What to do to ensure babies are born HIV-free
As Mother’s Day approaches, Michel Sidibe, head of UNAIDS, is reminding parents of three steps they can take to ensure that their babies are born free of the virus — unlike the 390,000 children born with HIV each year. He urges people to become knowledgeable about HIV prevention and treatment; share what they learn with others; and support programs helping pregnant women living with HIV.

UNAIDS launches “Believe it. Do it.” action campaign 
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS has launched a campaign, “Believe it. Do it.”, aimed at bringing attention and action to the global goal of ending new HIV infections among children by 2015 and ensuring mothers living with HIV remain healthy.

Refugee numbers are worsening Sahel food crisis
The United Nations is expected to launch a new appeal for aid to the drought-stricken Sahel region of Africa after an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees deepened the burden on governments struggling to feed their citizens. A photo essay depicts the circumstances brought on by the drought in Mauritania.

UN concerned for Congolese displaced by rebellion
The rebellion being led by renegade Congolese general Bosco Ntaganda has given cause for “deep concern” among members of the UN Security Council, which Thursday was briefed about the estimated 5,000 people — mostly children and the elderly — who have been displaced by the fighting in the country’s North Kivu province. Ntaganda is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

Nigerian physicians protest wild polio outbreaks
Hundreds of Nigerian physicians and polio survivors marched in the city of Abuja on Thursday to draw attention to the rise in reported cases of the debilitating disease. “Each and every case of a Nigerian child paralyzed is embarrassing and, to us, that cannot continue,” said Muhammad Ado, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency. “There is no reason whatsoever for any Nigerian child to go down with paralysis.”

In its resolution, the General Assembly also noted that the family-related provisions of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits of the 1990s and their follow-up processes continue to provide policy guidance on ways to strengthen family-centered components of policies and programs as part of an integrated comprehensive approach to development. Therefore following the resolution the year 1994 was proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Year of Families. This was a response to changing social and economic structures, which have affected and still affect the structure and stability of family units in many regions of the globe. The International Day of Families has been held globally every year since 1995.

The 2012 Theme is, “Ensuring work family balance”, which places special focus on the growing demographic and socio-economic trends that continue to create changes in work and family life dynamics and balance.  Such changes have led to a higher number of working mothers, smaller families,  rapid urbanization, all which have weakened the role of the extended family, which has traditionally provided networks support in the care of both children and elderly family members.

In his message for the launch of 2012′s International Day of Families, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, stated;

“This year’s International Day of Families highlights the need for work-family balance. The aim is to help workers everywhere provide for their families financially and emotionally, while also contributing to the socio-economic development of their societies.”

The role of the family plays great importance in more than our economic stability and balance, but it also plays a role in our peace and security, including the exploitation of minors and adults.   In order for the global society to see a sustainable future the role of the family must be placed as a priority on all agendas.   Therefore governments must make a commitment to see that policies and services address the shift from traditional families.  Work-family balance policies must also demonstrate not only the well-being of families and employers’ social responsibility to support families, but also seek to increase successful labor relations, employee health and well-being, promote gender equality and ensure and protect child welfare.  Many workers in informal labor sectors face not only family-unfriendly work environments, but work daily in dangerous environments that place the entire family unit in jeopardy.  Therefore the day also highlights the importance to seek global employment protection to secure better working conditions and eliminate exploitation, especially for poor working families.

As a global community it is vital that family-friendly policies are enacted that support a healthy and sustainable work-family balance, in order to ensure that individuals and families are able to provide both economically and emotionally for their dependents and members.  However while progress has been made in much of the developing world to address the importance of work-family balance, in many developing countries work and family policies are in direct conflict with a majority of development priorities.  Therefore special consideration must be made by governments and development agencies to address this gap in a manner that will continue to preserve family values and traditions, while addressing socio-economic shifts.

Families are the core of our global stability and provide the foundation for a child’s development…the stability and harmony of families across the globe is the key to a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future for all of  our children.  Please take a moment today to remember the importance of family and appreciate the families you have been given!  Use this day to sit down with your family and see how you can better your work-family balance.

The role of a mother is one of the most demanding roles a woman may ever have to undergo. From the moment her child is conceived a mother takes on the burden of life as now she is entailed with a job to ensure that their child is financially provided for, remains happy, safe and healthy for the rest of their life. The burden of motherhood is for many mothers in developing countries is more than any mother should have to bare.

For many mothers the greatest sorrow is that of losing a child before they have a chance to grow and prosper into adulthood.  Many mothers are forced to watch helplessly as their children go hungry.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malnutrition is the largest contributor to global child mortality. It is the cause of one-third of child deaths, which amounts to some 15 million children dying of hunger each year. According to UNICEF, 21,000 children die every day.

Mothers not only struggle to see their child is nourished, but also fight to give their children basic healthcare.  One in five children does not have access to vaccines that prevent deadly diseases, like measles, pneumonia or diarrhea. Nonetheless some 2.5 million children, under the age of 5, die every year as the result of preventable infectious diseases…Some 8 million children will die this year before they are 5 years old, that’s almost 21,000 children each day.  More than 80 percent of these deaths could have easily been prevented.

Other mothers needlessly give the ultimate sacrifice with their own lives, for every 90 seconds around the world a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth. That’s 1,000 girls and women a day, more than half a million women every year.  Additionally, for every woman who dies, 20 or more experience serious complications, and 1 million babies are stillborn each year because their mothers could not access the proper medical care.  And yet experts say more than 80 percent of these deaths could have easily been prevented.

While significant progress has been made for the improvement of the lives of mothers, millions of women and young girls continue to be denied the right to equal and fair access to education and healthcare. As mothers continue to face some of the biggest inequalities across the globe, especially in obtaining access to social services, and the right to own land and other sustainable assets; not only are mothers unable to reach their full potential, their children often pay the ultimate sacrifice.

The role of the mother is vital to ensuring a peaceful and prosperous global community. Celebrate mothers today and everyday…empower them; they will lead us towards a better tomorrow!  Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms fighting for a better world for everyone!

Across the globe a child dies every 20 seconds from a disease that could have prevented with a simple low cost vaccine.  Most vaccinations cost less than $5 (USD) per child….a small price to pay for an entire future.  These vaccine-preventable diseases include pneumonia, diarrhea (rotavirus), measles and polio.  Pneumonia and diarrhea, the two biggest killers of children under five, account for more than one-third of childhood deaths worldwide.  Those mothers who live in fear of preventable diseases due to lack of access to vaccinations primarily live in just ten countries, as Seventy-five percent of unvaccinated children live in: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa and Uganda.

Thousands of volunteer advocates, celebrities, medical experts and some of the country’s most influential voices joined together recently with the United Nations Foundation in launching Shot@Life campaign, a first-of-its kind campaign to build awareness, raise funds and advocate for the millions of children around the world who do not have access to life-saving vaccines.

“More than 100,000 people, including world-renowned photographer Anne Geddes and some of the most influential online moms, are activating their networks across the U.S. and around the world to take action to save and improve the lives of children. From Los Angeles to New York and Seattle to Miami, thousands of Americans are rallying to get life-saving vaccines to children in developing countries who need them most. Their time, their voices, and the money they are raising sends a powerful message that Americans understand the value of vaccines and are ready to rally on behalf of millions of moms and their children worldwide.” - Devi Ramachandran Thomas, director of the Shot@Life campaign.

The campaign aims to reduce child deaths from diseases such as diarrhea, measles, pneumonia and polio, by encouraging Americans to learn about, advocate for, and donate vaccines.  The campaign was established as national call to action to rally the general public, members of Congress, and civil society partners to work together and save a child’s life, one every 20 seconds, just by expanding access to vaccines.  The Shot@Life campaign and it’s supporters seek to raise $20,000 by Mother’s Day to help the United Nations provide immunizations to 1,000 children under the age of 5 years-old.

The idea of saving a life is always important and the thought of letting someone…a child…die from something that is so easily preventable is shocking enough.  However but the issue of vaccinations is greater than they even appear on the surface.  Vaccinations are a human right and they vital to our global development and security.  The failure to vaccinate children in developing countries creates ripple effect that pulls at more than our heart strings in developed nations.  By vaccinating children across the globe the rate of child disease and mortality will decline, leading to lower birth rates and lower medical costs to treat illnesses that create debt and deplete family resources.  All of this will then  see that children more likely to attend school regularly and finish, while will allow more mothers to work, thus increasing family incomes that then allow the entire community to prosper.  These effects then aid to the decrease in civil conflicts, which are caused by the desperation of poverty, which then will lead to more sustainable and peaceful individual communities, which then ripple to the rest of the country and across the globe.  Therefore giving a child a ‘shot at life’, gives us all a shot at a better life.

Photographer helping to give kids Shot@Life
Photographer Anne Geddes, whose work has focused on newborns for the past three decades, writes about her role as global advocate for the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign, which aims to save the lives of children under five from preventable diseases. “The underlying message through my work is the absolute promise of every newborn to reach their full potential,” she says. “[E]ach baby contains a new and unbroken spirit.”

A million poor children are dying due to sanitation denial
Sanitation is “the last big taboo” in developing countries, where about 1.1 billion people still defecate in the open because they do not have toilets, said Frank Rijsberman, director of water, sanitation and hygiene for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “As a result more than one million kids die every year,” he said at a conference in Rome. “Diarrhea is the second largest cause of death after respiratory infections in young children.”

Ghana launches landmark vaccination campaign
Authorities in Ghana this week will begin vaccinating babies against rotavirus and pneumococcal disease — causes of two of the world’s biggest killers of children, severe diarrhea and pneumonia — after the GAVI Alliance struck a deal with drug companies to provide mass quantities of the vaccines at lower prices. No other African country has introduced the vaccines simultaneously.

Educating Indian girls out of early marriage
“100% genuine girls. Young. Innocent. And available,” begins the introductory message to the website of The Girl Store, a unique campaign to prevent girls in India from being being sold into marriage or sex slavery by purchasing supplies for school. Donors can buy items uniforms for $27 apiece, as well as items such as workbooks, backpacks and pencil sets.

Ban: Women, child health is critical
India is spending billions of dollars per year to try to protect and improve the health of its women and children, offering a model to other countries, writes Ban Ki-moon, United Nations secretary-general. “The solutions are in our hands. Together, we can ensure that infants reach a healthy birth weight; that pregnant women receive the right clinical care at the right time; that sick baby girls receive the same quality of care and attention as sick boys. We can prevent malaria and tuberculosis and help free a new generation from HIV. Our collective efforts must also promote women’s equality and empowerment,” he writes.

Girls school in Afghan mountains defies Taliban
An effort by two literate brothers to quietly teach math, reading and writing to female relatives in the mountain village of Spina, Afghanistan, has evolved into an underground school serving dozens of girls in defiance of a Taliban edict. The school is part of a shadow education system in a country where 2 million girls don’t attend school, and those that do can face threats.

Trying to keep malnourished children alive in Chad
About 1 million children will suffer in 2012 from severe acute malnutrition in Africa’s Sahel region, according to United Nations estimates; 127,000 of them are younger than 5 and in Chad. UNICEF has set up 261 nutrition-rehabilitation centers there and plans to build just as many during the next two months, but foreign funding has fallen short.

An estimated 300 million children worldwide are subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse, including the worst forms of child labor in communities, schools and institutions.  An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year into exploitative conditions, including working in mining, factories or agriculture, recruited as soldiers in armed conflict or forced into commercial sex work.  Additionally those children who live in areas of extreme economic hardship and social disruption, including armed conflict, are at a greater risk for abuse and exploitation.  With an estimated 40 million children under the age of 15 suffer from violence, abuse and neglect worldwide, we cannot afford to dedicate one month a year to ending child abuse, but must make it a daily fight.

UN fund announces family planning summit
Plans are afoot for a summit in London next July to raise funds for improved global access to voluntary methods of family planning, including contraceptives, information, supplies and services, writes Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the UN Population Fund. An estimated 215 million women in the developing world lack modern contraceptives, resulting in unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and more than 100,000 maternal deaths.

India’s urbanization is driving surge in child labor
The case of a 13-year-old maid in India who was discovered last week abandoned in an apartment, and effectively living a life of slavery, has cast a spotlight on the country’s legion of child laborers between 5 and 14 years old. Many such children are reportedly kidnapped from India’s poorest states.

Afghan boys are illegally forced into sexual servitude
Underage Afghan boys are being coerced in growing numbers into serving as so-called “dancing boys,” or sexual partners to wealthy or otherwise prominent men. The boys are dressed up as women to dance.

Nigerian states seek law mandating polio vaccinations
Officials and traditional rulers in some of Nigeria’s states are pushing for a law that would make it criminal for any parent to prevent their child from receiving the vaccine against polio, Nigeria’s Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday.  The states of Bauchi, Benue, Rivers and Jigawa are leading efforts to have a binding legal framework to help fight against polio in Nigeria, which is the only country in Africa where the disease is endemic.

GAVI rotavirus vaccine deal will save millions of poor children
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization and pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Merck reached a deal to sell rotavirus vaccines at a two-thirds price reduction, allowing for a $5 course of treatment in developing countries. “We strive to make our donors’ funds go further so we can help developing countries protect more children against deadly diseases,” GAVI chief executive Seth Berkley said.

Saudi princess criticizes laws as anti-woman
Princess Basma, the youngest daughter of Saudi Arabia’s second king, and niece to its current ruler, said in a far-ranging interview that the country “has not fulfilled [its] early promise,” especially in regard to fundamental civil laws affecting women. Among changes she said she would like to see are gender equality in the constitution and school curricula, as well as fairer divorce laws, and the reform of discriminatory social services.

Argentina trafficking case is emblematic for region
The work over the past decade of an Argentinian mother whose daughter was abducted and allegedly sold to traffickers, who forced her into prostitution, has become a symbol of the fight against human trafficking not only in Argentina, but much of South America. Susana Trimarco has survived murder attempts and founded an organization that has helped rescue hundreds of victims of sexual exploitation.

Protests spread over child marriage in Morocco
Women’s rights activists in Morocco were outraged at the invitation of an accused rapist to a roundtable discussion on child marriage. The invitation to a man who reportedly forced 16-year-old Amina Filali to marry him after he had raped her is being presented by activists as further evidence of unwillingness by the state to halt the surge in child marriages, estimated at more than 41,000 in 2010. Filali killed herself after a court ordered she wed.

The first comprehensive set of principles to guide companies on the full range of actions they can take in the workplace, marketplace and community to respect and support children’s rights was released recently.    The Children’s Rights and Business Principles was developed by UNICEF, the UN Global Compact and Save the Children, and is the first comprehensive set of principles to guide companies on the full range of actions they can take in the workplace, marketplace and community to respect and support the rights of children.  The Principles recognize existing international human rights law, specifically the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the articles of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on the worst forms of child labor.

The partners behind the Principles believe that companies have failed to recognize the benefits of taking a more proactive approach and that by “considering how products and services can better meet children’s needs can also be a source of innovation and create new markets. Finally, working for children helps build strong, well-educated communities that are vital to a stable, inclusive and sustainable business environment.”

The Principles, were developed in consultation with children, as well as business, investors, trade unions, national human rights institutions, civil society, governments, and academics. Therefore the Principles were created to enhance and strengthen existing standards, initiatives and best practices related to business and children.  Therefore the Principles seek to fill gaps to in the current practices and provide a coherent vision for business to maximize the positive impacts and minimize negative impacts on children.  The main objective of the Principles is to provide a clear understanding of the opportunities business have regarding children; who are often overlooked as stakeholders of business.

The issue of protecting the rights of children across the globe goes much deeper than just that of putting an end to the use of child labor and thankfully the Principles outline this.  In the 10 Principles, there is a specific call to action for business to ensure that all of their products and services are safe, to ensure that future children’s rights are ensured and advanced in relation to the environment and land acquisition, and that marketing and advertising seek to protect and not exploit the right of the child.  Additionally the Principles state that businesses should pay particular attention to safeguarding children in emergency situations, as they are at increased risk of abuse, including sexual, and exploitation.

While the Principles are a significant development in the protection and safeguarding of children’s rights, they will not be able to make a sustainable impact alone.  In order for the Principles to be effective and enhance existing laws and programs, local communities, governments, international community and the media will all have to play a role in the protection of children’s rights.  Thus scrutiny of corporate practice, must be put into place with political and legal reforms, which must be enforced at all levels, if we are to see true and sustainable change and ensure all children their basic rights.

DIGGING FOR WATER: Children in northern Kenya dig a hole in a river bed to retrieve water. Drought has an enormous impact on communities around the world, and according to the U.N. is only expected to increase. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

In developing nations we tend to take each sip of water for granted, as much of it comes in fancy packaged bottles and comes clean from our taps.  However each sip is life saving and for many children in the developing world, it is that drop of water that could be the drop that kills or the drop that saves.  Contaminated water supplies or lack of water often affects the youngest victims hardest and can be life threatening, as diarrhea is killer, especially of infants who are often formula fed with contaminated water.  While many sustainable water initiatives and programs have been put into effect, the increasing population continues to strain the already burdened effort, and water and sanitation issues continue.

Yesterday, March 22, 2011 was World Water Day, which is held each year to place global attention on the importance of clean and sustainable access to water, including the management of freshwater resources.  World Water Day was established to celebrate freshwater, following the recommendation of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), for which the UN General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater for  which to focus on. This year, UN-Water chose the theme Water and Food Security, with the following slogan; The World is Thirsty, because we are Hungry. This year World Water Day seeks to focus global attention on the impact of our rapid global population growth.  There are 7 billion people on the planet today and another 2 billion are expected to join by 2050.  According to statistics, each person on earth drinks from 2 to 4 litres of water every day, however most of the water we ‘drink’ is embedded in the food we eat: producing 1 kilo of beef for example consumes 15,000 litres of water while 1 kilo of wheat ’drinks up’ 1,500 liters, according to the UN.  Therefore the issue of food security, which is based on the access of  ’all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy life’, is a vital component in the fight to ensuring each person on the globe has access to clean and sanitized water, as well as ensuring water conservation.

Why is water access so vital to food security?  Those who have increased access to clean water are more likely to have lower levels of undernourishment. Thus inadequate supplies of water are often the most common cause of famine and undernourishment, especially in populations where people depend on local agriculture for both food and income.  According to the latest UNWorld Water Development Report, “In many countries water availability for agriculture is already limited and uncertain, and is set to worsen.”  The report concluded that farmers will need one-fifth more water by 2050 to meet increasing demands for food by a population estimated to reach 9.3 billion. Today, more than 80% of used water goes uncollected and untreated, an issue slated to be discussed at this week’s World Water Forum (Bloomberg).

Anthony Cox, head of a water program run by the OECD, said the world is experiencing a water “crisis.”  stating:

“More people in cities now don’t have access to water than back in 1980. In developing countries, especially, there is a tremendous economic and human cost to this.” Since 1900, more than 11 million people have died because of drought, according to the UN, and more than 2 billion have been affected by it – more than any other physical hazard.  The OECD is calling for “urgent reform” of water management and suggests using economic instruments, such as taxation, tariffs and transfers, to encourage greater “water efficiency” (The Independent).

Food security relies on an adequate supply of clean water, therefore water contamination and waste must be made a global priority if we are to end global hunger and child undernourishment.  Sustainable irrigation, water storage and distribution practices must be put into place on a local scale.  Additionally natural water resources and wetlands, must be protected to ensure adequate food supplies such as  that of fisheries and other livestock who drink from water such water supplies.  Therefore it is clear that in order to ensure that generations of children have safe drinking water and adequate nutrition we need to increase food production by increasing the viability of water resources management and initiating more sustainable and effective irrigation technologies, for small and large farmers alike.

Related Links: 
Global Sanitation Fund
Global WASH Campaign
UN-Water
World Health Organization (WHO) 
Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council
International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’
Water Aid
Children pay the price for lack of safe water and sanitation
UNICEF calls for children to be at centre of regional action on hygiene
UNICEF highlights water scarcity on World Water Day
PlayPumps International
Tap Project 
The Water Project
El Porvenir
Water Advocates

Moroccan girl, wed to rapist, kills herself
A Moroccan law that allowed a rapist to avoid punishment by marrying the 16-year-old girl he raped is being decried the world over after the girl, Amina Filali, reportedly took her own life last weekend by swallowing rat poison. Filali was not old enough to legally marry.

Historic verdict condemns warlord, but Hague court limited
Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga this morning was convicted in the International Criminal Court — the court’s first verdict since its inception a decade ago — of recruiting and deploying child soldiers under the age of 15 during five years of fighting that ended in 2003, resulting in more than 60,000 deaths. Lubanga could face life imprisonment.

5 anti-poverty programs that work
Five women are profiled for their innovative efforts throughout the world to lift others out of poverty. Among the programs they have devised are a social enterprise that turns computer-based tasks at companies into jobs for people in developing countries, and a mobile money platform that empowers women and boosts financial transparency.

Suspected polio case threatens India’s clean sheet
The recent case of a girl admitted to a hospital in West Bengal with polio-like symptoms sparked worries that India’s battle against polio may not be over yet.  But experts say there is no reason to believe it is indeed a case of polio, at least not yet.  “Every potential case of polio can be worrying, of course. However, at this point in time we have no information that confirms it is a polio case,” says Nata Menabde, who is currently overseeing the National Polio Surveillance Project, a joint initiative of the Indian government and the World Health Organization.

Clinton: Extremists want to control women’s lives
In a speech at the Women in the World Summit, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explained how protecting the rights of women and girls around the world was a “strategic imperative.” Extremists around the world “are always focusing on women — the reason is a mystery to me,” she said, adding, “It’s hard to believe even here at home we have to stand up for women’s rights and reject efforts to marginalize any one of us.”Watch a video of Clinton’s speech.

South Africa faces education crisis
In South Africa, some 5,000 children, primarily from black families with modest incomes, are leaving state primary schools each year for private, low-cost, independent schools. The government admits that eight out of 10 state schools — some 1,700 of which are without water, and 15,000 of which are without libraries — are failing.

Polio vaccinations resume in Pakistan after salary protests
The second anti-polio drive this year in Pakistan is finally under way after the government, under pressure by World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, agreed to pay vaccinators, who hadn’t received salaries for nine months. Photos from the country’s vaccine campaign can be seen here.

New guidelines could help working children
A new initiative, Children’s Rights and Business Principles, could help the more than 1 million children estimated to be working artisanal gold mines throughout the world, such as those at one such mine in Mali, where boys and girls suffer from mercury poisoning and other physical maladies. It is unclear, however, whether businesses will comply with the principles, which are slated to be launched in London today by UNICEF, Save the Children and the UN Global Compact.

A Look at the Future of Health Care and Funding in Africa
Richard Feachem, founding executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said that the money brought in by the fund and other sources has contributed to the remarkable progress being made worldwide against the trio of diseases. A drop-off in funding as a result of the global financial crisis, though, coupled with cuts to health care budgets by African governments, are threatening gains. Feachem said that by 2016 there would be an effective vaccine to protect against malaria.

Malaria is an early threat to fetus, study finds

New blog series features girls helping girls
On the cusp of International Women’s Day, UN Foundation CEO Kathy Calvin reflects on the estimated 283 million adolescent girls living in rural areas who are especially vulnerable to violence, early marriage and death because of pregnancy and childbirth. She said a new series of blogs from young women “who are advocating for political agendas that work for girls” will help ensure that girls living in rural areas are not overlooked. 

Nigeria boosts funding for anti-polio drive
Nigeria has nearly doubled funding for its anti-polio efforts, from $17 million to $30 million, in a bid to eradicate the disease from a remaining eight states by 2015. “I believe that the Nigerians that are here are as embarrassed as myself whenever the issues of polio are mentioned in the papers that Nigeria is still a sanctuary of wild polio and that we are becoming a threat to other countries,” said President Goodluck Jonathan. “My commitment to the people of this country is that between now and 2015, when my term of office is expected to end, we will work day and night to make sure that we eradicate polio.”

Hazards of global mining boom take hold
The global surge in large-scale mining in iron, coal and rare metals is, in turn, leading to large-scale land grabs, as well as the devastation of lands, rivers and aquifers across Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to a report by the Gaia foundation. In the northwestern Zamfara region of Nigeria, unprecedented levels of gold mining have reportedly killed more than 400 children and poisoned thousands more.

Poorest children are lost to urbanization, UNICEF says
More than a billion children in urban slums are living without vital services, such as electricity, water and education, and that number is only expected to increase as people continue to flock to cities in the developing world, according to UNICEF’s latest State of the World’s Children report. Many children are unaccounted for by indices such as the Millennium Development Goals because they do not go to school.

Contraception, not prohibition, stops abortions
Global evidence shows that the best way to reduce the abortion rate is to provide better access to contraceptives, not to make abortions illegal, writes Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. “Four-fifths of unintended pregnancies in the developing world occur among mothers who lack access to modern contraception,” he writes.

Nigeria breaks new ground against polio, malaria
Indian pharmaceuticals company Panacea Biotec is teaming up with Emzor Pharma to launch polio vaccines in Nigeria in an effort to duplicate Indian successes against the disease. At the University of Jos, researchers successfully cultivated Artemisia annua, paving the way for local production of the malaria-fighting plant, which could lead to reductions in costs of anti-malaria drugs, and the prevalence of fake imported drugs.

Study suggests link between malaria treatment, child immunity
A study that looked at the effects of malaria treatment on pregnant mice and the immune systems of their offspring suggests a possible link between the use of anti-malarial drugs and compromised immune systems. “Some treatments against disease before or during pregnancy might be beneficial for maternal health but impair infant survival,” said Vincent Staszewski of Edinburgh University.

This week World Read Aloud Day was held on March 7th. The day has been established by Litworld to promote Global Literacy for all ages.   World Read Aloud Day was established by LitWorld  in March 2010 to advocate for literacy as a basic human right. World Read Aloud Day seeks to motivate children, teens, and adults across the globe to celebrate the power of words and reading, especially sharing your ability to read with that of another person. According to LitWorld, “by raising our voices together on this day, we show the world’s children that we support their future: that they have the right to read, to write, and to share their words to change the world.”

LitWorld’s mission is to use the power of story to cultivate literacy skills in the world’s most vulnerable children through education, advocacy and innovation. LitWorld creates resilience-building reading and writing experiences to connect and fortify communities.  For World Read Aloud Day, LitWorld teamed up with Gray Line New York to help promote global literacy at a unique advocacy event.  The event was hosted at New York City’s, Books of Wonder, and had book readings from children on the top of a Gray Line New York double-decker bus.  The special event featured a number of readings for children and young adults by famous names in the literary world, book signings and creative workshops.

By using double-decker buses, LitWorld seeks to inspire creativity and the promotion of literacy by presenting reading outside its usual forum.  While reading a book on a bus may not ensure every child can read today, it does bring attention to the plight of global literacy.  The harsh reality is that for many, reading is a privilege.  Children must be given the right to read and access to books regardless of where they are located; be it a refugee camp, rural school, or urban library, books are essential to childhood.

Though some progress has been made, we are a long way from seeing that all children have fair and equal access to adequate education across the globe. Therefore education must be at the forefront of any relief, aid or community development program.  Additionally, we must seek to educate communities on the importance of education, including access to adequate primary and secondary education for all children. Ensuring all children receive a basic education not only guarantees them a better future, but increases the quality of life for the whole community.  Education is an essential element in achieving peace and international cooperation, and to ending poverty and conflict.

Take this opportunity and read to a child today and encourage them to read alone and to other children. Share your books with those in need; we should value books more than gold, for they will buy the future.

A mother sits with her daughter in a poor neighbourhood of Pokhara, Nepal. Photo by: DEDDEDA

Today, March 8th is International Women’s Day (IWD), which was established to commemorate the struggle women and girls across the globe continue to endure in obtaining their basic human rights.  In 2011, the United States made the presidential proclamation that the entire month of March will be Women’s History Month.  2012′s theme is Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures; by connecting girls with resources  to ensure their basic rights, girls will see their potential and future. Inspiring girls’ futures betters the community, the country and the world.

Each year the United Nations also declares an overall International Women’s Day theme. The UN’s 2012 theme is Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty.  Women and girls in rural areas face the largest disparities and barriers than any other population in the world. Rural women and girls comprise one in four people worldwide. They work long hours with little or no wadges, yet produce a large proportion of the food agriculture. These women and girls are one of the biggest keys in the fight against poverty. “Providing women farmers with equal access to resources would result in 100 to 150 million fewer hungry people. Providing women with income, land rights and credit would mean fewer malnourished children. Studies show that higher levels of gender equality correlate positively with higher levels of per capita gross national product. Opening economic opportunities to women would significantly raise economic growth and reduce poverty,” stated Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, on the importance of addressing this year’s UN theme (UN Women).

While significant progress has been made for the improvement of the lives of women and girls across the globe since 1911, millions of women and young girls are denied the right to equal and fair access to education and healthcare. Women and girls continue to face some of the biggest inequalities across the globe, especially in obtaining access to social services, and the right to own land and other sustainable assets.  These injustices deprive women and girls, and our global community, from reaching their full potential.  In many communities the discrimination and injustice begins at birth and continues with each generation. Millions of women and girls every day suffer from gender inequality, and many are faced with gender-based violence such as: female genital mutilation (FGM)/female circumcision, child marriage, child trafficking, selective abortions/gendercide and other gender and sexually-based human rights abuses.

Issues affecting women and girls must be on the forefront of all development, aid and community planning.   As women and girls comprise seventy percent of the world’s poor, addressing gender inequality is essential to achieving sustainable development goals.  While many women and girls still struggle, others have set forth to be industry and world leaders, and it is these female leaders that will pave the way forward for the those who still struggle to achieve their rights. The role of women and girls in all aspects of society is vital to a peaceful global community. Celebrate women and girls not just today, but everyday and empower them; they will lead us towards a better tomorrow!

International Women’s Day Resources:

• UN Women Secondary School Kit 2012
• Deloitte’s International Women’s Day Toolkit
• We are Equals posters, badges and stickers
• Celebrating Working Women International Women’s Day video
• To see events around the globe celebrating International Women’s Day click here.

The practice known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Circumcision can be the partial or full removal of the external genitalia. FGM can often be fatal, especially when done in non-sanitary conditions and/or by non-medically trained persons. The fatal results of FGM can be caused by excessive bleeding, transmission of disease, or shock. The complications and the long-term effects of FGM can include; pain, infertility, difficulties in child birth, trouble with menstruation or urination, problems and extreme pain with intercourse, lack of sexual desire, no sexual stimulation, and mental illness.

I recently published the post, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Awareness Day Passes With Little Notice, highlighting that too little attention is given to the ending the practice across the globe.  The practice of FGM is deeply rooted in gender inequality and while it is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women, it continues to thrive and effects more than 100 million women and girls worldwide.  While banning of the practice has increased over the years, it has not led to its removal, as many communities continue to practice FGM in the shadows.  Laws banning FGM are ineffective on their own, as the practice is deeply rooted in the culture or history. Thus laws prove futile without education and awareness.  However, a recent three year program has now begun to shine a light on success in eradicating FGM.

The European Union (EU) and UNICEF have established a program that has helped thousands of families, communities and countries change attitudes and end harmful traditional practices such as FGM in Africa.  The report on the EU-funded project shows that as a result of education and awareness raising, girls in thousands of communities in Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Senegal and Sudan are no longer subjected to this practice.  The project was implemented by UNICEF, following EU funding of €3,991,000 over the period of 2008-2012, and  was conducted across the five African countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal ,and the Sudan.  The report, the Dynamics of Social Change: Towards the abandonment of FGM/C in five African countries, shows that FGM can be eliminated in communities when programs and policies seek to first address the complex social dynamics associated with the harmful practice and challenge established gender relationships, existing assumptions and stereotypes.

EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs stated that it is unacceptable that in the 21st century, this practice, which is a clear violation of human rights, is still taking place. Piebalgs said that by raising awareness on the dangers of FGM at grassroots level, the EU and UNICEF have helped to provide young women across Africa with an alternative, as well as given them the chance to become an active part of their own communities in the future.

The project’s successes included Senegal, where 28% of females aged 15-49 years old have undergone FGM, but today some 5,300 communities havew abandoned the practice. The report notes that this success places Senegal close to becoming the first country in the world to declare total abandonment of the practice, expected by 2015. In Egypt, where 91% of females under go FGM, the project has also noted some progress, as FGM appeared to be growing less common among younger age groups. The number of Egyptian families agreeing to abandon the practice also increased substantially: from 3,000 in 2007 to 17,772 in 2011. In Ethiopia, despite continually high rates of FGM, a decline was seen between 2000 and 2005, as rates dropped from 80% to 74%.

The report shows great hope in wining the fight against FGM, and for many it is long overdue. This report and program’s success is a model for others to follow as we work to end the needless suffering of women and girls across the globe.

Please see my previous posts on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Female Circumcision, such as: Is a Continental Ban Against Female Genital Mutilation on its Way in Africa?, Ending Female Genital Mutilation, Are we closer to an end for Female Genital Mutilation?, Female Genital Mutilation Continues in Senegal, Female Genital Mutilation in the UK, Egypt Makes Huge Strides in Putting an End to Female Circumcision, Girls Death in Burkina Faso Has Many Wondering If Laws are Enough! – for more background on the issue.  Please also see the World Health Organization (WHO) FGM Fact Sheet and The Female Genital Mutilation Education and Networking Project for more news and information on the long term consequences of FGM.