Updates

Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO of Vestergaard Frandsen and one of the Women Deliver 100, gave the keynote speech at The Economist’s conference, The Sustainable Business Summit, where he spoke about the significance of social responsibility. To begin his speech, he paints a bleak picture:

“Imagine you are 10 years old. You are a girl. You’re walking 3 miles under a 110 degree blazing hot sun. You are fetching water. You do this every day, spending time bringing water home to your family; time you could’ve spent going to school. The water you find may look clear, but it is fact swarming with bacteria. Many of your neighbors are now suffering from chronic diarrhea... But this is your only water source, so you drink it anyway.” Read more...

By: Joy Marini, Director of Corporate Contributions for Johnson & Johnson, Maternal and Child Health

This weekend, l was hiking with my daughter in Thompson Park in New Jersey when we came upon a spigot from a natural spring. The water was fresh and ice cold. It was a perfect break from our brisk walk on a warm, early Spring day. The signs at the spigot read, “Consume at your own risk” (although people have been drinking from this spring for decades) and “Families please take no more than eight gallons if people are waiting in line.” If you’re a hiker or a camper, bottling eight gallons does not seem all that extraordinary. But – for families living in a country where water is scarce or polluted by human waste, this is an unimaginable luxury. 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...

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...

By: Mariko Rasmussen, Communications Specialist at Women Deliver

In Guatemala, young indigenous girls living in rural areas often do not have a chance to go to school. Instead, they help their families, living in social isolation and sometimes chronic poverty. They often marry young and have many children – the country’s fertility rates are among the highest in Latin America, with each woman bearing an average of 4.4 children over her lifetime. These indigenous girls have limited access to basic services such as water, sanitation, passable roads, and health care. To help break the cycle and enable these girls to reach their full potential, the Population Council, in collaboration with other partners, launched a program called Abriendo Oportunidades (Creating Opportunities) in 2004. Read more...

By: Madeline Taskier, Partnership Coordinator at Women Deliver

The Preston Auditorium at the World Bank is an unlikely place for a hip-hop concert--especially a concert with a significant focus on women and girls. However, yesterday I attended the Adolescent Girls Initiative (AGI) Event hosted by the World Bank and the Nike Foundation where energy and optimism flowed through the venue as passionate activists, performers, and leaders came to celebrate progress for adolescent girls. Read more...