Updates

By: Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is pleased to partner with Women Deliver on the Youth Leaders Pre-Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Youth advocates are key agents for change for women and families in the future. They are already contributing to achieving Millennium Development Goals 4, 5 and 6 for women and children. Read more...

By: Jessica Thompson, Head Blogger for Teen Revolt

Teen Revolt is one of the Women Deliver 25 finalists.

As most great things do, Teen Revolt began as a dream. Ateba’s dream was birthed out of her own personal tragedy. As a young girl, she suffered abuse. At ten years of age, each little girl has a right to live her childhood dreaming of being a princess and playing tea party and not being abused and told that she looks like a prostitute by her father. Ateba did not even know what that word meant at ten years old, but the words spoken by her father did indeed come true. Not thinking that she was worth anything but to give her body up for sale, Ateba turned to prostitution to support her first son. Read more...

Originally posted on ThinkBrigade

This opinion piece is published in collaboration with Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders, liaised by Bijoyeta Das. Ife Smith is one of the 100 Young Leaders for 2012-2013. 

The story of a young woman who endured both domestic violence and a court system that is unfriendly to the poor. A hard-working, law-abiding young woman who made the wrong decision of entering into a relationship with someone she thought she knew. During this relationship she endured physical, mental and emotional abuse. Not only did she had to literally run for her life, but the life she now has she can barely call her own because of  her country’s inhumane, unfriendly and insufferable legal system which she had to turn to for help.

By: Sharifa Kalokola; Originally posted on The Citizen

The author, Sharifa Kalokola, is a Women Deliver 2013 conference scholarship recipient. The article features two of Women Deliver's 100 Young Leaders from Tanzania, Florence Mwitwa and Maureen Anyago Oduor.

It turns out that being voted a class monitor, prefect or student leader in primary, high school and university might actually be a good predictor of one’s success later in life. For many world leaders today, leadership did not come when they already had grey hair – it all started in school. Academic achievement is part of the success story, but it’s not the whole story. This is the wisdom that drives Florence Mwitwa and Maureen Anyago, two 27-year-old university students, who were recently selected to represent the country in the 2013 Women Deliver conference Malaysia later in May. Read more...

By: Purnima Mane, President and CEO of Pathfinder International; Originally posted on Huffington Post

In March of this year, on International Women’s Day, I asked, “Is 2012 the Year for Women and Girls?”  Now, as the year winds to a close, I find myself looking back on my call for stronger partnerships, more global coalitions and wondering, are those enough? 2012 was a year for women. We saw tremendous renewal of the commitment by world leaders to ensure that countries and communities have the political support and financial resources needed to improve access to sexual and reproductive health. Read more...

By: Lindsay Menard-Freeman, Women Deliver and Amanda Keifer, Public Health Institute; Originally posted on RH Reality Check

With the world’s population now at seven billion and counting, issues of human rights, health, education, and employment require action more urgently than ever before—especially for youth under the age of 25, who comprise more than 40 percent of the world’s population. That’s why we joined more than 3,000 young people from more than 150 countries—in Bali and virtually—this week at the Global Youth Forum to chart a progressive vision for equitable, sustainable, and just global development. Read more...

Originally posted on Girls Not Brides

Three of the Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders were invited as special youth advocates to participate in this event – Yemurai Nyoni from Zimbabwe, Nebila Abdulmelik from Kenya, and Humphrey Nabimanya from Uganda.

There is not one corner of this continent that should not hear this message: end child marriage. This was a sentiment shared by more than 90 member organisations, associates and supporters of Girls Not Brides from 20 different African countries who came together in Johannesburg last week to discuss how to end child marriage across Sub-Saharan Africa, a region where 38% of girls marry before 18. Read more...

By: Harshi Hettige

Every year on 1 December, we recognize World AIDS Day – a day to fight for 25 million who have died from HIV/AIDS between 1981 and 2007, and for the 33.3 million people infected with HIV around the world today. The pandemic is particularly signicant to youth–almost half of all new HIV infections in the world are among people under 25. Read more...

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...

By: Nargis Shirazi, Women Deliver 100 Young Leader; Originally posted on the Frontline Health Workers Coalition Blog

It is a cold rainy day, and a pregnant mother’s water has just broken. A young man stares at the pouring rain hitting the muddy path and sighs. He has no way of getting his wife to the health center that is a two hour walk from his mud-thatched house. He has no money, his bicycle tires are worn out, and they both have no idea what to do! She dies as a result of obstructed labor. Read more...

By: Jill Sheffield; Originally posted on Impatient Optimists

Today, we celebrate the first-ever International Day of the Girl to honor girls around the world and advocate for their rights. Girls and women are the backbone of healthy, productive families, communities, and nations. Their unpaid labor amounts to one-third of global GDP, and they operate the majority of small farms. Simply put, when girls and women survive, the world thrives. Read more...

By: Numfor Alenwi, Women Deliver 100 Young Leader from Cameroon

This blog is part of a series, edited by Women Deliver, in partnership with Impatient Optimists, on youth perspectives to celebrate World Contraception Day. Share your thoughts in comments and join the conversation at #WCD2012. For more stories and to get involved further visit No Controversy.

For young people in my country, the need for comprehensive education is needed to overcome myths and misconceptions about contraception. In Cameroon, only 37% of the demand for family planning is satisfied. Read more...

By: Tunde Ajidagba, Women Deliver 100 Young Leader from Nigeria

This blog is part of a series, edited by Women Deliver, in partnership with Impatient Optimists, on youth perspectives to celebrate World Contraception Day. Share your thoughts in comments and join the conversation at #WCD2012. For more stories and to get involved further visit No Controversy.

There are many major obstacles that young people face when trying to access or use contraceptive services.  They range from socio-cultural issues, problems related to privacy and confidentiality, issues of cost and affordability, and even coping with threatening surroundings.

By: Cinthia Sagrario Interian Varguez, Women Deliver 100 Young Leader from Mexico

This blog is part of a series, edited by Women Deliver, in partnership with Impatient Optimists, on youth perspectives to celebrate World Contraception Day. Share your thoughts in comments and join the conversation at #WCD2012. For more stories and to get involved further visit No Controversy.

As a sexual human being, I feel I have the right to access contraceptive information and services even though, unfortunately, there are still harmful myths and taboos about young people’s sexual and reproductive health. Young people in my indigenous Mayan community face particular obstacles from their culture and religion when seeking out comprehensive, unbiased information.

By: Mallah Tabot, Women Deliver 100 Young Leader from Cameroon

This blog is part of a series, edited by Women Deliver, in partnership with Impatient Optimists, on youth perspectives to celebrate World Contraception Day. Share your thoughts in comments and join the conversation at #WCD2012. For more stories and to get involved further visit No Controversy.

With more methods of contraception available, girls and women are increasingly provided with the freedom to choose if and when to be mothers. This freedom, however, generates controversy. Read more...

By: Florence B. Mwitwa, Women Deliver 100 Young Leader from Tanzania

This blog is part of a series, edited by Women Deliver, in partnership with Impatient Optimists, on youth perspectives to celebrate World Contraception Day. Share your thoughts in comments and join the conversation at #WCD2012. For more stories and to get involved further visit No Controversy.

For many young people in my community, talking about contraception is just not comfortable. This is not only true for young people, but also for adults, who might have trouble broaching the topic or supporting young people in their choices. Read more...