This Mother’s Day, the United Nations Foundation is celebrating the power of moms to create positive change in their families and in their communities. We are fortunate to work with amazing mothers who are helping the United Nations expand access to vaccines and family planning, promote sustainable energy, protect refugee families from malaria, empower adolescent girls, use mobile technology to improve maternal health, create a thriving market for clean cookstoves, and much more. While our […]

Kevin Strickland, a high school junior in Virginia, bakes cookies, cupcakes, and other treats for a cause: helping provide families with insecticide-treated nets that protect them from malaria. Since 2012, he has been a supporter of the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign, which raises awareness and funding to fight malaria, a leading cause of death among children in Africa. As part of our ongoing “Supporter Spotlight” series, Strickland gave us his thoughts on

We all want our communities to be healthy and people everywhere to live healthy, happy, and productive lives. While significant progress on global health has been made over the past few years, millions of women and children around the world still don’t have access to simple solutions like vaccines, adequate nutrition, and skilled midwives that protect our health. In 2013, an estimated 6.3 million children under the age of 5 died, and 289,000 women died

On Sunday, May 17, people around the world are taking a stand against homophobia and transphobia. Protecting the human rights of all people is a pillar of the United Nations. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said: “Let me say this loud and clear: lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are entitled to the same rights as everyone else. They, too, are born free and equal. I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in their struggle for human

Around the world, 1.2 billion people do not have reliable access to electricity. That’s more than 1 in every 6 people on the planet without lighting for hospitals, refrigeration for food and medicine, and clean, safe sources of fuel for cooking and lighting. To end poverty, we need to expand access to modern energy services. At the same time, we have to tackle climate change. Sustainable energy, like solar and wind power, is a solution

Last Friday, innovators, digital leaders, policymakers, and advocates came together for Digital Beltway, a day-long discussion on how technology and digital communications are changing global policy and politics. The event, hosted by Mashable and the United Nations Foundation, spurred a conversation in Washington, D.C. and online about how organizations, governments, and global citizens can maximize the potential of technology to drive progress. It was a day of insightful discussions with representatives from the United Nations,

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) released data examining the progress made toward the health-related goals of the Millennium Development Goals, also known as the MDGs. The MDGs, created by world leaders and the United Nations in 2000, set goals to alleviate poverty and improve global health by the end of 2015. These goals cover challenges ranging from reducing maternal and child deaths to turning the tide against malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. This shared

The United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign is a global community of advocates changing policies and raising funds to support United Nations programs that help the hardest to reach girls living in places where it is hardest to be a girl. At the heart of this campaign are its Teen Advisors, girls who ensure that Girl Up succeeds in its mission: to support the empowerment of girls, by girls. Teen Advisors help carry out advocacy

According to the annual hunger report from the United Nations, the number of hungry people in the world has dropped to 795 million, which is 216 million fewer people than in 1990-1992. The State of Food Insecurity in the World report, released yesterday, states that 72 of the 129 countries monitored by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have met the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the proportion of undernourished people by the end