This week, over 40 leaders from across Africa will come together in Washington, DC for the first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.  And perhaps nowhere is leadership more important on the continent than an issue like health. The unprecedented Ebola outbreak is one example.  To date, there have been nearly 1400 cases in 4 West African countries – spreading more rapidly across borders than any Ebola outbreak in memory. Tackling such an emerging threat requires both the […]

The world has entered a new energy era marked by concerns over energy security, climate change, and access by the poor to modern energy services. The current energy path is not sustainable. Carbon dioxide from energy production and use represents about 65% of global emissions and under current policies is estimated to increase by a third by 2020. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global demand for energy will increase by 45% by 2030,

Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), has been deployed to West Africa twice in the past few months to manage communications around the Ebola outbreak that has now killed more than 900 people. In April, he spent 2.5 weeks in Guinea, and he just returned to Geneva from a 3.5 week deployment in Guinea and Sierra Leone. I had the chance to talk with him briefly about his experiences and about

Photo credit: Foundation Rural Energy Services Despite the prevalence of cell phones today across the African continent, one in every two young Africans still does not have access to modern energy services. While the lack of electricity represents a significant challenge given the social, educational, and economic opportunities that come with reliable power, developing innovative ways to address these issues sustainably is also a significant entrepreneurial opportunity. Harnessing the power of Africa’s entrepreneurial spirit, a

The United Nations Foundation is committed to working with our colleagues in the media to share information and build understanding about some our generation’s most pressing issues. Part of that commitment is a series of media fellowships that connect with our partners, their stories, and journalists around the world. There is tremendous vale in bringing these groups together as people gather for important meetings like the UN General Assembly. These fellowships provide journalists from around

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller Today, we wrap up our MDG Monday series with a look at Millennium Development Goal 8, which aims to promote cooperation among countries and among sectors to advance development.Here are the targets it sets: Millennium Development Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development Target 8.A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system. Target 8.B: Address

Did you know that half the world’s population is under 30, making today’s youth generation the largest in history? Today’s young people have inherited pressing challenges, from climate change to human rights abuses to unstable economies. Despite unprecedented challenges, they’ve displayed unprecedented skills. They are informed, connected via social media, and savvy, looking for global solutions for global problems. Today, on International Youth Day, the UN Foundation is celebrating young people by launching GenUN, a

As we think about the post-2015 development agenda and try to make sure that the much bandied notion of “women’s empowerment” (WE henceforth) gets its due attention, it may be time to stop and think further about what the term implies and includes. Broadly speaking WE is about gender equality in all walks of life, and in particular, about giving women the same rights of choice and control over the circumstances of their lives that

August 18, 2014 marks 500 days until the target date for the Millennium Development Goals – eight goals to improve lives around the world. We recently asked Leith Greenslade, a Vice Chair of the MDG Health Alliance in the office of the UN Special Envoy for Financing the Health MDGs, about where we are on the health-related MDGs. Jenni Lee: Both child and maternal mortality rates (MDGs 4 & 5) have been cut nearly in