NEW YORK, Aug. 11 – Action to meet the needs of women and girls will be high on the agenda at next month’s summit here, when world leaders convene to assess progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. Some women’s advocates want to raise the issue even higher.
Theme of the Sept. 20-22 United Nations summit meeting is “Making it happen by 2015.” Six round-table sessions, each co-chaired by two heads of state or government, will discuss a recent 15-page report from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that found mixed results in the ten years since world leaders established the MDGs in 2000.
Noting that only five years remain until the 2015 MDG deadline that the leaders set for themselves, the report described some progress in all eight MDGs. However, escalating climate change and the global economic downturn caused hunger and poverty to spike in 2009, stalling further movement. It said progress on MDG 5, improving maternal health, is lagging most.
However, the MDGs can still be achieved if national development strategies, policies and programs are supported by international development partners, the report said. “The summit will be a crucially important opportunity to redouble our efforts to meet the goals,” said Ban. “Our challenge today is to agree on an action agenda.”
Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s deputy UN representative, said Ban’s paper offered only a “superficial” discussion of gender equality, treating it as a key goal rather than a basic human right. She and her team have produced their own version of the document calling for women’s empowerment to be recognized as a “fundamental value and an issue of social justice.”
The Global Call to Action Against Poverty, an international civil society coalition of 162 partners in 130 countries, is also lobbying for the summit’s outcome document to include gendered language and gender-specific commitments throughout, rather than bracketing them into women-specific sections.
"It's of course not a bad thing to make a strong statement about maternal health, except if it is made in exclusivity," said Lysa John, campaign director of the Global Call. "It's not an issue you can work on in isolation. It's not just about access to a hospital or medical care; it's nutrition, education, sexual and reproductive rights and much more at all stages of a woman's life."
A side event by the advocacy group Women Deliver will seek to mobilize conference participants to make those points in their presentations using language documenting women’s value to families, communities and nations.
In a June 30 statement on the summit, U.S. President Barack Obama said, “Meeting the needs of women and girls is at the core of our presidential initiatives.” The statement criticized slow rates of reducing maternal mortality and child malnutrition and noted that gender inequality “hampers achievement of most MDGs.” It added, “Investing in and empowering women and girls is central to promoting sustainable development and achieving many MDGs.”
Calling for stronger rules and institutions to protect women’s human and economic rights, to educate girls and to measure gender differences in policy impacts, the statement said, “Empowering women is an important force multiplier in its own right, as well as a key ingredient for sustaining development gains.”
The administration pledged $30 million to assist victims of gender-based violence in Africa and $60 million in new programs to address child labor abuses, as well as support for enforcement of women’s legal rights in 10 countries and legislation to combat sexual harassment, domestic violence and human trafficking in several countries.
Program events at the three-day summit will include sessions on “Mother and Child Health Care,” by the International Red Cross and selected member states; “Progress and the World’s Women: Gender Justice and the MDGs,” sponsored by Denmark; “Botswana’s experience with integrated approach to HIV/AIDS challenges,” with the Global Health Council and others; “Women, Peace and Security,” sponsored by Switzerland; and the Launch of the Joint Action Plan on Women and Children’s Health, by the Secretary-General’s office.
Letty Chiwara, chief of the Africa Division of the UN’s Development Fund for Women, also wants the summit outcome to include specific, itemized goals for women, such as more funding for women living with HIV/AIDS and greater political participation for women everywhere.
"We've had enough commitments and we don't want a document that narrates the good work we have done," said Chiwara. "We want a document that articulates key gaps and what actions we need to close those. We still need a lot of work to achieve that."
WASHINGTON, July 28 -- Population size has pretty much peaked in the world’s more developed countries, but birth rates in poorer countries are falling more slowly than expected, the Population Reference Bureau reported today.
Releasing its annual World Population Data Sheet, the nonpartisan research organization said 2010 is “a transition point” for global population. Because of continued high birth rates in the developing world, overall population growth will continue for decades, while better medical care means that the proportion of elderly people is rising everywhere.
“This demographic shift is unprecedented in world history, and is most likely irreversible,” the report said. With fewer working-age people available to support both the aging and the very young, the shift will test national pension plans and long-term health care systems.
China remains the world’s most populous country, with 1.34 billion people, but is expected to lose that title by 2050, when global population will be 9.15 billion to 9.5 billion, the report said. India, now second at 1.19 billion people, is projected to grow to 1.75 billion by then, to China’s 1.44 billion. The United States is now third-largest at 310 million and is projected to reach 423 million by 2050, chiefly through immigration. Africa’s population is expected to double, to at least 2.1 billion, and could rise much more if the use of family planning does not increase significantly, the report said.
Women in less-developed countries are now having about 2.5 children each, compared with six each in the early 1950s, “a much more rapid decrease than that of Europe and North America,” the report said. “As impressive as that decline may be, there is still a long way to go.”
UNITED NATIONS – A separate and distinct umbrella organization for women was created in early July by the United Nations (UN) to accelerate the empowerment of women. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, or simply UN Women, will deal exclusively with gender-related issues.
Four existing women’s entities at the UN folded into UN Women, while taking into consideration the mandates of each entity. Merged into UN Women were: the U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM); the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues; the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW); and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).
Goals of UN Women are to support the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and other inter-governmental bodies in devising policies; assist UN member states implement standards, provide technical and financial support to countries that request it, and forge partnerships with civil society and within the UN; and hold the world body accountable for its own commitments on gender equality.
According to news reports, UN Women is expected to have an annual budget of $500 million, doubling the combined resources of the four merged agencies.
The executive board for UN Women will be based on the geographical distribution of seats by UN member states, with a second category reserved for donor countries, made up of the four top contributors to the core budget and two from developing nations. Overall, the board will consist of 41 countries with seats distributed as follows: Africa-10; Asia-10; Eastern Europe-four; Latin America and the Caribbean-six; Western Europe and Other Groups-five; plus contributing donors-six.
The new entity is a result of years of negotiations among member states and advocacy by women’s groups globally. It comes years, and in some cases decades, after the UN created agencies to deal with specific issues related to children, population, refugees, food, environment, education, health and tourism.
The under secretary general is expected to be named in September, with the organization set to become operational in January 2011.
Washington, May 11, 2010 – As people around the world celebrate Mother’s Day, Representative Lois Capps (D-CA) introduced the Improvements in Global Maternal and Newborn Health Outcomes while Maximizing Successes Act, or “Global MOMS Act,” (HR 5268) to show appreciation for mothers around the world by ensuring they have access to quality health care from pre-conception through pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum care.
At a press conference on Capitol Hill as a part of the bill’s introduction, Rep. Capps; Christy Turlington Burns, CARE Advocate for Maternal Health and Documentary Director of No Woman, No Cry; Cathy Woolard of CARE; and Theresa Shaver of the White Ribbon Alliance highlighted the Global MOMS Act.
The Global MOMS Act calls for:
Development of a strategy as part of the Global Health Initiative to reduce mortality and improve maternal and newborn health;
Improved coordination among U.S. government agencies and existing programs that are currently working to reduce maternal and newborn mortality; and
Authorization of assistance in proven interventions including family planning, access to skilled care at birth and training professionals in emergency obstetric care.
The Global MOMS Act is being introduced as a lead up to the Women Deliver 2010 conference that will be held in Washington, DC June 7-9, 2010. “Women Deliver brings together thousands of leaders and advocates from around the world with the goal of improving the lives of women and girls around the world,” said Rep. Capps.
This year’s Women Deliver conference will be attended by nearly 3,000 leaders from 135 countries, including parliamentarians, academics and experts. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will open the conference, which will also feature the heads of UN agencies working on these issues, including UNFPA, UNDP, the WHO, UNICEF, UNIFEM and UNAIDS.
Preliminary co-sponsors of the Global MOMS Act include Representatives Betty McCollum (D-MN), Rosa DeLaura (D-CT), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Donna Christensen (D-VI), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Barbara Lee (D-CA). Tomorrow, over 900 advocates from around the country will come to Capitol Hill to lobby in support of the bill.
The Global MOMS Act is another step in a longer road toward new policies and more resources from the U.S. government to reduce maternal mortality and pregnancy-related injuries in the U.S. and throughout the world. In May 2008, Congress passed H.Res 1022 "Reducing Maternal Mortality Both at Home and Abroad" that states the House of Representatives will make a stronger commitment to reducing maternal mortality both at home and abroad through greater financial investment and participation in global initiatives, and recognizes maternal health as a human right. H.Res 1022 was initiated by Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) and other members of the Congressional delegation to the 2007 Women Deliver conference, including former Congresswomen Hilda Solis, now U.S. Secretary of Labor, Gwen Moore (D-WI), Donna Christensen (D-VI) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY).
The Global MOMS Act is endorsed by CARE, Amnesty International, Pathfinder International, Guttmacher Institute, Management Sciences for Health, Ipas, Marie Stopes International - US, Americans for UNFPA, National Council of Women's Organizations, White Ribbon Alliance, PATH, PSI (Population Services International), Population Action International, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, International Women's Health Coalition, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and CHANGE.
Washington, April 30, 2010 -- Secretary Clinton announced the launch of the “Secretary's International Fund for Women and Girls" earlier this week. The Fund, according to a press release, is "a State Department-led public-private partnership committed to providing flexible, rapid, targeted, and high-impact grants to nongovernmental organizations working to meet the critical needs of women and girls around the world."
"The Fund invests in efficient and innovative solutions to combat violence, improve health and education, promote climate change solutions, and create economic and political opportunities for women and girls," the press release states.
The Fund will be administered by the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues.
April 21, 2010 -- Watch CNN's Christiane Amanpour's interview with UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Purnima Mane and other experts on population, reproductive health and the challenges facing family planning.
If you have trouble viewing the video above, click here.
A full transcript of the interview, can be accessed here.
March 26, 2010 – The U.S. Government is hosting a three-day, online collaboration event next week that aims to bring together tens of thousands of individuals from around the world to co-create solutions to global issues facing the international community.
Washington, March 22, 2010 -- Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted 216-212 in favor of historic health care reform legislation, ensuring that millions of Americans will finally have access to health care.
Washington, March 15, 2010 -- Former president Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, testified on Capitol Hill last Wednesday and explained the importance of investing in family planning programs worldwide.
Washington, March 12, 2010 – A new report by Amnesty International USA details the soaring rates of maternal death and pregnancy-related complications in the United States, particularly affecting minorities and those living in poverty.
New York, March 9, 2010 – The United Nations today honored Bill and Melinda Gates and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development with its prestigious Population Awards, bestowed to recognize outstanding work in population and in improving the health of individuals.
Washington, March 5, 2010 -- Funding for family planning and reproductive health in the fiscal year 2010 budget was made public today with the release of the congressional budget justification document for foreign assistance. It demonstrates that the U.S. is back as an international leader on family planning and reproductive health issues.
February 25, 2010 – The Spanish Senate yesterday rejected the Catholic Bishops and the Vatican’s opposition to safe and legal abortion by voting to ease the country’s restrictions on abortion.
February 24, 2010 -- In honor of International Women's Day, movie theaters across the United States will broadcast an event, on Thursday, March 4, inspired by stories from New York Times bestseller Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.
New York, Feb. 23, 2010 – Diplomats and non-governmental organizations will review recent global advances toward equality between men and women when they gather here next week for a session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
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