BLADE, the Blog on Assistance and Development, just posted an interview with Jill Sheffield all about Women Deliver and how the initiative was formed. Click here to listen to the interview.

Now that the year is winding down, we want to know:

What are you plans for 2009?

Now that 2008’s almost over, that means we’re officially well beyond the half-way point to meeting the MDGs by 2015. Do you still think it can be done? What are you doing to meet MDG5 in the upcoming year?

The Campaign to End Fistula was recognized as a model for championing collaboration between countries in the Global South, receiving an award of excellence from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Campaign, which began in 12 countries in 2003 and now spans 45 countries in Africa, Asia and the Arab region, has demonstrated a cross-cutting approach to eliminating fistula.  This comprehensive approach takes into account the health, education, economics, transportation, communications and social and cultural norms related to fistula. Congrats to the Campaign!

Today is Project for Awesome – Every year, YouTube’s Community takes over YouTube for a day… and instead of being stupid or funny… the community promotes charities. (Though, in all honesty, the videos are still pretty stupid and funny!) The idea is to watch these video, comment A TON, and then they’ll get bumped up on the list of most-watched or most-discussed so charities get the YouTube limelight. And, it’s extra special because it’s from true YouTube Community members that aren’t affiliated with the charities.

Lots of great charities are featuring Project for Awesome videos. Here’s a few: Advocates for Youth; Save the Children; World Vision; and more! It’s all very inspiring, so get involved.

Check out this blog post on RH Reality Check from Representative Nita Lowey, Chairwoman of the House Appropriations State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee. Her advice to Obama about the global gag rule? “Just repeal it.” It’s really as simple as that. In her post, Rep. Lowey talks about the challenges of working under the Bush administration. Even when a foreign aid bill was passed in Congress with the support of pro-choice and pro-life Members, President Bush threatened to veto all funding for international aid to prevent it from becoming law.

Watch this new video to Obama from EngenderHealth, and then sign their petition.

When do you think Obama should repeal the global gag rule?

Ann Starrs, president of Family Care International, wrote an article, “Half a Million Reasons,” in the current issue of Public Service Review: International Development. In it, Starrs provides an update on progress toward MDG 5, on the challenges that still lie in the way of its fulfillment, and on recent causes for hope.

In a special issue focusing on the MDGs, this online journal contains a number of important and interesting articles, including pieces by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, WHO Assistant Director-General Daisy Mafubelu, and a number of academics, members of the UK Parliament, and other NGO leaders.

Late last month, Population Action International (PAI) showed the world premiere of their documentary The Silent Partner: HIV in Marriage. The screening drew more than 170 community leaders, members of the media, and local and international advocates together in Nairobi, Kenya. The film examines the risk of HIV within marriage and the particular challenges facing married women. Conventional HIV prevention strategies do not meet the needs of married women who cannot practice abstinence, cannot control the faithfulness of their husbands, and find it difficult to negotiate condom use. Its main goals are to inform and provoke discussion of harmful gender and societal norms and to become an advocacy tool to mobilize political and financial support for sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The release of the 12-minute advocacy film was timed to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism campaign against gender violence and World AIDS Day.  Silent Partner was filmed in Kenya earlier this year with the aid of several local NGOs—the Centre for the Study of Adolescence, Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya, and Men for Gender Equality Now, as well as Pathfinder International/Kenya. In early 2009, PAI will screen The Silent Partner on Capitol Hill, with the goal of taking it on tour across sub-Saharan Africa to provoke discussion and spur action at the community and national level.

Read the full article: New Advocacy Film, The Silent Partner, Premieres in Nairobi

There’s a great blog post on the Huffington Post today. The author, Rishi Manchanda, a primary care physician in south central Los Angeles, writes about his experience of visiting a Kenyan hospital 2 hours outside of Nairobi. His colleagues had gathered in Kenya as members of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), an international nonprofit, to attend a conference on the right to health organized by local Kenyan health workers. It’s his final thought that’s intriguing:

“… If our [goal] is health, rights, and equity,… must we expand our capacity as health advocates, lend our voice to others in civil society, and travel down the bumpy road of participation and empowerment?” 

What do you think? Is this an essential piece to improving health care for women, and for all people?

Today is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A few weeks ago, we shared a beautiful video that helps us remember what the Declaration stands for. Now it’s time to put those words into action. We need to remember that maternal health is a human right. Preventable maternal deaths are caused by the deprivation of basic rights of women. Failure to provide available, accessible, acceptable, and quality health care is a violation of women’s rights to life, health, equality, and non-discrimination. (For more information, please visit the International Initiative on Maternal Mortality and Human Rights website.) You can learn more about women’s rights here, and then check out these 16 women who are active defenders of human rights.

The folks at Witness, an international non-profit organization that uses video and online technologies to shine a light on human rights abuses around the world, asked an interesting question:

What image has opened your eyes to human rights? Is there an image or video related to maternal health that really shocked you into reality?

Tomorrow is the final day of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. Can you name 16 forms of gender-based violence? UNFPA has an extensive list of different types of gender violence (there’s more than you’d think), and they have 16 ways that they’re fighting it right now. You can also check out their multi-media exhibit for more country-focused information.

What is your organization doing to end gender-based violence?