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...]
UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Recounts 5-year-Old Girl’s Ordeal
June 25, 2013 by
SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS TEXT URGING TARGETED SANCTIONS AGAINST PERPETRATORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE DURING ARMED CONFLICT Rape Largely ‘Cost-free’, Says Special Representative As UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Recounts 5-year-Old Girl’s Ordeal The Security Council today urged the United Nations sanctions committees to apply targeted sanctions against parties committing sexual violence during armed conflict. Ahead of a debate on the subject that attracted more than 60 speakers, the … [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...]
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...]
Millennium Development Goals by 2015, have Your Say here!
March 21, 2013 by
Did you know that diarrhea is the second leading cause of death among children under five in the world. Around 1.5 million deaths each year - nearly one in five – are caused by diarrhea. It kills more children than malaria, AIDS, and measles combined. Should access to clean water and sanitation be a priority for world leaders in the next development goals? Have YOUR say? HERE: www.myworld2015.org Millennium Development Goals, an Introduction For many industrialized nations, … [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 in Senegal succeed thru Proctor & Gamble – ‘Rewrite the Future”
August 22, 2012 by
Senegalese women rewrite their future thanks to UNESCO and Procter & Gamble literacy partnership. The Sowame village of about 500 inhabitants is one of the first villages in Senegal to benefit from a new literacy project launched by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the multinational firm Procter & Gamble. Under the slogan “Rewrite the future”, the two year project aims to educate about 10,000 girls and women from 15 to 55 in … [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...]
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting – Tide is finally turning ‘against’ FGM
May 24, 2012 by
For centuries, female genital mutilation or cutting has been practiced throughout much of Africa. But dealing as it does with a very intimate subject, FGM/C was often spoken of, if at all, only in whispers. Today the movement against it is open, public and highly visible. And FGM/C seems to be out in the open and on its way out. Farmers in remote villages in Mali are listening to radio talk shows debating the issue. Community groups in Senegal talk about it in terms of human rights. Islamic … [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...]
