August 12th marks the 4th anniversary of International Youth Day, an event organized and adopted by the United Nations. Recognizing the growing role and importance of young people as stakeholders in global development, this year’s theme, “Building a Better World: Partnering with Youth,” is a call to action for organizations and individuals to develop partnerships and involve youth, especially in the areas of education, including sexual and reproductive health; political inclusion; employment; and protection of rights. Read more...
Updates
Partnering with Youth for International Youth Day 2012
August 9th, 2012
After the Summit: Down to Earth
July 31st, 2012
By: Tewodros Melesse, International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF); Originally posted on RH Reality Check
On the day of the London Summit on Family Planning, I left the hall a little late. The seats were already stacked away, the stage was bare, the screens had gone, most of the delegates had departed, and the cleaners were sweeping up discarded order papers and agendas. It might have never happened. Read more...
United Nations Adopts Landmark Resolution on Adolescents and Youth
April 30th, 2012
Late Friday, 27 April 2012, at the 45th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development (CPD), member states issued a bold resolution in support of young people’s sexual and reproductive health and human rights.
This victory comes on the heels of a UNICEF report released this week highlighting the challenges that the largest-ever generation of young people face—including HIV/AIDS, violence, and unintended pregnancy—and reaffirms long-standing international agreements including the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action. Read more...
Celebrate Solutions: Skillz Street Changes the Game for Girls in South Africa
April 30th, 2012
By: Elise Braunschweig; Grassroot Soccer is a winner of the Women Deliver 50
South Africa is enduring one of the world‘s most severe HIV epidemics with an adult prevalence rate of 16.9%. Research shows that three inter-related risk factors—harmful gender norms and gender-based violence, multiple partners, and age-disparate sex—are driving the epidemic and that HIV is disproportionately concentrated among women and girls. Read more...
TedxChange asks “How Have Contraceptives Changed Your Life?”
April 5th, 2012
By: Smita Gaith, Women Deliver
Today, TedxChange and Melinda Gates launched the No Controversy website, in the hopes that people around the world will share their stories, read about the experiences of others, and become educated on the importance of contraception and family planning. The launch, which is available on Livestream, comes three months ahead of the July 11 Family Planning Summit that will take place in London. The Summit, supported by the Department for International Development (DFID), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other partners, seeks to generate political commitment and greater resources to meet the family planning needs of women in some of the least wealthy countries by 2020. Read more...
Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly Debates First Resolution on Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health
April 4th, 2012
The 126th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly took place in Kampala, Uganda from March 31 to April 5. This meeting was the first time the IPU has debated a resolution on maternal, newborn and child health. The resolution was drafted in September by the governments of Canada, India, and Uganda, and is known as ‘Access to Health as a Basic Right: The Role of Parliaments in Addressing Key Challenges to Securing the Health of Women and Children.’ The IPU Assembly, which meets every year as a focal point for worldwide parliamentary dialogue, drew over 600 members of parliament from more than 120 countries to Kampala, Uganda. Read more...
Journalist Threatened for Reporting on Female Genital Mutilation
March 12th, 2012
By: Joanna Hoffman, Woman Deliver
Pulitzer-Center grantee Mae Azango has gone into hiding after receiving death threats in response to an article she published last Thursday in FrontPage Africa. Azango bravely reported on female genital mutilation (FGM) in rural Liberia, and the devastating, and sometimes deadly, aftereffects it can produce.
Ten out of Liberia’s 16 tribes practice FGM, accounting for up to 85% of the country’s population. Often, cutting takes place in an unsanitary environment with unsterilized tools, which can lead to infection, tetanus, and HIV transmission. If fresh tissue is cut and not stitched up, excessive bleeding can lead to shock and death. Read more...
Updates from Women Deliver: Next Steps in Advocating for Girls and Women Worldwide
February 3rd, 2012
2012 is already shaping up to be a year of progress and forward-thinking, particularly as we begin to construct a new development framework. Convening global and regional experts, engaging young people and revolutionizing funding for projects focusing on girls and women will be critical steps forward. With this in mind, the Women Deliver team has been hard at work planning for the 2012 Regional Consultations and the next global conference in 2013 in Kuala Lumpur; developing a funding platform; planning for the Commission on Population and Development; and continuing to advocate for the health and well-being of girls and women worldwide. We’re excited 2012 is already shaping up to be a year of progress and forward-thinking, particularly as we begin to construct a new development framework. Read more...