Heny Rosdiana has a secret weapon to encourage couples to try an IUD: her husband. “Some clients wanted to hear directly from my husband on whether or not there are side effects,” she explains. “I think this approach is quite effective because couples can obtain comprehensive information on IUDs directly from users.” A midwife in her Indonesian village, Heny is one of the many individuals working around the globe to improve access to family planning […]

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series on the founding of the United Nations 70 years ago. You can read the previous post here. The famously reform-minded mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945, Fiorello La Guardia, fought corruption and transformed New York’s public services. He was also a dedicated coordinator of international relief efforts after World War II. For nine months in 1946, La Guardia headed the United Nations Relief and

The wellbeing of the planet is directly tied to the wellbeing of its people. To achieve a future where no one lives in poverty and everyone lives with dignity, climate change needs to be at the forefront of our global agenda. At the end of September, the international community gathered at the United Nations for the annual General Assembly to talk about the world’s biggest issues, and climate change was an important part of the

On October 11, the United Nations and partners including the UN Foundation celebrate International Day of the Girl and the extraordinary power of girls in our world. This year’s theme, “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030,” highlights the importance of girls to achieving the global goals for sustainable development. Simply put: To reach our global goals, we have to reach girls. Here are five reasons why empowering adolescent girls matters to all

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series on the founding of the United Nations 70 years ago. You can read the previous post here. — This week saw the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This trade agreement between 12 countries incorporates approximately 40 percent of the world’s economic output. When the treaty is ratified, its provisions will cover 800 million people. But the TPP is still a regional agreement, rather than a

Photo credit: Jiro Ose/United Nations Foundation   October 11 is International Day of the Girl – a day adopted by the United Nations to recognize the unique struggles girls face globally, as well as the potential they have to change the world for the better. Girls and women more often bear the consequences of poverty, lack of health care, lack of education, climate change, and other inequalities. Yet when girls are safe, healthy, educated, and

October 17 marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty – a mission at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted at the United Nations in September. These global goals form a shared to-do list for the international community to not only end poverty, but create a world where every person can live with dignity and opportunity. What is one thing you should know about extreme poverty that many people get wrong? We’re

Editor’s Note: In honor of World Food Day, we are sharing a guest post from the World Food Programme (WFP), which is working with partners to achieve zero hunger by 2030 as part of the new global goals for sustainable development. Since benefiting from WFP food assistance, Ecuadorian schoolgirl Melany Cuasque is optimistic about what the future holds. No longer going home hungry, she’s able to concentrate on succeeding at school, paving the way for

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series on the founding of the United Nations 70 years ago. You can read the previous post here. The United Nations Charter signed at San Francisco laid the groundwork for the UN as we know it. But the delegates also left many issues unresolved. One of the most important was the location of the new UN headquarters. The UN first decided on a country before it started