Updates

By: Janna Oberdorf, Communications Manager for Women Deliver; originally posted at MHTF Blog

These are two things I’m very proud of. I’m proud to be young (or at least young-ish) and passionate about women and mothers. I’m proud that when I see images of women giving birth in low-quality health facilities, I want to yell at the world. I’m proud that the first time I learned what fistula is, I wanted to smash my computer screen and say, “Why didn’t I even know about this before?” This is a fight that I’m ready and willing to take – the fight for mothers around the world.

But why are there so few young people involved in maternal health, at the research level, at the advocacy level, and at the policy level?

By: Robert Mukondiwa, one of the Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders, and journalist in Zimbabwe, originally posted at Conversations for a Better World

Young sex workers in rural Zimbabwe have embarked on a fatal path that increases their likelihood of contracting and spreading HIV. Poverty and a lack of information intensify the problem, but instead of embracing the challenge with effective solutions, many are turning away in denial... Read more of Robert's story and join the conversation.

By: Angella Musiimenta, one of the Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders, from Uganda; orginally posted at Conversations for a Better World

A young woman in Uganda contracts HIV/AIDS and faces relentless prejudice that alters every aspect of her life. She is only one of the millions of young people whose physical challenges are multiplied by the cruelties of social discrimination. Read Angella's blog and discuss how stigma affects young women.

By: Emily Akullu, one of Women Deliver's 100 Young Leaders and Deputy Resident District Commissioner from Uganda; originally posted at Conversations for a Better World

Ongoing migration is a reality. The goal is not to end migration, but to value, respect and integrate the people who leave their homes in search of resources and safety. Read more... and discuss how migration affects girls and women, especially pregnant girls and women.

By: Diana Sera, one of Women Deliver's 100 Young Leaders and Monitoring & Evaluation Manager of Northern Uganda Malaria AIDS & Tuberculosis Program (NUMAT). Originally posted at Conversations for a Better World.

HIV positive youth encounter profound and varied challenges. We say we want to help, yet we continually let them down when we don’t provide the services they need. It’s a growing problem without a single solution. NUMAT is one of many organizations that is serving the underserved through a layered approach that supports, nurtures and strengthens the youth whose lives have been redefined by HIV.

Ten years ago, I took an HIV test. I was motivated to take the test because I lost my closest relative to HIV. Knowing my own HIV status has empowered me to make informed decisions about my life and to reach out to my family and peers to encourage them to get tested early too. While at school, some of my peers were HIV positive and faced a number of challenges, including stigma and discrimination, and many didn’t know how to find youth-friendly HIV services. All of the above inspired me to join an organization that aims to fulfill the needs of HIV positive youth. Read more...

Today, August 12, 2010, is International Youth Day. It's a day to celebrate the power of young people to make positive change for their communities, countries, and the world. Even bigger, today kicks off the International Year of Youth. There are lots of ways you can get involved over the next few months, and year. Click through to read 10 actions you can take right now...

By: Ernestine B. Greaves, one of the Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders

Globally, we now have the largest generation of youth in history: more than 1.2 billion young people are between 10 and 19 years old. We are the future. Yet our future is uncertain if our health systems and health services continue to fail this generation, and the next.

It’s an unfortunate truth that one woman, every minute, dies from complications due to pregnancy and childbirth around the world. This is also the leading cause of death for girls aged 15-19 in developing countries. Unplanned pregnancy rates continue to be high across the world, and of the 13% of maternal deaths worldwide due to unsafe abortions, almost half of those are aged under 19. The challenges of pregnancy and childbirth threaten young women’s lives every single day. 

Now is the time to deliver for these women. As her Excellency President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf attends the Summit of the African Union, she must take action on maternal health and protect and promote the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people.

Looking for an opportunity to become more involved in women's health? Keep reading to find out 10 ways you can make a difference this summer.

By: Robert Mukondiwa, a journalist and human rights advocate from Zimbabwe and one of the Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders

A time bomb is always something that is said to be ticking and with the ability to have disastrous consequences should it explode. For once I encountered a time-bomb I would have every pleasure in seeing explode.

The Women Deliver conference held in Washington, DC last week with a hope of delivering solutions for women and girls was preceded by a youth symposium that sent an amazing message out and gave me a personal reflective realization... I got a taste of the reality that under the seams of a seemingly quiet world with little going on, there is actually an unheralded youth movement that is about to explode... a ticking time-bomb of extraordinary leadership ready to be unleashed on the world.

By: Siddhartha Yadav, one of Women Deliver's 100 Young Leaders, originally posted at BMJ (British Medical Journal) Group Blog

Last week, more than 3,000 global leaders working in the field of maternal and reproductive health gathered in Washington, D.C for the Women Deliver 2010 conference. With the theme of delivering solutions for girls and women, the conference focused on sharing solutions that can help us achieve the millennium development goals on maternal and reproductive health.

Young people were one of the focuses of the conference.  One hundred young leaders were selected to attend a special youth pre-conference. I was one of them. After interacting with my fellow young leaders, I am amazed by the amount of the work many of them have been doing and its impact in making the lives of girls and women in their communities better. 

Most of the young leaders on reproductive health that I met were not from a medical background. This was a bit of a surprise for me. There were maths students, human rights activists, engineers, managers who have been doing immense work to improve the health of women. This made me wonder if we, young doctors and medical students, are lagging behind in advocacy despite our distinct relationship to health and wellbeing.  Are we too clinically oriented?

Source: RH Reality Check

By Carmen Barroso, International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR)

When we speak about universal access to contraceptives and the huge unmet need for family planning services that exists in the world today, the image that usually comes to mind is that of poor women in Africa. Indeed, in most countries, poor women have a much higher rate of unmet need than do women with higher incomes, and in Africa, unmet need for contraception is much higher than in other regions. More than 60 percent of women of reproductive age have an unmet need for contraception in Africa. more...

At the Women Deliver 2010 conference, White Ribbon Alliance along with UNFPA will be debuting a multimedia exhibition called, "Stories of Mothers Saved." To celebrate the exhibit, they are hosting a countdown to Women Deliver with blog posts from people all over the world who have contributed to their multimedia exhibition. These blog posts include, Francois Zoungrana from Burkina Faso, Jameel Aldrbashi from Palestine, Smita Maniar from India, and Ahsan Mehboob from Pakistan.

Women Deliver is excited to announce a wonderful new program developed for the Women Deliver 2010 conference called the “Professional Allies Program.”

The idea is to connect professionals in different and varying fields attending Women Deliver 2010 with the 100 Young Leaders who will be attending the Women Deliver youth pre-conference to facilitate information exchange and help them navigate the conference. The partnership will require 3 things from the “professional ally”: a pre-conference email exchange, a Sunday meet-and-greet, and a Wednesday follow up. 

For more information, please read this letter. If you are interested in participating, please fill out this form and return to us by May 14, 2010. Please note, this program is only open to registered participants. To register for the conference please go here.