By: Deborah Espinosa, Landesa; Originally posted on Landesa Field Focus Blog
Women in Ol Pusimoru, Kenya have much to celebrate today – but it hasn’t been an easy journey.
Back in 2010, Kenya adopted a revolutionary new constitution that offered women unprecedented protections and freedoms – including equal rights to land and family resources. Read more...
Updates
A Revolution from the Ground Up
June 11th, 2013
UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel Report is a Bold and Inspired Step Toward A Better World
June 3rd, 2013
United Nations Foundation President and CEO Kathy Calvin issued the following statement today on the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel’s report on the Post-2015 Development Agenda:
“The United Nations Foundation welcomes the report of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda – a particularly significant and bold contribution to the development of a new framework to succeed the Millennium Development Goals. Read more...
Global Leaders Call for Accelerated Progress on Family Planning at Women Deliver 2013
May 30th, 2013
Melinda Gates, Babatunde Osotimehin and others highlight progress in expanding contraceptive access
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 29 May 2013 – On the second day of Women Deliver 2013, the largest conference on girls and women of the decade, global leaders announced progress and new commitments toward expanding contraceptive access for women in developing countries. They also outlined plans for sustaining this momentum in the years to come. Read more...
Girls’ & Women’s Health and Rights in Focus at Women Deliver 2013 in Kuala Lumpur
May 29th, 2013
Malaysian Prime Minister Honourable Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak and other global luminaries
open largest conference on girls and women of the decade
World Bank and Guttmacher Institute release new data on the value of investing in girls and women
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 28 May 2013 — Today, more than 4,000 global leaders and advocates from nearly 150 countries gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for Women Deliver 2013, the largest conference of the decade focused on the health and wellbeing of girls and women. The opening sessions of this three-day event highlighted the critical need to invest in girls and women to spur development worldwide.
Malaysian Prime Minister Honorable Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak delivered welcoming remarks and discussed Malaysia’s efforts to ensure equal rights and opportunities for women as a critical component of the nation’s development and economic growth. The Prime Minister highlighted Malaysia’s success in reducing maternal mortality, and offered to share lessons learned with countries working to improve maternal health. Read more...
Fistula’s Youngest Victims
May 23rd, 2013
By: Kate Gilmore, Deputy Executive Director (Programme) of United Nations Population Fund; Originally posted on Huffington Post
In my role at the United Nations Population Fund, I have the privilege to travel to urban, rural and remote locations to see the range of efforts being made so that every woman might give birth safely and in dignity, supported by midwives or other skilled attendants. But in many countries, a safe labor and delivery for mother and child is still a lottery -- a roll of the dice. When services are not available, when skilled birth attendants are not in reach, when information is not provided or distance or poverty or discrimination or isolation means a pregnant woman is without access to support, the consequences can be grave, indeed. Read more...
Strengthening Midwifery Care: Improving Quality, Addressing Challenges
May 23rd, 2013
Six international organizations, as well as multilateral, civil society and private sector partners are hosting the Second Global Midwifery Symposium in Kuala Lumpur on 26-27 May. The event focuses on strengthening quality, life-saving midwifery care. If all women delivered with a competent, well equipped midwife, two thirds of maternal and newborn deaths could be averted and roughly 3.6 million lives saved by 2015. Read more...
Men, Step Up on Family Planning
May 17th, 2013
By: Babatunde Osotimehin, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund; Originally posted on CNN Opinion
Our failure to give women in certain parts of the world the ability to decide the timing and number of their children is deeply damaging -- not just for the women themselves but for societies, too. Lifting the obstacles is not something that can be tackled half-heartedly.
Modern family planning programs were introduced widely in the developed world decades ago. Providing voluntary family planning is one of the most cost-effective ways of improving health. Yet, over 200 million women, overwhelmingly in the poorest countries, who want access to modern family planning still can't get this help. Read more...
New Study Finds Little Progress in Meeting Demand for Contraception in the Poorest Countries
May 17th, 2013
Women in Poorest Countries Who Want to Avoid Pregnancy Are Three Times as Likely to Have an Unmet Need for Modern Methods as Women in Higher-Income Developing Countries
A new study by the Guttmacher Institute finds that within the developing world, the poorest countries are lagging far behind higher-income developing countries in meeting the demand for modern contraception. Between 2003 and 2012, the total number of women wanting to avoid pregnancy and in need of contraception increased from 716 million to 867 million, with growth concentrated among women in the 69 poorest countries where modern method use was already very low. The study, "Trends in Contraceptive Need and Use in Developing Countries in 2003, 2008, 2012: An Analysis of National Surveys" by Jacqueline E. Darroch and Susheela Singh, is published in the latest issue of The Lancet. Read more...
Ugandan Physician, Receives 2013 United Nations Population Award
May 3rd, 2013
Originally posted on: PPD ARO Blog
Dr. Jotham Musinguzi a strong advocate of reproductive health and family planning was announced winner of the 2013 United Nations Population Award. Dr. Musinguzi is the Regional Director of Partners in Population and Development (PPD) Africa Regional Office (ARO) based in Kampala, Uganda. Read more...
UNICEF: “Addressing Inequalities Is Not a Choice - It’s a Moral and Practical Necessity”
February 22nd, 2013
By: Shannon O'Shea and Richard Morgan; Originally posted on UNICEF.org
In his opening remarks at The Leadership Meeting on Addressing Inequalities in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, held 18–19 February in Copenhagen, Denmark, Executive Director Anthony Lake spoke of the growing inequalities that are an impediment to sustainable and equitable growth.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, 21 February 2013 – “[W]e should be asking not only what growth will do for equity…but also what equity will do for growth.” Read more...
Global Leaders To Call For Action On Maternal & Reproductive Health At Women Deliver 2013 Conference
February 21st, 2013
High-level participants join program for advocacy organization’s landmark meeting in Kuala Lumpur
A number of influential leaders are confirmed to participate in the Women Deliver’s third global conference, Women Deliver 2013, which will take place on May 28-30 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Speakers at the conference will include:
- Melinda Gates, Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General & Executive Director of United Nations Women
- Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
- HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
- Dr. Hans Rosling, Professor of International Health, Karolinska Institute; Co-founder & Chairman, Gapminder Foundation
How the EU Can Make Valentine’s Day Happier for the World’s Girls
February 11th, 2013
By: Véronique Mathieu and Katarína Neveďalová; Originally posted on EurActiv.com
The right to choose your partner is vital for achieving global gender equality and development: It is the EU’s duty to take the lead in ending forced child marriage, say MEPs Véronique Mathieu and Katarína Neveďalová.
Véronique Mathieu (EPP, France) and Katarína Neveďalová (S&D, Slovakia) are members of the European Parliament’s Working Group on Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS and Development.
Alongside Christmas and Halloween, there are few days in the European calendar that arouse more attention that Valentine’s Day. Love is something universal that unites us all. Read more...
Fewer Girls Threatened by Female Genital Mutilation
February 6th, 2013
UNFPA and UNICEF call for accelerated efforts as the practice begins to decline
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 6 February 2013—Fewer girls are subjected to the life-threatening practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) according to new data from the United Nations, released on 6 February, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. The data show that FGM/C is becoming less prevalent overall and the younger generation is less vulnerable to the practice. In the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East, where the practice of FGM/C is concentrated, on average, 36 per cent of girls aged 15-19 have been cut compared to an estimated 53 per cent of women aged 45-49. The decline is particularly sharp in some countries: in Kenya, for example, women aged 45-49 are three times more likely to have been cut than girls aged 15-19. Read more...
Secretary-General Appoints Young Jordanian as His Envoy on Youth
January 22nd, 2013
Originally posted on UN News Centre
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Ahmad Alhindawi of Jordan as his Envoy on Youth, a spokesperson for the world body’s chief said today. “The Secretary-General in his Five-Year Action Agenda identified ‘Working with and for Women and Young People’ as one of his top priorities, the spokesperson added in a note to the media. “In this context, the Envoy on Youth will work to address the needs of the largest generation of youth the world has ever known.” Read more...
UN Passes Resolution to Ban Female Genital Mutilation
December 21st, 2012
Yesterday, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution banning the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This resolution was one of five passed yesterday to advance the rights of girls and women worldwide.
Approximately 140 million girls and women across the globe are affected by FGM, and each year an additional three million girls are at risk of being subjected to the practice. In Africa, it is estimated that 92 million girls under the age of 10 have undergone FGM. FGM can result in severe bleeding, urinary difficulties, infections, infertility and complications in childbirth, and is widely recognized as a human rights violation. Read more...
Women Deliver Opens Media Registration for Groundbreaking Conference on Girls and Women
December 6th, 2012
Advocacy organization’s third triennial global conference in May 2013 will draw 5,000 policymakers, researchers and advocates to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
New York, NY, December 6, 2012—Media registration is now open for the Women Deliver 2013 conference, the largest meeting of the decade to focus on the health and empowerment of girls and women. This landmark event expects to draw 5,000 leaders and advocates to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from May 28-30, 2013. The 2013 conference, which will be hosted for the first time in Asia, follows Women Deliver’s historic conferences previously held in London in 2007 and Washington, D.C. in 2010. Read more...
We Can Only End Violence Against Women Together
November 26th, 2012
By: Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women; Originally posted on Huffington Post
I am often asked whether ending violence against women is possible given the pervasiveness and persistence of these crimes. My answer is yes. It is possible. But we can only do it together. We are all responsible and it is time for leaders to fulfill the promises made to women. Today, looking towards Sunday's International Day to End Violence against Women, I call on all leaders: Take a stand to end violence against women and girls. Last year I launched the 16-step policy agenda. Today, I urge all Heads of State and Government to end the scourge of violence that affects every society by participating in an exciting global initiative to showcase national commitments to end violence against women and girls. Read more...
Young People Have the Power to Change the World
November 16th, 2012
By: Babatunde Osotimehin; Originally posted on The Atlantic
... despite half of the world's youth living on less than two dollars a day.
A social media revolution is unfolding before our eyes, forever changing the way we connect. I see this whenever I travel; the young boys of Lagos preoccupied with their cell-phones; a young girl tweeting from a health-care clinic in Bogota; a young Liberian nurse taking notes on an iPad. I also see how my own children connect with friends on Facebook. Read more...
Delivering a World Where Every Pregnancy Is Wanted
November 15th, 2012
By: Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin; Originally posted on Global Motherhood, Huffington Post
The ability to decide when to have children, and how many, is seen as one of the most significant social advances of recent decades. However, this quiet but profound revolution has not yet touched all parts of the world equally. Over half a century after modern family planning programmes began to be extended widely across the globe, millions of women are still denied access to them. Read more...
Additional Investments in Family Planning Would Save Developing Nations More Than $11 Billion a Year
November 14th, 2012
Access to family planning is an essential human right that unlocks unprecedented rewards for economic development, says new UNFPA report
- 222 million women in developing countries have an unmet need for family planning
- Additional $4.1 billion in funding is needed to address current needs and those of the growing youth population
LONDON, 14 November 2012—Making voluntary family planning available to everyone in developing countries would reduce costs for maternal and newborn health care by $11.3 billion annually, according to The State of World Population 2012, published today by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Read more...