Updates

By: Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, Regional Director of the Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office; Originally published in The Independent

A few weeks ago, on 8 March, the world celebrated International Women’s Day, which serves as a clarion call to honor girls’ and women’s contributions to their families, communities and nations. As our global population swells to over 7 billion, we must heed this call by working to ensure that every girl and woman lives a long, healthy and happy life.

Here in Africa, we are doing just that. On 27-28 March, policymakers, researchers and advocates from across the continent – including Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni and Minister of Health Honorable Dr. Christine Ondoa – are gathering in Kampala for a regional consultation on maternal and reproductive health. At this meeting, convened by Partners in Population and Development and global advocacy organization Women Deliver, experts will discuss lessons learned, best practices and challenges for improving the health and wellbeing of girls and women. Read more...

By: Christy Turlington Burns, mother, model, film-maker and founder of Every Mother Counts; Originally posted on the Dfid blog

I celebrated the 101st International Women's Day in the halls of the United Nations last week. I followed Twitter, and shared blogs and news stories that collectively called we women to action. When I take a step back, as I did last week, I'm reminded that the "women's rights are human rights" movement is still very much a process in many parts of the world. One thing that I have noticed through filming women around the world is that most of us girls and women are inspired by one another's stories.

Stories create hope. Everywhere I travel, I listen to stories that blow my mind with the courage, personal sacrifices and perseverance of so many women. Read more...

By: Jessica Mack, Orginally posted on RH Reality Check 

International Women’s Day, March 8, is a harbinger of lists. Those lists are usually awesome and inspiring – hundreds of women who shake the world, deliver for girls and women, or are simply deemed “top in the world.” (Why these lists don’t come out more than once or twice a year is beyond me). But this year, sifting through International Women’s Day emails, events, and announcements, I was pleasantly surprised to see a different kind of list. Read more...

Janna Oberdorf, Women Deliver; Originally posted on the Impatient Optimist

Half the world’s population is under the age of 25. Young women have always been leaders in their families, managing households and caring for their family members. Increasingly, young women are taking on leadership roles in the private and public sector. But despite their extraordinary potential, girls and women remain invisible in much of the world. In developing countries, a girl is more likely to be uneducated, a child bride, or exposed to HIV/AIDS than to be an educated professional. Only $.02 of every development aid dollar is directed to girls. Read more...

By Erin Hohlfelder; Originally posted on ONE Blog.

I recently sat down with Jill Sheffield, founder of Women Deliver, an organization that works to reduce maternal mortality and achieve universal access to reproductive health, to talk about her plans for International Women’s Day, the Women Deliver 50 list and the fight for women’s equality and empowerment. Read more...

By: Jill Sheffield, President of Women Deliver; Originally posted on the Huffington Post

Today, on the 101st anniversary of International Women's Day, we celebrate girls and women, and the tremendous contributions they make to families, communities and the world. As my friends Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have so profoundly said, women do hold up half the sky. They contribute up to one-third of global gross domestic product, and their health and education create a domino effect of positive outcomes. In turn, the world needs to ensure that girls and women have access to the information and services they need to stay healthy.

There could not be a more urgent time for the global community to focus our efforts on maternal and reproductive health. Each year, more than 358,000 women die from pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications. Approximately 99 percent of these deaths occur in the developing world, and the vast majority are entirely preventable. Read more...

By: Jill Sheffield, President, Women Deliver

International Women’s Day is an opportunity for the global community to celebrate the contributions of girls and women to our families, communities and nations. It is also a time to reflect on the issues and challenges that face girls and women everywhere, from maternal deaths to poor access to healthcare to child marriage to violence.

Last year, Women Deliver highlighted 100 leaders who are making a difference for girls and women. This year, we released the Women Deliver 50, which puts a spotlight on inspiring ideas and solutions to improve the health and well-being of girls and women through an online contest. We put out a global call for nominations, a selection committee chose 125 finalists, and the public voted for 50 winners. Read more...

By: Esther Agbarakwe, one of the Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders from Nigeria

Last week I had the rare opportunity of co-hosting a dinner to celebrate women as part of the Global Dinner Party to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. The dinner was organized by the Nigeria Health Campaign of the White Ribbon Alliance in Nigeria in partnership with Save the Children Nigeria. Our focus was to enlighten the media about commitments made by Nigeria's government in support of the UN Secretary General's Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health. Read more...

By: Jill Sheffield, President of Women Deliver, and Nalini Saligram, Founder & CEO of Arogya World; originally posted on the Huffington Post

There are times in the history of the world when the actions of people with foresight and wisdom have averted crises on a mass scale. We are hopeful that this will be another of those times, and that the 100th observance of International Women's Day on March 8 will be the catalyst. Read more...

March 8^th will mark the 100^th anniversary of International Women’s Day, a day when thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. To commemorate, CARE USA will host the CARE Conference and International Women’s Day Celebration March 8 – 10, 2011 in Washington, DC. Read more...