Updates

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...

Get Involved: Add Your Own Perspectives At The Conversations For A Better World Blog Series

By: Hasinihaja Tsiaro Barijaona Raharison, one of the Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders and an Oxfam Action Partner

In Madagascar, there remains a lack of information about contraception. Myths and misconceptions surrounding contraceptive use are common among young people, and confusion and ignorance has led to incorrect or low use of modern contraceptive methods and high amounts of concern about contraceptive side effects. Myths persist, including stories that modern contraceptive methods are responsible for infertility and that taking a bath or shower after sex, rinsing a woman’s vagina with soda, or taking inappropriate pills after sex are effective at stopping unwanted pregnancies. Read more...

Get Involved: Add Your Own Perspectives At The Conversations For A Better World Blog Series

By: Rachel Cernansky, blogger at Treehugger.com and winner of the Women Bloggers Deliver contest; excerpted from the original post at Treehugger.com

The connection between increased access to family planning and greenhouse gas emissions has been covered here before, but since World Contraception Day was this week and we're still so far from where we need to be on both issues, it's worth another look. Read more...

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...

By: Susana Edjang, Project Manager for Every Woman Every Child effort in the United Nations’ Secretary-General’s Global Health Team

As people across the globe deliberate, whose perspective should be sought out and how can their participation be ensured?

I would like to think that everyone – no matter the background, gender, ethnic group or age – stops to think about the value of the lives of those mothers, sisters, friends, partners and daughters, and sons, that someone just like us loses unnecessarily every day due to preventable causes. The good news is that today we are doing more than just thinking or talking about it. The Every Woman Every Child effort, spear-headed by the UN Secretary-General, aims to ensure that we all work together and that our efforts towards saving and improving the lives of women and children, are better coordinated and enhanced putting into action the Global Strategy for Women and Children’s Health. Read more...

From time to time, we will step out of our sector to see what others are saying about post 2015 goals. This is a blog from Tim Crocker-Buqué of Generation Development, first published in August 2011. 

One of the many striking omissions from the current set of MDGs is no real consideration for the severe lack of healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, technicians, support workers, skilled birth attendants, pharmacists, therapists etc etc) in low and middle income countries. Even with aspirational targets that the current MDGs set, many of them (4, 5 & 6 especially, but arguably 1 and 3 as well) cannot be reached with the current shortage of healthcare workers. Read more...

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...

From time to time, we will step out of our sector to see what others are saying about post 2015 goals. This is a blog from Camilla Toulmin of International Institute for Environment and Development, first published in June 2011.

IIED’s name brings together environment and development — both are essential for sustainability but they are often treated separately. Too often, we get bracketed as an environmental organisation rather than an organisation aiming for development that is consistent with long-term management of natural resources. Read more...

By: Dr. Frederick Torgbor Sai, a Ghanaian family health physician and honorary co-chair of Women Deliver 2010 conference

The eight MDGs are too well known to warrant repetition here. MDG 5 asked for a reduction of the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 2000 and 2015. Other goals related directly to MDG 5 are focused on child health, improvement in women’s status and the reduction of poverty. The attainment of all the other MDGs would also influence MDG 5, as would its attainment also impact all the others. Read more...

From time to time, we will step out of our sector to see what others are saying about post 2015 goals. This is a blog from Andy Sumner of Global Policy, first published in February 2011.

The debate on what, if anything might replace the MDGs in 2015 is starting to emerge. One might imagine three stylized options – more of the same, something that builds on the MDGs, or something completely new. Read more...

By: Gill Greer, Director-General of IPPF

In 2010, after too many years of neglect and denial, the value of womens and girls lives was finally recognised by Heads of State at the MDG summit, in the Muskoka G8 initiative, and in the Global Strategy for Womens and Childrens Health, Every Woman Every Child. Billions were pledged and promises made, by donor and partner governments, foundations, civil society, NGOs, professional groups and others. Yet two initiatives, which drove the largest commitments to womens and childrens health in many years and inspired optimism for a better world, came from outside the MDG and ICPD frameworks. But this is not surprising when we consider recent history. Read more...

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

We are back in the office after an exciting few days at the United Nations. Government representatives, heads of UN agencies, advocates, and youth from across the world gathered in New York July 25-26, 2011 for the United Nations High Level Meeting on Youth. The theme of the High Level Meeting was “Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding” and began on July 25 with two thematic panel discussions focusing on strengthening international cooperation and addressing challenges regarding youth and social integration, employment, poverty eradication and sustainable development. Read more...

By: Jill Sheffield, President of Women Deliver

With 2014 and 2015 approaching, advocates are beginning to talk about what will happen to maternal health and sexual and reproductive health and rights when major international agreements, like ICPD and the MDGs, reach their deadlines. What will happen to the global architecture for maternal health if and when these targets are or are not met? There is some talk of collapsing all the health MDGs (MDG 4, 5, and 6) into a solitary goal to make room for other critical issues, like non-communicable diseases, pandemics, or terrorism. Some thought leaders are talking of creating a whole new framework, while others think the MDGs and ICPD should be extended or have no timeline. Read more...

Want to see how young people from 50 countries all over the world find a way to come together in action for 10 days?

There are 1.8 billion young people in the world today, who make up 1/3rd of the world’s population. Below 90% of them live in developing countries – a number that will increase in the next 20 years. Y-PEER launches a 10-days campaign between July 1st – 10th, 2011 within the International Year of Youth (IYY). The goal of the campaign is to bring young people and youth organizations from 50 countries around the world together, unite forces and make their voice heard on youth issues including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). “10 Days of Activism” will take place simultaneously at national, regional and international levels and will be matched by a social media campaign. Read more...

Early this month, over 120 ambassadors, ministers, parliamentarians, advocates, youth and media gathered today at the International Peace Institute (IPI) for a high-level policy forum, Prevention and Protection Save Lives: Girls, Women and HIV, co-hosted by Women Deliver, IPI, the Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations and Family Care International. Watch the video of the event, and click through to see part II:

Girls, Women, and HIV, Part 1 from International Peace Institute on Vimeo.

By: Joy Marini, Director Corporate Contributions, Johnson & Johnson

At the opening ceremony of the International Confederation of Midwives 29th Triennial Conference in Durban, South Africa on Sunday, a hall full of midwives joined voices to sing "One Love", Bob Marleys anthem of compassion for humankind. As a witness I can report that you have not heard the power of a collective voice until youve heard 3,000 midwives singing about their love and commitment to mothers and babies: Hear the children crying... lets get together and feel all right. Read more...