This year, as the world turns to action to make the new global goals for sustainable development a reality, we've seen that girls and women have the power to drive progress for all the goals -- from ending poverty to protecting our planet. When girls and women everywhere are safe, healthy, educated, and empowered, they can transform our communities and our world. And what's one of the most important ways to make sure girls and women have the opportunity to thrive, no matter where they live? … [Read more...]
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development last year marked a watershed year for sustainable development. Its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets are expected to stimulate action over the upcoming years in areas of critical importance for people and the planet. The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), meeting under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, is the UN’s central platform for the follow-up … [Read more...]
United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015
United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015 25 - 27 September 2015, New York SUMMIT WEBSITE The United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda will be held from 25 to 27 September 2015, in New York and convened as a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also called Global Goals, are a proposed set of targets relating to future international development. They are to replace the Millennium … [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...]
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MMITRA MOM
I joined mMitra program, of ARMMAN and MAMA, in September and since then I have had the opportunity of meeting several of our young pregnant subscribers. They hope for a healthy baby and a fulfilling motherhood like any of us, but their circumstances put them at risk. Although they come from varied backgrounds, the fact that they do not have access to health information and services binds them together. The story below is an archetype based on several different women in the program that captures … [Read more...]
Global Update: Special UN General Assembly Edition
As the General Assembly began the general debate of its sixty-ninth session, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented to the Assembly his annual report on the work of the Organization. UN Photo/Mark Garten 24 September 2014 – Warning that the world’s “fasten seat belt” light is illuminated, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today opened the 69th annual debate of the United Nations General Assembly with a call for decisive leadership at a time when the ghosts of the Cold War have returned and … [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 Marker’ – Is Bettering Women’s Life Impossible?
London - At a conference on violence against women and girls in emergencies, a CARE International UK special report it has been revealed the tiny proportion of international aid that is directed towards projects that target gender violence and sexual exploitation of women in humanitarian crises. The report also shows the inadequacies of global efforts to track how effectively humanitarian projects address gender. (pdf Document - CLICK IMAGE) In 2010, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon set a … [Read more...]
7 Million Girls in Poor Countries Give Birth Before 18
LONDON/UNITED NATIONS, New York — Motherhood in childhood is a huge global problem, especially in developing countries, where every year 7.3 million girls under 18 give birth, according to The State of World Population 2013 , released today by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Of these 7.3 million births, 2 million are to girls 14 or younger, who suffer the gravest long-term health and social consequences from pregnancy, including high rates of maternal death and obstetric fistula, … [Read more...]