Updates

The Guardian newspaper has shortlisted three journalists for their coverage of how maternal, reproductive, and sexual health and rights shape the lives of girls and women and their communities as part of its fourth annual “International Development Journalism Competition.” Click through to learn more...

TIME Magazine has recently published a great article addressing the need to focus more development aid on girls and recognizing those who are empowering teen girls to give back to the global community. Nancy Gibbs, the author of the piece, highlights the sad fact that "the leading cause of death for girls 15 to 19 worldwide is not accident or violence or disease; it is complications from pregnancy. Girls under 15 are up to five times as likely to die while having children than are women in their 20s, and their babies are more likely to die as well." It's this tragedy that Women Deliver is working so hard to change. Read more...

Cell phones have cut dramatically the number of women dying during childbirth in Amensie village in south-central Ghana, according to an article posted on AlertNet.

On October 25, 2009, the NY Times published a story about a bill that has been introduced in the Philippines to increase contraceptive use.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21^st century. As the international community gears up for the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, the reproductive health and rights community is starting to look closely at the links between RH and climate change.

On August 23, the NY Times has a special issue of the their magazine dedicated to "Saving the World's Women." We've been waiting in anticipation of this issue -- salivating over the cover-to-cover coverage of topics focused on women.

Last week, the Population Reference Bureau launched the annual World Population Data Sheet, highlighting country, regional, and global population, health, and environment data and patterns.

Today, supermodel, actress, and mother Liya Kebede posted to the Huffington Post about, "We Need a Global Fund for Moms."

Earlier this month, Sia Nyama Koroma, First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, wrote an article on Huffington Post titled, "It's Time to Make Mothers a Priority."

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama's visit to Africa this weekend "will send a powerful message to the world about their commitment to ensuring Africa's continued progress," wrote Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) in an opinion piece in http://thehill.com/op-eds/improving-maternal-health--in-developing-countries-2009-07-07.html">The Hill.

Just when you think you've got it all figured out! We just found an article from AllAfrica.com about doctors in Ghana who have had to halt special prenatal home visits because road crash casualties are taking up so much of their time and scarce resources, medical workers say.

In a fantastic op-ed in the Boston Globe, Mary Robinson and Alicia Yamin, advisory council members of the International Initiative on Maternal Mortality and Human Rights, discuss the issue of preventable maternal deaths as a violation of women's rights.

To the Editor: The May 29 editorial, Preventable Deaths notes little progress in the last decade on reducing maternal mortality - 500,000 deaths annually, 99% in developing countries.

Yesterday, Sarah Brown wrote a piece for the Guardian on her new campaign to improve maternal care. In the article she referenced Professor Allan Rosenfield's famous quote, "Where is the 'M' in MCH?" To address this question, she referenced some recent positive steps forward.

Fistula is a heartbreaking injury. That's why we're happy to see this article in the NY Times Science section this morning that sheds some light on the problem.

When President Barack Obama lifted the Global Gag Rule, reproductive health professionals around the world rejoiced. Check out some of the feedback.

On January 12, Roy M. Pitkin, Professor Emeritus in the UCLA School of Medicine and author of the new book Gods Love: A Modern Medical Perspective on Illnesses that Caused the Early Death of Famous People wrote about the reduction of maternal mortality as the greatest success of the 20th century.