UN – United Nations

With just over 600 days left until the target date to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, eight goals that make up the world’s “to-do” list to reduce poverty, it’s an important moment to reflect on where we stand on MDG 5, which calls for reducing maternal mortality by three-fourths. Today, the United Nations released new numbers that show steady progress is being made, but there’s still work to be done. Here’s what you need to

I have a 2-year-old daughter named Opal. Much like me, she never sits down — she was even “standing” in the womb. She was a rare type of breech called footling breech. Other than the extra pain of having a C-section, I didn’t think much about the delivery. While lying in the hospital, I didn’t wonder if the power was going to stay on or if the doctors could properly see what they were doing;

On Wednesday, I joined a group of mothers for a powerful conversation on how we can improve the health and well-being of women and children, and the topic on everyone’s mind was the horrifying kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria. As a mother and an advocate for girls, I’m appalled and angry at this assault on girls because they were excising their fundamental right to education. The UN Foundation joins the call of

By Andrea Sok Tonia Sanders, a Champion for the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign, recently sat down with Joan Awunyo-Akaba, civil society representative on the GAVI Alliance Board, which works to increase access to immunization in low-income countries. She is also the founder and Executive Director of Future Generations International, a Ghanaian based NGO that promotes health and development. Sanders, a blogger (thechattymomma.com), mother of two, and passionate advocate for global vaccines, posed questions about the

By Kirsten Gagnaire, Executive Director, MAMA This Mother’s Day marked the 3rd anniversary of MAMA – the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action. The reality is that nearly 800 women die every day because of complications from pregnancy or childbirth – but nearly 1 billion women worldwide own mobile phones, providing an important opportunity to put health messages directly into women’s hands so they can care for themselves and their families during one of the most

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) did something it has never done in the history of the global polio eradication effort – it declared polio a “public health emergency of international concern,” calling the international spread of polio in 2014 an “extraordinary event.” Along with this announcement, WHO recommended that ten polio-affected countries, including seven that have been re-infected with the virus, either ensure or encourage the vaccination of all residents and long-term visitors

By Jane Ferguson, Scientist at the World Health Organization’s Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health There are more than 1 billion adolescents and most are healthy. But an estimated 1.3 million young people aged 10 to 19 died in 2012, mostly from preventable or treatable causes, and many more suffered needlessly from injuries and illnesses. The World Health Organization’s new report, Health for the World’s Adolescents, analyses the current situation and makes a

Around the world, 3 billion people burn solid fuels such as wood and charcoal for their daily cooking needs. Women and girls can spend up to five hours a day searching for and collecting fuel, taking time away from educational and economic opportunities and putting their safety at risk. Dangers for girls and women are particularly pronounced in crisis and conflict settings. This week, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, which is working to build