Updates

By: Yemurai Nyoni, Women Deliver 100 Young Leader; Originally posted on allAfrica

I believe in an Africa that is fit for women and girls; that protects their well-being and creates a supportive environment for them to realise their aspirations. As I look at the work done by African states in pursuit of gender equality, I am convinced that the continent is either on course for another dismal episode in the empowerment of women, or it's on the brink of a women's rights revolution.

The failure of African leadership in safeguarding the rights of women thus far has resulted in a sad state of affairs, where being a young African woman is perhaps the most perilous form of identity in the continent. Read more...

By: Deborah Espinosa, Landesa; Originally posted on Landesa Field Focus Blog
 
Women in Ol Pusimoru, Kenya have much to celebrate today – but it hasn’t been an easy journey.
 
Back in 2010, Kenya adopted a revolutionary new constitution that offered women unprecedented protections and freedoms – including equal rights to land and family resources. Read more...

By: Adam Lewis, Rabin Martin; Originally posted on Rabin Martin

“We are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace – all we need is a fighting chance.”

This quote from Hillary Clinton at the 2013 Newsweek/Daily Beast Women in the World summit certainly captured the theme of the conference. Of course, by “we,” the former Secretary of State is referring to women – and how fitting for someone who is herself an agent of change, a driver of progress and a maker of peace to call for more rights for women. Read more...

By: Rati Bishnoi, Catapult.org

In Kayes, Mali, nearly every woman experiences female sexual mutilation (FSM)—either having all or parts of her external genitalia surgically removed for cultural or non-therapeutic motives. However, Équilibres & Populations and Association Malienne Pour le Suiviet l’Orientation des Pratiques Traditionnelles (AMSOPT) are fighting the staggeringly high (98 percent) FSM rate, one community at a time. Read more...

By: Jos Dirkx; Originally posted on Mail & Guardian

Jos Dirkx is the founder and director of award-winning NGO Girls & Football South Africa. She spoke at TedX on "Girls, Football and Learning" and is a Women Deliver 2013 Young Leader. She has worked at the United Nations in Sudan and Eritrea, has lived in 10 countries, and is passionate about gender equality, media, technology and change.

Three stories regarding gender-based violence have recently "shocked" the world: the rape and mutilation of 23-year-old Indian Jyoti Singh Pandey on a public bus in New Dehli, the rape and disembowelment of 17-year-old South African Anene Booysen in a small 'dorp' near Cape Town, and the killing of 29-year-old South African Reeva Steenkamp in her boyfriend's luxury residence in Pretoria. Read more...

By: Rati Bishnoi, Catapult.org

Using cell phones and text-message based literacy and numeracy training is helping Senegalese girls and women dramatically improve their ability to communicate with each other and their communities, according to an evaluation of a pilot program by Dakar, Senegal-based NGO Tostan. Tostan’s “Community Empowerment Program” is an award-winning, three-year nonformal education program that provides community wide trainings to help villagers lead social change projects within their communities. As part of the CEP program, Tostan offers a 150-hour cellphone literacy course--called Mobile Phone for Literacy and Empowerment--in which participants in 20 villages received 16 lessons on how to use cell phones, build literacy and numeracy skills, and use text messaging as a means to practice and learn. Read more...

Originally posted on Girls Not Brides

Three of the Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders were invited as special youth advocates to participate in this event – Yemurai Nyoni from Zimbabwe, Nebila Abdulmelik from Kenya, and Humphrey Nabimanya from Uganda.

There is not one corner of this continent that should not hear this message: end child marriage. This was a sentiment shared by more than 90 member organisations, associates and supporters of Girls Not Brides from 20 different African countries who came together in Johannesburg last week to discuss how to end child marriage across Sub-Saharan Africa, a region where 38% of girls marry before 18. Read more...

By: Joyce Banda; Originally posted on CNN

Editor's note: Joyce Banda assumed the presidency of Malawi in April and is a member of the Aspen Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health.

When I was young, one of my best friends lived in my grandmother's village. I saw Chrissie every weekend as we made our way through childhood -- she in the village school and I in the town school. We finally came together as students in secondary school. Sadly, Chrissie studied with me for only one term, as her parents could not afford the school fee of $6. She returned to her village, married early and had more than a half-dozen children. Read more...

By: The Tony Elumelu Foundation

This blog is published in collaboration with a larger campaign spearheaded by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and conducted by Heads of State and Government; Heads of U.N. Agencies; CEO’s; Leaders of Civil Society Organizations; and other global leaders who have demonstrated their leadership in the health field, in support of Every Woman Every Child. Learn more at www.everywomaneverychild.org.

As world leaders focus on advancing efforts to save 16 million women and Children by 2015, The Tony Elumelu Foundation joins the “big push” on the  ‘Every Woman, Every Child’ campaign. Nigeria is working towards addressing the availability of quality healthcare delivery which is currently challenged by poor infrastructure and affects all, especially the most vulnerable in our society—a position mostly occupied by women and children. Children within the ages of 0 to 14 account for 41% of Nigeria’s population, with 51:49 percent men to women ratio for a population of 168 million people. Read more...

By: Bukola Oyinloye, Women Deliver 100 Young Leader from Senegal

This blog is part of a series, edited by Women Deliver, in partnership with Impatient Optimists, on youth perspectives to celebrate World Contraception Day. Share your thoughts in comments and join the conversation at #WCD2012. For more stories and to get involved further visit No Controversy.

Dear Young African Woman,

Imagine yourself at the point of intimacy with your partner when you ask, “Do you have protection?” Your partner responds, “No, I really don’t like using condoms because I don’t feel anything and it’s too much of a hassle! Can we just…not use anything?” Read more...

By: Yemurai Nyoni, Women Deliver 100 Young Leader from Zimbabwe

This blog is part of a series, edited by Women Deliver, in partnership with Impatient Optimists, on youth perspectives to celebrate World Contraception Day. Share your thoughts in comments and join the conversation at #WCD2012.

Sexual and reproductive health is a human right and essential to human development. But, as a young person living in Africa, it is often difficult for us to realize our sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially when it comes to family planning. Read more...

By: Harshi Hettige, Women Deliver

Philips Electronics is continuing its work to strengthen healthcare in Africa, after recently showcasing clinical solutions for maternal and child care across Africa. In early August Philips and CNBC Africa partnered to release a new series called ‘African Dialogues.’ The series provides insight into the issues at the intersection of social welfare and business in Africa. Read more...

By: Smita Gaith, Women Deliver

Maternal health and mental health are inextricably linked – pregnant and postnatal women often suffer from common mental disorders like anxiety, depression, and other issues. But, all too often, these disorders go undiagnosed and untreated. Maternal suicide is the leading cause of death in the perinatal period, and there is a growing body of evidence to support the need for maternal mental health support in low- and middle-income countries.

In South Africa, the Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP), ongoing since July 2008, created an intervention that integrates mental health care services with primary care services. Read more...

By: Foluso Ajani; Originally titled "How I Got the Invitation for the Women Deliver Conference (Malaysia 2013)," and posted on MDGs in Africa

...e-terview with Dr. Foluso Ajani, an advocate for maternal and reproductive health rights. She is passionate about efforts to [improve] maternal health. In this short piece, she shares with us how she got the invitation for the Women Deliver Conference in Malaysia and the ‘Refer and Reward Scheme’ she will present at the International Conference.

ACMA: Can we meet you?

Foluso: I am Foluso Ishola (nee Ajani), a highly motivated young Nigerian Medical Doctor, an activist and advocate for women’s sexual and reproductive rights, maternal and child health. Read more...