By Guest Author: Sofia Gruskin, Director, Program on Global Health & Human Rights at the University of Southern California Institute for Global Health Today is Human Rights Day. In reflecting on the theme for this year — Human Rights 365, encompassing the idea that every day is and should be Human Rights Day — we are reminded that even with the tremendous progress we have made, we still have a lot of work ahead of […]

This is a guest article by Katherine Arnold, Senior Program Associate, Humanitarian, for the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves In Rwanda, more than 72,000 refugees are living in five refugee camps spread across the country. The majority of these refugees are from the Democratic Republic of Congo and fled from their homes into Rwanda to escape ongoing violent conflict between rebel groups. Life in these camps is difficult – food, cooking fuel, lighting, and livelihood

Increasing financial flows to developing countries is essential to accelerate their transition to low-carbon energy systems and to protect vulnerable communities. Doing so immediately would also make it easier to conclude a new climate agreement in Paris in 2015. Carbon dioxide from energy production and use represents about 65% of global emissions and is estimated to increase by a third by 2020. Global demand for energy will increase by 35% by 2030, with developing countries

We live in a data-driven world, in which decisions for businesses, governments, individuals, and families are made based on comparison of key statistics and analyses of information. But the world is missing the most basic information on far too many girls and women around the world, including where and when they were born, how many hours they work, whether they’ve experienced violence, or how they die. It is impossible to develop smart policies and make

Despite some critical words from observers, negotiators in Lima agreed Sunday on a “Call for Climate Action” that sets the stage for the decisive talks planned for Paris next year under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The process had gained significant momentum from the progress made over the past few months – particularly from the UN Climate Summit and People’s Climate March, successful IPCC report releases, the EU’s 2030 commitment, and, perhaps

Last week, business leaders, government officials, representatives from non-governmental groups, and national security and foreign policy experts came together at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s 2014 Tribute Dinner to recognize the importance of U.S. engagement in development and diplomacy. The USGLC brings together voices from across sectors and across the aisle, but the message is the same: Strong U.S. support for development and diplomacy is one of the smartest steps we can take to advance

Last week, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance announced that it will purchase millions of doses of an Ebola vaccine to support large-scale vaccination efforts. Gavi is ready to begin procurement as soon as the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a safe, effective antidote. WHO, government representatives, and vaccine manufacturers have been pushing ahead with unprecedented speed to develop a vaccine to treat the virus and fight the outbreak. WHO Assistant Director-General Dr. Marie Paule Kieny recently stated,

Last week, more than 150 leaders from United Nations agencies and organizations, the private sector – including foundations of large corporations – and civil society convened at UN Headquarters to discuss current successes in UN-business collaboration for the global Ebola response, as well as to identify ways to enhance this collaboration going forward. It was a day of varied dialogue and viewpoints, which yielded some important takeaways that will inform the response effort as the

As the world’s attention began to focus more heavily on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa beginning in August 2014, global businesses also started taking note of the crisis and taking stock internally of what they could do to assist. According to the UN Global Compact, which has been tracking private sector donations for the past several months, businesses have contributed or pledged nearly $300 million to the global Ebola response. At a meeting last