Problems get a lot of news coverage, but just as deserving of attention are the plans to fix them. In 2015, the world came together around an ambitious vision for a safer, healthier, and more prosperous world by 2030. That agenda, articulated across 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was designed intentionally to represent a new approach to development – threading together economic, social, and environmental dimensions, while acknowledging that decisions and approaches are related and […]

Leading medical and health organizations are calling climate change a “health emergency.” Scientists are warning that climate change is a key driver of extinction. And the United Nations is naming climate change as a major threat to human rights. These three headlines demonstrate that the climate crisis is not just a crisis for the climate. As the latest SDG Progress Report shows, the global climate challenge threatens to unravel decades of hard-earned progress across the

In a highly anticipated vote on July 12, the top human rights body at the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, voted to renew the mandate of the UN independent watchdog focused on LGBTI human rights. Here are five things to know about the vote and what it means for LGBTI equality globally. 1. The renewal effort was led by a coalition of Global South countries. The core group of countries quarterbacking the draft resolution

To change everything, we need everyone – and that means we need to harness the wisdom and leadership of girls and women to protect the planet and its people. Last October, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change offered a stark choice – greater food security and more protection for our oceans, coral reefs, biodiversity, and people, or disastrous levels of warming with higher risks of droughts, floods, extreme heat, and resulting poverty. We have

Stopping the spread of dangerous nuclear materials. Leading scientific work at the world’s top health organization. And protecting children in armed conflict. United Nations workers deal with the world’s toughest challenges in order to create a safer and fairer future for everyone. They are our heroes — or as we like to say — (s)heroes. Throughout the UN, women are leading the way. In fact, women make up half of the UN’s senior management team,

In Siem Reap province, homegrown school meals have improved lives throughout the community. Participating farmers have gained a better understanding of prices, market opportunities, and expansion. For some, their livelihoods are no longer merely about subsistence, but success. Yun says he sees himself as a businessperson now. The additional income earned by farmers like Yun enable them to not only invest in their farms by purchasing new equipment, land, seeds, and fertilizer, but also to

  Rapelang Rabana knows she’s not your “typical” computer scientist. The Botswana-born South African is just one of a growing number of African women in her field — and she wants to see more women of color like her pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In 2013, she was featured on the Forbes “30 under 30” list as one of the best entrepreneurs in Africa. This year, she addressed some of the

Exactly one year ago, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared an outbreak of the Ebola virus in the country’s North Kivu province, a region already plagued by violence and displacement. Since then, the highly contagious and deadly virus has infected more than 2,600 people and caused more than 1,800 deaths, becoming the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history. Of those infected, almost one in three are children. Just last month, the World Health Organization (WHO)

Questions asked and answered at the 2019 Women Deliver conference  Earlier this summer, we hosted a session about women’s health, dignity, and the products they need to protect and strengthen both at the 2019 Women Deliver conference, the world’s largest gathering on gender equality and the health, rights, and well-being of girls and women. Yet long after and far beyond the halls of the Vancouver Convention Center, the clarity and conviction of the discussion has