Updates

This year's State of World Population report, People and Possibilities in a World of 7 Billion, looks at the the dynamics behind the numbers. It explains the trends that are defining our world of 7 billion and documents actions that people in vastly different countries and circumstances are taking in their own communities to make the most of their--and our--world. Read more...

Corporate investments in the health and well-being of girls and women, if effectively harnessed and directed, could be the key to addressing maternal and newborn health challenges, according to a new report released by The National Bureau of Asian Research Center for Health and Aging. Read more...

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…

Newborn health is intrinsically linked to the health of the mother and the care she receives before, during and immediately after giving birth. As deaths from infectious diseases fall, they are replaced by birth defects as the leading cause of childhood death. Every year, around eight million babies are born with birth defects, and at least three million children die. Many more face a lifetime of disability, poverty and stigma. Read more…

A new report, The Right to Contraceptive Information and Services for Women and Adolescents, launched 23 March 2011 by UNFPA and the Center for Reproductive Rights, examines the right to access contraceptive information and services for women and adolescents. It provides practical guidance for activists, scholars, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, governments and other actors working in the area of sexual and reproductive health to integrate human rights into programs and policies on contraceptive information and services. Read more…

The role of skilled birth attendants, in particular midwives and others with midwifery competencies, is widely acknowledged as being crucial to addressing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, and to promoting women’s and children’s health. An upcoming publication entitled The State of the World’s Midwifery, from UNFPA and a coalition of partners, will take stock of recent analyses showing that both midwifery personnel and services are unequally distributed - both between and within countries.

The Live & Living MDG 5 Shadow Report is an interactive, web-based report on the progress of the Millennium Development Goals 3 & 5 in twelve countries in Asia. The countries covered include the South Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan; the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines; the Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam as well as the East Asian country of China.

ICRW recently released 2^nd report in the Girls Count series, “Girls Speak: A New Voice in Global Development,” shows that girls’ insights in development increase impact and effectiveness. The report draws together girls’ voices and makes them accessible to policymakers and program managers. The United Nations Foundation and the Nike Foundation funded the report.