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Justin Forsyth, Save the Children CEO, on Child Migrant Deaths in the Mediterranean
“Whoever makes up the next Government has a moral obligation to work with the EU to restart the rescue. Every migrant child’s death is a stain on Europe’s conscience. How many thousands must die this summer before Europe acts?” – Justin Forsyth, Save the Children CEO. Read more at Save the Children Calls on the EU to…
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Save the Children calls on the EU to Halt Child Deaths in the Mediterranean
On Sunday, the harrowing news reverberated around the world that hundreds of migrants drowned off the coast of Libya en route to Europe when their boat – not suitable for transport across the vast Mediterranean – capsized. As many as 700 people are feared dead, but the death toll could escalate as more information is…
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7 YouTube Videos About Maternal Health You Should Watch
Maternal health and mortality, especially in the world’s poorest countries, are serious global issues. I blog about maternal health a lot here because it is important to continue spreading awareness about the rate at which women are dying during childbirth which causes complete families to splinter. 800 women die in childbirth every day and those…
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41 Maternal Health Organizations to Follow and Support #IntlMHDay
Today is the 2nd annual International Day of Maternal Health and Rights which calls attention to and demands action for the right of every woman to respectful maternity care no matter where she lives in the world. This is critical because a woman dies in childbirth every two minutes totalling nearly 300,000 maternal deaths each…
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UNESCO Report Shows Sobering Global Education Progress
Fifteen years ago an educational framework was set in Dakar, Senegal at the World Education Forum that established goals to achieve “Education for All” by 2015. Since then, the number of children who are now out of school has fallen by half, but there are still 58 million children out of school globally and around…
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Kicking Off World Health Worker Week Through Photos and Stories #WHWWeek
To kick off World Health Worker Week (April 5 – 11) we are sharing photos and stories of some of the health workers we’ve met around the world over the years who work tirelessly to keep women, children, and families healthy and most importantly alive. In the sub-Saharan and Asian countries where we have met these health workers,…
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Botswana Receives First White Space Telemedicine Service to Reach Rural Populations
One of the beautiful aspects of Africa is its beautiful, wide expanses. All over the continent you will be awed by how far-reaching your eyes can see especially when traveling through its spectacular countryside. But as much as it is beautiful, the size of Africa also poses a significant problem because without modern infrastructure, including the Internet, and transport…
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How Four Organizations Use Storytelling and Data to Highlight Women’s Health and Global Progress
Over the past few days several organizations have focused on International Women’s Day by releasing reports on the progress of women and girls in a variety of sectors through interactive web sites, data, as well as maps. The following have stood out during the week. Doctors Without Borders Women’s health care is critical in many…
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ONE Campaign Reports that Global Poverty is Deeply Rooted in Sexism
Featured Photo: Paolo Patruno – www.birthisadream.org Today is International Women’s Day which calls upon the world to look at not only the seminal achievements women have made throughout history, but also assess the ways in which women and girls are being perpetually marginalized across the globe through sexist policies and cultural traditions. This sexism is further…
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International Women’s Day Puts Spotlight on Global Poverty, Gender Inequalities
International Women’s Day Twitter Chat We will join Global Impact to discuss these aforementioned women’s and girls’ issues on Friday, March 13 at 1 PM EST. Join us using #HerDay2015. In Ormoc, Philippines women tend to take on village leadership roles to ensure children under five get their scheduled vaccinations and routine check-ups. These women also…
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Human Rights Watch Exposes Mass Rape in Darfur
Last week, Human Rights Watch released a scathing report exposing mass rape by the Sudanese military. We first heard about these mass rapes late last year, but the news could not be easily corroborated. Since then, however, through telephone interviews, Human Rights Watch has been able to verify that nearly 200 rapes occurred during a three-day period –…
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IN PHOTOS: Engaging Health Workers to End Female Genital Mutilation
Friday, February 6 was International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation. Individuals, corporations, NGOs, the media, and foundations rallied together to raise awareness about FGM. Over 140 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM and it is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15. Press Conference…
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IN PHOTOS: Family Planning from Addis Ababa to Johannesburg
People the world over come here every day looking for family planning information. Knowing that, I have decided to create a compendium post of sorts about everything I have learned and seen about family planning in my travels to and reporting from sub-Saharan Africa over the past few years. I first learned about the critical importance of…
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Merck and WHO Partner to Curb Postpartum Hemorrhage Deaths
Earlier this month I wrote about Uganda’s move to use misoprostol for women who experience postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) during childbirth or immediately after delivery. PPH is the leading cause of maternal mortality for women around the world. 800 women die every day from complications during pregnancy and delivery; that is two mothers a minute. Misoprostol, it has…
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The Next #HeForShe Initiative Launches in Davos
Last September Emma Watson, UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador, helped launch the UN Women’s #HeForShe global campaign that calls upon men and boys to stand up against gender discrimination and to help women gain parity economically, politically, and socially through everyday actions and a commitment to change. Now Watson is in Davos, Switzerland at the annual World Economic Forum…
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Zambians Head to the Polls: Candidates’ Stance on Health Care
This morning as most Americans were asleep Zambians headed to the polls to elect either the candidate of the ruling party, Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front founded in 1991 by the late President Michael Sata, or the leading opposition candidate representing the United Party for National Development, Hakainde Hichilema. Political observers say the race is close and there is…
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USAID Tackles Respectful Maternity Care, Better Working Conditions for Midwives
This week USAID released its follow-up to Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality: USAID Maternal Health Vision for Action (June 2014) with its new report of the same name with the addition of evidence for strategic approaches. These approaches seek to lower the world’s maternal mortality rate. Right now 289,000 women die per year from complications during…
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New Global Projects Measure Newborn Health Interventions #EveryNewborn
Eight million children under the age of five die every year from preventable diseases. Of those eight million deaths, 2.8 million are neonates according to the World Health Organization. Key interventions like Kangaroo Mother Care, pre-and postnatal care, deliveries in a hospital setting with trained health workers, and exclusive breastfeeding are some proven ways to keep more babies alive.…
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5 of Our Partners Who Continue to Work in Haiti #Haiti5Years
In an earlier piece today, How is Haiti Faring Five Years After the Earthquake, development and recovery effort data and details were rather pessimistic. The numbers bear out that while some overall development achievements have been met, there is still a long way to go to help Haiti fully recover. And, yet, there continues to…
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Ethiopian Health Workers Receive Influx of Family Planning Training
In sub-Saharan Africa, 49 million women use traditional methods of family of no family planning methods at all. In Ethiopia, 39.1 percent of women use modern contraceptives up from 15 percent in 2005. The current low rate of contraceptive use in Ethiopia is a result of a combination of factors: cultural biases as well as a…