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...]
UNESCO peace prize for Action in Africa
June 6, 2013 by
French President François Hollande awarded UNESCO peace prize for Action in Africa “What was targeted in Timbuktu was not just the heritage of one region or people, it was World Heritage,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova during the award ceremony on Wednesday, when French President François Hollande was awarded the 2013 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize. “It’s a symbol of ancient Islamic wisdom, spanning all of the Sahel, and of a common culture spanning all of West Africa,” … [Read more...]
CANADA is leader in global food security initiatives, celebrate!
May 25, 2013 by
ROME — Canada's leadership on food security and nutrition is contributing to the reduction of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition in developing countries. The Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, participated today in a round table in Rome to discuss global food security and nutrition, and the role of private sector partnerships. "Ensuring access to safe and nutritious food is a priority of Canada's international assistance to developing countries," said … [Read more...]
MEN, Step Up on Family Planning
May 15, 2013 by
A woman holds her baby in a village in southern Niger, where progress in women's access to family planning is being made. Our failure to give women in certain parts of the world the ability to decide the timing and number of their children is deeply damaging — not just for the women themselves but for societies, too. Lifting the obstacles is not something that can be tackled half-heartedly. Modern family planning programs were introduced widely in the developed world decades ago. Providing … [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...]
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...]
