Strengthening the health of women and children is a key priority for the United Nations, and one of the best ways to do this is to expand access to quality health services. According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), well-trained midwives could help avert roughly two-thirds of all maternal and newborn deaths. Recently, the UN Foundation hosted a press fellowship in Viet Nam to give journalists a chance to learn more about the success and […]

Valentine’s Day is about showing that you care. With news earlier this month from the United Nations World Meteorological Organization that 2014 was the “hottest year on record,” that “14 of the 15 hottest years recorded have all been in the 21st century,” and that climate change is expected to continue, it’s clear we need to do more to show the planet we care. Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – made up of

Photo: Children in Madagascar are protected from mosquitoes that carry malaria by an insecticide-treated net. Instead of the buying the usual chocolates or roses, what better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than making a difference in someone’s life? For $10, you can ““Gift a Net” through the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign and help a family in Africa sleep safe from malaria. Every 60 seconds, a child dies from malaria – a preventable

According to a 2004 World Bank report, nearly half of Ethiopia’s population lives in poverty. As of today, February 13, only 150 days remain until the major U.N. Financing for Development (FfD) conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Starting on July 13, government leaders from around the world will convene to set ground rules for investing in the world’s sustainable development goals (SDG) to 2030, which heads of state and governments will confirm this September in

This week, United Nations Member States continue the intergovernmental negotiations on the “post-2015 development agenda.” Yes, that’s a wonky sentence – but the post-2015 agenda, a framework to address pressing global challenges over the next 15 years, will have a big real-world impact, so we want to spend a minute breaking down what the agenda is and why you should care. What is the post-2015 development agenda? Simply put: It will be our collective “to-do”

Imagine being 15 years old, forced to marry an older man, drop out of school, and have a child as a child yourself. The nightmare of child marriage becomes a reality for 14 million girls each year. But today we have good news: Malawi just passed a law which raises the legal age of marriage from 15 years old to 18 years old. In Malawi, about half of all girls are married by the time they

On a sunny, mild day in January, I had the opportunity to accompany a group of international journalists on a visit to Viet Nam’s National Hospital for Obstetrics and Gynecology. This 700-bed facility in the heart of Hanoi is staffed by nearly 500 nurses and approximately 150 doctors. Each year, this team of health professionals oversees tens of thousands of deliveries, surgeries, and other complex medical procedures, earning it the reputation of being the top

A baby gets ready for her vaccinations. In September 2014, partners of the Measles & Rubella Initiative, including the World Health Organization and UNICEF, participated in a mass vaccination campaign in the Philippines to protect children against measles, rubella, and polio. Measles is still an ongoing threat to children in the Philippines, already claiming the lives of 100 children this year. The United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign has launched an urgent appeal to help vaccinate