Updates

By: Rachel Cernansky, winner of the Women Bloggers Deliver contest

It was raining when we got to the Malava Girls school--the loud, heavy kind of rain that makes it hard to hear your own voice inside--and we weren't sure we would get to visit with the girls we came to see. The plan was to demonstrate a LifeStraw Family and to hear what they had to say about clean water and the impact of waterborne diseases on their lives.

But we waited the rain out and did get to see the girls, just an hour or so later than scheduled. And we got to hear about so much more than just water. Read more...

By: Toyin Ajao, winner of the Women Bloggers Deliver contest

As part of the Women Bloggers Deliver contest, and the Carbon for Water campaign, I am excited to be traveling around the Western Province of Kenya, meeting women and girls who are hard-hit by the issues associated with the Millennium Development Goals. Yesterday, I got the chance to visit the Malava’s Girls High School -- a reaffirmation time that the Millennium Development Goals are so important, especially the goal addressing women and girls’ issues. Read more...

By: Janna Oberdorf, Director of Communications and Outreach for Women Deliver, and Mariko Rasmussen, Communications Specialist

Today is the 100^th anniversary of International Women’s Day. When we think about how far women have come in the past 50 years, let alone the last 100, we are amazed at the power of women to make a better future for themselves. But, our work isn’t over yet – we have to keep fighting and keep pushing to reach full gender equality and equity.

To both celebrate how far we’ve come, and the even greater potential for the future, CARE is chronicling the advances and struggles of women by releasing the “Top 10 Myths about Women.” For each myth, CARE will take a look back and honor a “myth-buster” who did something remarkable to dispel that particular piece of female folklore during the last 100 years. Each myth also will come with a second “myth-buster,” someone who is positioned to lead the way in disproving the myth in the future. Read more...

By: Jill Sheffield, president and founder of Women Deliver, originally posted on the ONE Blog

This week, Women Deliver announced the “Women Deliver 100,” a list of the top 100 people in the world – men and women, young and old – who are delivering for women. When I read the stories of the individuals honored, I am overcome with inspiration and gratitude. These are some of the most intrepid and committed people in the world, who are dedicated to improving the lives of girls and women…at many costs. These are people who get that girls and women make the world go round, and that investing in them – prioritizing them, protecting their rights, telling their stories – pays. Read more...

By: Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund

This year, world population will hit 7 billion. With this major milestone occurring in my first year as Executive Director of UNFPA, I have an interesting and unique opportunity in leading the organization’s priorities.

One major focus will be today’s large generation of young people. There are an estimated 1.8 billion adolescents and youth aged 10 to 24, accounting for nearly a quarter of the planet's population. Just below 90 per cent of them live in developing countries and that proportion will increase during the next 20 years. They want freedom, participation and dignity and their decisions will define the future. Read more...

Yesterday, Madeleine Bunting, a columnist for the Guardian who writes on a wide range of subjects including women's issues and social change, wrote about the UN's new agency for women, UN Women. In her blog for the Poverty Matters Blog, she mentions that although world leaders have been vocal about the importance of women's empowerment, they need to demonstrate their commitment by agreeing to properly fund UN Women, which before it's official start is already likely to be under-funded and under-resourced. Read more...

By: Joanna Hoffman, Program Associate at Women Deliver

Twenty-one years have passed since the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. This development was largely due to the efforts of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which has worked to develop a number of critical declarations focusing on the human rights of women. The text of the Convention was initially drafted by working groups within the Commission and through a working group of the General Assembly from 1977-1979. Since then, 186 of 193 countries have ratified CEDAW. Only seven have not, including the United States, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, and three small Pacific Island nations (Nauru, Palau and Tonga). Next Thursday, November 18^th, a hearing will be held in the US Senate on the importance of ratifying CEDAW.

Click through to learn: What is CEDAW?; Why should the US ratify CEDAW?; and What you can do right now!

By: Mariko Rasmussen, Program Assistant at Women Deliver

Imagine a woman home alone and going into premature childbirth. She feels helpless and scared, and begins to bleed. Now imagine this woman has a mobile phone. She feels connected and more secure, knowing help is a text or phone call away. And if she had had access to a phone during her pregnancy, prenatal text messages could have prepared her for such an emergency. It is no surprise that increasing the use of mobile phones among women is a key strategy to reducing maternal and newborn mortality, and one of the five technologies that Women Deliver is championing to reach MDG5. Read more...

Today, August 12, 2010, is International Youth Day. Its a day to celebrate the power of young people to make positive change for their communities, countries, and the world. Even bigger, today kicks off the International Year of Youth. There are lots of ways you can get involved over the next few months, and year. Click through to read 10 actions you can take right now...

Through distance learning with U.S. volunteers, Afghan women are learning writing skills and filling a blog with their thoughts about love, politics and family, according to an article in Womens eNews:

In more than 100 entries about love, politics and a variety of other topics, Roya, Seeta and a small group of other Afghan women are able to express themselves freely, something women like them cannot always do.