By: Madeline Taskier, Strategic Partnerships Associate, Women Deliver
When Kakenya Ntaiya was 5 years old, she was engaged to be married. Growing up in Enoosaen, a rural Maasi village in southwestern Kenya, she helped her mother tend the farm and cattle, take care of her siblings, and gather water from the river. She rarely had the chance to attend school; only when her chores were completed.
In her village, like many others in Kenya, girls are expected to undergo female genital cutting (FGC), a coming-of-age ritual signifying womanhood at the age of puberty. After the ceremony has concluded, she is deemed ready for marriage. But Kakenya did not want to be married yet. She had dreams of going through primary and secondary school, going to college and becoming a teacher. Read more...
Updates
Celebrate Solutions: Bringing Hope and Opportunity to Kenya’s Maasai Girls and Women
November 14th, 2011
2015+: Will The Next Global Development Agenda Finally Deliver For Women And Girls?
November 9th, 2011
By: Stuart Halford, Advocacy Officer, International Planned Parenthood Federation
(This editorial reflects the thoughts and views of the author, and not necessarily those of the International Planned Parenthood Federation)
Late last year, Yemen, on behalf of the G77, and China put forward a resolution that was adopted by the General Assembly. The resolution entitled “Follow-up to the International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014”extended the Programme of Action (PoA) and called for an United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) in 2014, to assess the status of ICPD’s implementation. It noted that the goals and objectives of the ICPD remained valid beyond 2014, but that many governments were still not on track to achieving them. Read more...
2015+: Join Our Critical Online Discussion Forum on the Future of Reproductive and Maternal Health
November 1st, 2011
With the deadlines for the Millennium Development Goals and the International Conference on Population and Development’s Program of Action fast approaching, Women Deliver is calling on the entire reproductive and maternal health community—from policymakers to health workers to advocates—to participate in an online discussion to shape the future of our field.
Join this critical global conversation at www.knowledge-gateway.org/womendeliver and weigh in on where we are, where we need to be, and how we need to get there. This means taking stock of lessons learned, challenges ahead, and tackling the critical question: What will—and what must—happen to the MDGs and ICPD after 2015? Read more...
2015+: What Happens To the Millennium Development Goals When They Expire?
October 26th, 2011
By: Rachel Cernansky, winner of the Women Bloggers Deliver contest
The Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015, which means it's time to start looking ahead to what happens once they do. And looking back to see what good they've served. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a report in July, highlighting progress achieved toward the goals so far, including: Read more...
G(irls)20 Summit Communiqué Lists Recommendations for G20 Leaders on Closing Gender Gap
October 25th, 2011
Delegates participating in the G(irls)20 Summit in Paris presented French President Nicholas Sarkozy with a communiqué featuring recommendations on how G20 leaders can help reduce gender inequality and recognize the pivotal role women and girls play in advancing the global economy. Drafted by 21 young delegates -- all women under the age of 20 -- the communiqué features more than 30 specific recommendations on gender-based violence and inequality; education, training, and employment; political, economic, and social representation; and health; designed to influence global leaders convening at the G20 meetings in Cannes, France next month. Read more...
2015+: Reclaiming A Seat At The Table
October 19th, 2011
A Call for Engagement by the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Community
By: Alicia Ely Yamin is Director of the Program on the Health Rights of Women and Children at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. She served on the 2011 PMNCH Commitments Report advisory Panel.
It is understandable that the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) communities have generally maintained a critical distance from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) process, as MDG 5 represented a dramatic departure from the hard-won, holistic vision of reproductive health set out in the 1994 Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and reaffirmed in the subsequent Beijing Declaration. Read more...
Women Deliver Congratulates 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winners
October 13th, 2011
We at Women Deliver congratulate this year’s three Nobel Peace Prize winners—Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee (pictured at right at Women Deliver 2010), and Yemeni peace activist Tawakkul Karman—on being recognized by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” Read more...
Corporate Buzz: Chickpeas Nourish Ethiopia’s Mothers, Children and Agricultural Economy
October 13th, 2011
By: Rati Bishnoi, Special Projects Intern at Women Deliver
Could chickpeas be a potential solution for meeting two of Ethiopia’s biggest challenges: child malnourishment and an underperforming economy?
PepsiCo, the World Food Programme (WFP), and USAID believe so. That’s why the company is entering into an innovative public-private partnership with the WFP and USAID to promote food and economic security in the east African nation. Under Enterprise EthioPEA, the three organizations will work with nearly 10,000 Ethiopian farmers to double chickpea yields by utilizing modern agricultural practices and better irrigation techniques. Read more...
Celebrate Solutions: Meeting the Reproductive Needs of Refugee Women
October 10th, 2011
By: Rati Bishnoi, Special Projects Intern
In 2008, while attempting to escape fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, Fadhumo* fled the city with two of her seven children. After seeking shelter in the Bariga Bosasso refugee settlement, she was eventually reunited with her sister and remaining children.
Security was limited, however, and the then-pregnant Fadhumo was raped by two men. “I tried to fight them off but they were much stronger. They beat me viciously, breaking both my wrists. They raped me repeatedly without caring that I was pregnant,” Fadhumo told the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As a result of the rape, Fadhumo lost her unborn child and fell into a deep depression. Her ability to support herself or her other children diminished. Thankfully, Fadhumo is now rebuilding her life, has re-launched her grocery business and joined a support group for rape survivors. Read more...
2015+: Achieving Universal Access Requires More Than Health Services
October 5th, 2011
By: Serra Sippel, President of the Center for Health and Gender Equity
The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadlines are coming up in 2014 and 2015 respectively, and will quickly pass. What will come next? Deadline extensions? A single health MDG? A combined solution of a new mechanism with new deadline? When it comes to maternal health—to women’s health—does this matter?
Consider the ICPD goal of universal access to reproductive health through the primary health system by 2015. The goal was adopted in 2007 as a target for reaching MDG 5 on maternal health. Universal access to reproductive health through primary care is not merely access to contraceptive supplies, or safe delivery in pregnancy. Read more...
UN Resolution on Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Adopted
October 4th, 2011
By: Joanna Hoffman, Special Projects Manager
Last week on September 28th, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution reaffirming the importance of addressing maternal mortality and morbidity, and calling for direct action to save mothers’ lives. Specifically, the resolution calls for the development of practical guidance, through an expert workshop, to assist States, the United Nations system and all stakeholders in applying human-rights based frameworks to programs and policies aimed at preventing maternal death and disability. Read more...
Women Deliver Has Strong Presence During UNGA Week
September 29th, 2011
The third week of September was a busy one for Women Deliver. The United Nations General Assembly and the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), amongst other events, filled the city with Heads of State and agents of change, providing ample opportunity to discuss maternal health, sexual and reproductive rights and gender equity. Here are a few of our highlights:
- The World Bank: “Realizing the Demographic Dividend, Challenges and Opportunities for Ministers of Finance and Development” panel focused on the policy actions necessary in family planning, health, education, gender equality, and labor market policies, if positive economic returns are to be secured. Women Deliver Founder and President, Jill Sheffield, who spoke at the event, reinforced this point by stating: "The fact is: that women drive economic development. They operate the majority of small businesses and farms in developing countries and their unpaid work equals roughly 1/3 of the GDP." Read more...
Family Planning, Healthier Economies
September 29th, 2011
Originally posted by the World Bank on 09/24/2011
By: Julia Ross, Corporate and Home Page Editor for the World Bank website
Countries like South Korea and Thailand have seen similar demographic formulas work to their advantage in recent decades: falling fertility rates lead to burgeoning adult working populations lead to greater economic productivity.
How did they harness these changes to create engines of growth? According to speakers at a World Bank panel on “Realizing the Demographic Dividend,” greater investments in health, family planning, and gender equality paved the way, followed by further investments in education, youth development, and job creation. Read more...
2015+: Ensuring Women’s Sexual & Reproductive Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean
September 28th, 2011
By: Mabel Bianco, President of Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer – FEIM
Prior to the creation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and particularly MDG 5 (to improve maternal health), there were many international agreements for improving the status of all citizens, including those focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Although these international agreements, including the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Programme of Action (PoA) and the Beijing Platform for Action (PfA), preceded the MDGs, the responsibilities and commitments to sexual and reproductive health and rights that governments and donors established are broader than those encompassed in MDG5 and 5B. Read more...
The World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development, Finds Gaps in Women’s Progress
September 23rd, 2011
Originally posted by The World Bank:
The lives of women around the world have improved dramatically, at a pace and scope difficult to imagine even 25 years ago. Women have made unprecedented gains in rights, education, health, and access to jobs and livelihoods.
Despite the progress, gaps remain in many areas. The worst disparity is the rate at which girls and women die relative to men in developing countries. Excess female deaths account for an estimated 3.9 million women each year in low- and middle-income countries. About two-fifths are never born due to a preference for sons, a sixth die in early childhood, and over a third die in their reproductive years. Read more...
Women for a Healthy Future: New Global Movement Demands Action Against NCDs
September 19th, 2011
September 19, 2011, New York. Today, as world leaders gather at the United Nations for a historic health-focused summit to plan the world's response to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), thousands from around the world are demanding action. These women — and some men — from more than 95 countries are signatories on an online petition (http://www.change.org/petitions/women-demand-a-healthy-future-free-of-chronic-disease), the first activity of a new movement, Women for a Healthy Future. The petition is still open – we encourage women to sign. Read more...
Civil Society Calls for Applying Human Rights-Based Approach to Preventing Maternal Death
September 14th, 2011
September 14, 2011, Geneva. Over 100 ambassadors, UN agencies and staff, as well as civil society organizations came together in Geneva (14.09.2011) to call for operational guidance on implementing the human rights-based approach to preventing maternal death and disability. Read more...
2015+: A Conversation about Youth Sexual and Reproductive Rights
September 14th, 2011
By: Maria Inés Romero (26, Paraguay) and Wieke Vink (20, the Netherlands), members of the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights
This next blog in our series "2015+" is a conversation between two Youth Coalition members (ages 20 and 26) about youth sexual and reproductive rights and why they think it’s important to put young people at the heart of the next development agenda. Read more...
Event Alert: World Bank Online Forum on Gender Asks, ‘How Do We Get to Equal?’
August 30th, 2011
If questions like why women make up the majority of unpaid workers worldwide and why only one in five lawmakers globally are women leave you perplexed and—quite frankly—mad, tune and make your voice heard during the World Bank’s Open Forum, “Gender – Getting to Equal,” on Sept. 20th and 21st. Read more...
New Report Documents Maternity Care Failures in South Africa
August 22nd, 2011
A recent report by Human Rights Watch, “Stop Making Excuses’: Accountability for Maternal health Care in South Africa,” documents maternity care failures that include the abuse of maternity patients by health workers and substandard care in Eastern Cape Province, putting women and their newborns at high risk of death or injury. Read more…