We at Women Deliver congratulate this year’s three Nobel Peace Prize winners—Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee (pictured at right at Women Deliver 2010), and Yemeni peace activist Tawakkul Karman—on being recognized by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” Read more...
Updates
Women Deliver Congratulates 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winners
October 13th, 2011
Corporate Buzz: Chickpeas Nourish Ethiopia’s Mothers, Children and Agricultural Economy
October 13th, 2011
By: Rati Bishnoi, Special Projects Intern at Women Deliver
Could chickpeas be a potential solution for meeting two of Ethiopia’s biggest challenges: child malnourishment and an underperforming economy?
PepsiCo, the World Food Programme (WFP), and USAID believe so. That’s why the company is entering into an innovative public-private partnership with the WFP and USAID to promote food and economic security in the east African nation. Under Enterprise EthioPEA, the three organizations will work with nearly 10,000 Ethiopian farmers to double chickpea yields by utilizing modern agricultural practices and better irrigation techniques. Read more...
Celebrate Solutions: Meeting the Reproductive Needs of Refugee Women
October 10th, 2011
By: Rati Bishnoi, Special Projects Intern
In 2008, while attempting to escape fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, Fadhumo* fled the city with two of her seven children. After seeking shelter in the Bariga Bosasso refugee settlement, she was eventually reunited with her sister and remaining children.
Security was limited, however, and the then-pregnant Fadhumo was raped by two men. “I tried to fight them off but they were much stronger. They beat me viciously, breaking both my wrists. They raped me repeatedly without caring that I was pregnant,” Fadhumo told the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As a result of the rape, Fadhumo lost her unborn child and fell into a deep depression. Her ability to support herself or her other children diminished. Thankfully, Fadhumo is now rebuilding her life, has re-launched her grocery business and joined a support group for rape survivors. Read more...
Corporate Buzz: Soda Crates to Deliver Essential Health Products
October 6th, 2011
By: Madeline Taskier, Strategic Partnerships Associate at Women Deliver
Why is it that you can get a bottle of soda almost anywhere in the world, but not essential health products? Companies like Coca-Cola have mastered the art of shipping and logistics, reaching the most remote places in the world with their products. ColaLife, a non-profit enterprise, asked this same question and decided to leverage the power and efficiency of Coca-Cola’s distribution systems to bring simple health products to the hardest-to-reach communities.
The need for essential health products is great. Read more...
2015+: Achieving Universal Access Requires More Than Health Services
October 5th, 2011
By: Serra Sippel, President of the Center for Health and Gender Equity
The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadlines are coming up in 2014 and 2015 respectively, and will quickly pass. What will come next? Deadline extensions? A single health MDG? A combined solution of a new mechanism with new deadline? When it comes to maternal health—to women’s health—does this matter?
Consider the ICPD goal of universal access to reproductive health through the primary health system by 2015. The goal was adopted in 2007 as a target for reaching MDG 5 on maternal health. Universal access to reproductive health through primary care is not merely access to contraceptive supplies, or safe delivery in pregnancy. Read more...