A recent polio outbreak in Somalia and Kenya serves as a reminder that this crippling disease still exists and is actively threatening children.  While there is no cure for polio, vaccines protect children from the disease for life.    In 1988, national governments, UN agencies, and civil society groups came together to launch the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, an international effort to immunize children and end polio for good. Here are five numbers you should

When the world mobilizes, incredible progress is possible.  The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty goals set by governments and the United Nations in 2000, have improved the lives of millions of people.  On Monday, the UN released a new report detailing the progress made to date on the MDGs and the work that remains ahead.  For example: Extreme poverty rates have been cut in half since 1990, but one in eight people in the

The goal of this new program, announced on Sunday, is to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than two-thirds of the people now have none, including 85 percent of those living in rural areas. Gayle Smith, Obama’s senior director for development and democracy, explained the need in more personal terms: “If you want lights so kids can study at night or you can maintain vaccines in a cold chain, you don’t have

This post was originally published in The Hill’s Congress blog. The cholera epidemic that has claimed so many lives in Haiti remains a public health crisis, and it demands action  ̶  from all of us. Action is exactly what 19 Members of Congress are reasonably asking of the United Nations, and it is what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is working to deliver. In a letter spearheaded by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-NY) earlier this summer, these Members urged

Hundreds of young people are gathered at the United Nations today with one message for world leaders: Every child deserves an education.  They are joined by a very special guest – Malala Yousafzai, the courageous Pakistani teenage girl who was attacked last fall for championing education, especially for girls. In 2000, governments and the UN adopted the Millennium Development Goals, eight goals to tackle some of the world’s biggest issues, including ensuring all children get