Slowly changing, but unmoving: The plight of FGM in The Gambia, Africa A Stop FGM – Female Genital Mutilation sign in Bakau New Town, Gambia gives a phone number to reach for those women who want talk with someone about FGM. Image: Nichol Brummer/Flickr London, UNITED KINGDOM, WESTERN EUROPE: Rainy season in upcountry rural Gambia, is green. It is a warm, inviting blend of a thousand greens; a mixture of beautiful, calm, peaceful mingling greens. As I look around and soak in the reality … [Read more...]
Shea butter nourishes opportunities for African Women
August 1, 2013 by
Fair trade brings decent profits to millions to African Women Women packing soap made from shea butter at a processing unit run by the Nununa Federation of Shea Producers in Burkina Faso. Photo: Roel Burgler/Hollandse Hoogte/Redux In a fancy Manhattan hotel in New York, women in colorful traditional African gowns make their way to one of the conference rooms. Their outfits provide a fascinating contrast to the grey and black business suits surrounding them. The crowd is diverse, but is … [Read more...]
Sahel region needs women’s leadership, says UN-backed conference
April 11, 2013 by
April 2013 – Dozens of women from the Sahel have met with the United Nations envoy to the region and the world organization’s top official for women’s issues, at a conference to recommend ways to boost economic recovery, political stability and conflict prevention in the troubled African region. “Ultimately, the women of the Sahel will be instrumental in putting the region on a path to stability,” the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Sahel, Romano Prodi, told the Conference on … [Read more...]
Women’s full participation essential to conflict resolution and economic recovery
April 10, 2013 by
Sahel Conference says Women’s full participation essential to conflict resolution and economic recovery UN Women Brussels, April 2013 – Some 40 women from the Sahel met today to underline the crucial contributions women from the region are making to economic recovery, political stability and conflict prevention, and to explore ways to enhance their role in these areas. Organized by the European Union, the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Sahel and UN Women, the … [Read more...]
Statement – UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, Executive Board Director 2013
February 5, 2013 by
At the First Regular Session of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board 2013 Mister President, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, Partners in civil society, Colleagues and friends, It is my pleasure to address the Executive Board on its first regular session in 2013. My colleagues and I congratulate you, Ambassador Olhaye, on your election as the President of the Executive Board. We also congratulate the other members of the Bureau on their election: Mr. Boyan Belev (Bulgaria), … [Read more...]
Mali: Shea tree empowers women
August 22, 2012 by
Many women in Mali know all about the benefits of the shea tree. They've been gathering its fruit for years to produce soaps and various products to sell. Now, production hovers at 80,000 tons per year – but it has the potential to reach 250,000 tons and improve lives. Vitellaria paradoxa (previously Butyrospermum parkii), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree, /ˈʃiː/ or /ˈʃiː.ə/, or vitellaria, is a tree of the Sapotaceae family indigenous to Africa, occurring in Mali, Cameroon, Congo, Côte … [Read more...]
Women: Silent Players in a Silent Crisis in the Sahel
June 30, 2012 by
Thanks to recurrent drought and a dangerous combination of high grain prices and environmental and security degradation, there is a severe food and livelihood crisis, affecting millions of people who live within -- and around -- the Sahel region. In the Sahel, as in most of the world, women make up the majority of small-scale farmers. (..) According to the FAO, investing in women smallholder farmers would result in significant gains in the fight against hunger. Eight million people are … [Read more...]
DROUGHT takes our Women in Sahel Region of West Africa
January 31, 2012 by
DROUGHT takes our Women in the Sahel Region of West Africa For the third time in a decade, drought has returned to the Sahel region of West Africa bringing hunger to millions of people across the region. WFP is pre-positioning food assistance ahead of the annual lean season when the vulnerable – especially women and children – are most at risk of malnutrition. NIAMEY—Drought has hit the Sahel region this year just as many families are still in the … [Read more...]
END WATER POVERTY – Global Manifesto Signed @ Istanbul, May 2011
May 7, 2011 by
"... 4000 children die every day from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor sanitation." Organizations sign Global Manifesto to demand Action at the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Istanbul, May 2011 Organisations working against poverty have joined together to demand change at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) in May 2011 in a manifesto released today. Read the LDC Manifesto here ( 546KB), in both English and … [Read more...]
UNFPA: Over 6,000 Communities Across Africa Abandon Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting – Celebrate!
February 9, 2011 by
UNITY of ACTION is working ... a Time of Celebration! Over 6,000 Communities Across Africa Abandon Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting UNITED NATIONS, New York—Over 6,000 communities have chosen to abandon the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), according to a joint United Nations programme designed to eliminate this practice, and the number is growing. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, are partners … [Read more...]
