines to protect, or "immunize", people of all ages against disease. Under the global slogan "Protect your world – get vaccinated", WHO encourages individuals and organizations working at international, regional, national, and community levels, in the public and private sectors, to coordinate and engage in activities during World Immunization Week. World … [Read more...]