Every minute at least one woman dies from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, and every year 8.8 million children die before the age of five. We know what interventions make a difference on maternal and infant mortality. We now know that 1 billion women in low to middle-income countries own a mobile phone – a tool that can be used to engage, educate, and empower mothers. In order for mobile to be scaled to […]

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Globe and Mail. If global development targets followed a National Football League format, we would be approaching the two-minute warning. December 31, 2015, marks the final deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, the global anti-poverty targets that have mobilized an unprecedented generational success in tackling extreme poverty around the world, most notably the burdens of disease in the poorest countries. We are now facing the final moment

By Sarah Parkes, International Telecommunication Union In today’s increasingly interconnected world, all of the world’s citizens are going to need access to broadband. Broadband already affects every sector of human activity and endeavor, and is a key driver for development – both in the developed and developing world. But new research coming out of the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development this week indicates that the key to our online future may well be wireless. Broadband delivers

If you care about environmental issues, health issues, economic issues, or development issues – or if you just care about the future – then you should know about today’s report from Working Group I of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  The IPCC provides the most comprehensive and authoritative scientific assessment on climate change.  Hundreds of climate scientists from around the world have evaluated the most up-to-date research on the physical science

Every day, when I head into work, I’m focused on how the UN Foundation can help the United Nations build a better world.  One of the top ways to do that: supporting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In her remarks to the UN General Assembly last week, Melinda Gates cited the MDGs as something the UN has done “very right,” and urged every leader to “move even faster on what has become an incredibly hopeful

By Amanda Kennedy, Girl Up intern Christine has faced many challenges in her 16 years of life in Malawi, but her drive to complete her education has helped her through it all. Christine lives in a community where tradition says that education is valuable only for males. She didn’t want to get married at age 12 or 14, like many other girls were forced to do in her community. Instead, she dreamed of going to secondary school

Leaders from around the world and across sectors came together last week at the United Nations General Assembly to reaffirm their commitment to Every Woman Every Child, a movement launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2010 to mobilize global action on women’s and children’s health. Through this movement, governments, businesses, and other organizations make commitments and work off of a common framework to support women’s and children’s health. Why is this issue so important?  Most

By Amanda Kennedy, Girl Up intern Christine has faced many challenges in her 16 years of life in Malawi, but her drive to complete her education has helped her through it all. Christine lives in a community where tradition says that education is valuable only for males. She didn’t want to get married at age 12 or 14, like many other girls were forced to do in her community. Instead, she dreamed of going to secondary school