Updates

By: Paula R DeCola, External Medical Affairs,  Pfizer Inc

It has been quite a journey leading up to this third Women Deliver (WD) conference. In London 2007, the WD conference focused on advocating for better progress in reducing maternal mortality, since the numbers of deaths were the same as those reported at the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women. Then onto WD conference 2009 in Washington DC, where we saw a decline in maternal deaths in a number of high burden countries, and of course campaigning for continued progress, as well as for expanding advocacy to encompass the insidious neglect of the girl child. Read more...

By: The Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council

The Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council (MREPC) is proud to support Women Deliver 2013 to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Here is a corporate video of MREPC. Read more...

By: Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is pleased to partner with Women Deliver on the Youth Leaders Pre-Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Youth advocates are key agents for change for women and families in the future. They are already contributing to achieving Millennium Development Goals 4, 5 and 6 for women and children. Read more...

By: Saundra Pelletier, CEO of WomanCare Global

As a new member of the Women Deliver Board of Directors and as CEO of WomanCare Global, I am so looking forward to attending the May 2013 Women Deliver meeting.  We will be thousands of voices strong, united in our call to bring women better choices for improving their health. In particular, I am eager to learn more about the work so many organizations are doing in family planning.

Less than a year ago many of us assembled in London for a groundbreaking family planning summit, where we committed ourselves to mobilizing resources so that an additional 120 million women and girls in the world’s poorest countries receive family planning information, services and supplies by 2020. Read more...

By: Jeffrey L. Sturchio, Rabin Martin and Dr. Adel Mahmoud, Princeton University; Originally posted on Huffington Post

Why is it that we can buy Coca-Cola beverages virtually anywhere, when basic health products like oral rehydration therapy or condoms are unavailable in many of those same places? As discussed in a recent Princeton Seminar on Global Health, the answer to this question and others may lie in applying the relevant expertise of the private sector to new health initiatives through public-private partnerships for the improvement of global health. Although global health was historically dominated by UN agencies and bilateral organizations, new partnerships with the private sector have emerged since the 1990s. Read more...

By: Yousra Yusuf, Women Deliver

Imagine having to live in a cow-shed without any change of clothes for a week every month. Or, imagine being banished to a dark, secluded corner of your house because you are considered to be “cursed”. Seems unrealistic and utterly wrong, right? It did to me. But this is the reality of girls and women in many parts of the world where any mention of menstruation is still taboo. In India, Jayaashree Industries is working to combat that. Read more...

By: Jill Sheffield, President, Women Deliver

While deep into the planning stages of Women Deliver 2010, my phone rang and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s office was on the other end. I was stunned, and also thrilled—it’s not every day that the head of the UN calls to ask to be part of an event. But the Secretary-General’s steadfast dedication to the health and well-being of girls and women has been clear from the beginning. Read more...

By: Kirsten Gagnaire, Global Director of the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA)

Mobile phones are taking center stage everywhere. Moms always have been. So what do you get when you connect moms with mobile phones? The potential for instantaneous positive change for moms, for families, and for the global fight to stop millions of women and children from dying every year, simply because they have no access to basic health care or information. 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: Harshi Hettige, Women Deliver

Goldman Sachs and the Acumen Fund partnered together last month to provide a workshop for rising women entrepreneurs. The two corporations collaborate annually – bringing together female leaders in varying industries (from biotech to floristry to financial services) from the emerging markets of India and Kenya. Read more...

By: Harshi Hettige, Women Deliver

Praekelt Foundation’s Young Africa Live (YAL) is an entrepreneurial endeavor supporting the health and well-being of girls, women, and all youth in a fun and dynamic way.

YAL filled a yawning gap in South Africa’s mobile reach, which neglected to provide consumers with any information about HIV/AIDS - where to get tested, how to practice safe sex, and how to avoid getting it. This information is direly needed, particularly in a country where an estimated 5.6 million people were living with HIV and AIDS in 2009, the highest number of people affected in any nation. Read more...

By: Smita Gaith, Women Deliver

In Guatemala, where about 120,000 girls and women die from pregnancy-related causes each year, the agricultural company Agrofruit is exploring ways to reduce maternal mortality. The company specializes in growing tropical fruits, and is based in Guatemala.

The efforts began in 2011, when Agroamerica teamed up with a team of American doctors from the University of Colorado to explore the southwestern area known as “trifinio,” where three provinces called San Marcos, Retalhuleu and Quetzaltenango converge. Read more...

By: Smita Gaith, Women Deliver

Philips Electronics, a signatory to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), announced in June that it would continue its work towards MDG 4 and 5 to reduce newborn and maternal deaths. The announcement took place during the 2012 Cairo to Cape Town Roadshow, while on a stopover in Ghana. During the stopover, Philips representatives showcased several clinical solutions designed to make progress towards reaching MDG 4 and 5. By: Smita Gaith, Women Deliver

Philips Electronics, a signatory to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), announced in June that it would continue its work towards MDG 4 and 5 to reduce newborn and maternal deaths. The announcement took place during the 2012 Cairo to Cape Town Roadshow, while on a stopover in Ghana. During the stopover, Philips representatives showcased several clinical solutions designed to make progress towards reaching MDG 4 and 5. Read more...

By: GE Africa

Recently, GE Healthcare, in partnership with the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, commenced the first-of-its-kind training of 14 Tanzanian Healthcare professionals at the Kisarawe District Hospital on GE's Vscan and Venue 40 ultrasound products.

The training is coming after over a year of designing the "Enhancing Training and Appropriate Technologies for Mothers and Babies in Africa" study prepared to assess the feasibility of technology intervention for enhancing antenatal care in resource poor settings. Read more...

By:  Smita Gaith, Women Deliver

The creation of the MDG Health Alliance was recently announced by GBC Health, a private sector nonprofit coalition that works to improve health around the world. The announcement took place at their two-day GBCHealth Conference, in May.

The Alliance is working in alignment with the Millennium Development Goals targeting maternal and child health.  According to the Alliance, there are 5 underlying initiatives, and they will work towards 7 main goals: 1) improve child health; 2) improve maternal health; 3) achieve near-zero malaria deaths; 4) achieve near-zero transmission of HIV from mother to child; 5) recruit, train, and equip one million community health workers; 6) save one million lives from TB-HIV co-infection; and 7) ensure universal access to reproductive health.  Read more...

By: Denis Robson, Director of African Affairs, Johnson & Johnson

Despite the quiet and formal surroundings of Dr. Aminu Mai’s office, matters of birth and death are always at the front of his mind. As an obstetrician in Nigeria, where one expectant mother dies every 10 minutes through no fault of her own, Dr. Mai spends a lot of time thinking about how closely the two events are linked – and how important it is that the country’s birth attendants receive updated information and training to save lives. Read more...

By: Smita Gaith, Women Deliver

The Nike Foundation continues its commitment to the Girl Effect and the health of girls and women by funding Tostan’s Community Empowerment Programs. 

Tostan is an international grassroots organization. The Community Empowerment Program is a community-based effort that makes use of the power of social networks to promote knowledge and skills sharing. The program was created with the intention of targeting the most vulnerable in the country: rural girls and women and embraces a holistic and participatory approach. Read more...