I have not put up anything for sometime because of work and trying to work out some issues with the Stand Up Take Action folks. So in typical up against the deadline or way late blogger fashion, here is a reblogged posting of what has been happening in the world regarding the Millennium Development Goals.
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Four days ago, David Lane, ONE President and CEO, informed me and more than 40,000 other ONE members that we had been successful in petitioning President Obama to deliver on his powerful pledge to present a plan for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) before the upcoming September's United Nation's Millennium Development Goals Summit in New York City. (Excuse for not doing this sooner is that again work got to hectic)
President Obama followed through on his pledge by releasing a new plan spelling out how the United States will work to achieve the United Nations' Eight Goal Millennium Campaign. 1. End Hunger 2. Universal Education 3. Gender Equity 4. Child Health 5. Maternal Health 6. Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases 7. Environmental Sustainability 8. Global Partnership by 2015.
The plan, (you can read more about it here) stresses the importance of good governance, promoting economic growth and measurable results.
We should also feel proud to know that our work made a difference, and that the US is taking a real lead on the MDGs. But we can't forget that there's still a lot of hard work to do. We must make sure that the US acts on its new plan to tackle both the MDGs and broader development issues. We must urge other countries to commit to do their part at the September UN Summit. We must continue to let our leaders know that we support these goals and the hope, health, security and opportunity they offer to the world's poorest people.The actual report is here:
I like the fact that it says "Toward2015 and Beyond" and leading with the word "Celebrate" is intriguing. First thing is to sit down and read it.
The petition for the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) sponsored on Change.org by Help Women Thrive World Wide, and supported by a number of other organizations featured in this blog, was signed sometime ago and I had already asked my Senators to support it. Here is a response from Senator Boxer who helped introduce the bill on the Senate side. Senator Boxer and the International Violence Against Women Act (S.2982).
Now further movement has been with the announcement in July that Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA), described as a moderate, has decided to sponsor H.R.4594 - International Violence Against Women Act of 2010.
This has direct application to Millennium Development Goal No. 3. Gender Equity. You can't speak of equity or empowerment in a world where you are not safe. It also applies to all of the Millennium Development Goals because women will pay such a large part in bringing them about in thousands of villages across the globe.
It is all the more important because it is times of disaster that bring out best in some people but the worst in others. As a post earlier this year stated Women make a difference in Haiti and will make a difference in the new millennium. The threat of violence becomes all the worse during such calamities. The International Rescue Committee has called for support for this reason.
... months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, many women and girls are still living in makeshift crowded camps in Port-au-Prince. In these teeming and often poorly lit settlements, women face the threat of physical and sexual assault and grapple with dangers posed by active criminal gangs.
Back in June, I signed a Care2 petition supporting the Global MOMS Act which is designed to reduce global maternal mortality.
Implementation of MDG No. 5 Maternal Health would actually help stabilize our planet's population. It would also help to ensure economic vitality in our future, presuming we also fulfill the other of the 7 Millennium Development Goals.
As Kayla from the Care2 ThePetitionSite tells us:
No woman should have to put her life or health at risk during pregnancy or childbirth, and all new borns should have a healthy start in life. The Global MOMS Act will help countless mothers worldwide get access to quality health care services and reduce maternal mortality.
The term Maternal Death should become an oxymoron. Currently, they are are petitioner 12,857 and they are trying to reach 20,000. The bill seems to be going nowhere fast so needs all the help it can get. There doesn't seem to be any great amount of coverage by the main stream media.
I did and got a response from one of them though it was not the one that is running for re-election and it was from the wrong part of the Congress .
Dear Mr. Dowling
Thank you for writing to express your support for the "Improvements in Global Maternal and Newborn Health Outcomes while Maximizing Successes Act" (Global MOMS Act) (H.R. 5268). I appreciate hearing your views on this pending legislation, and welcome the opportunity to respond.
Like you, I believe that the United States must continue to lead international efforts to improve maternal and child health care and reduce child mortality rates worldwide. During my tenure in the Senate I have worked hard to ensure that international maternal and child welfare programs are adequately funded. For example, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I supported the $7.8 billion included in the fiscal year 2010 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Act (Public Law111-117) for the Global Health and Child Survival Account, which funds programs to provide nutritional support and vaccines to women and children. Further, I coauthored a letter to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Ranking Member Judd Gregg (R-NH) requesting that the Committee support full funding for the President's fiscal year 2011 international affairs budget request of $58.5 billion, which includes funding to directly improve the health, nutrition, sanitation, and educational needs of women and children worldwide.
As you may know, the "Global MOMS Act" is pending consideration by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and at this time, there is no companion bill in the Senate. Please know that I will continue to do my best to ensure that child health and welfare programs receive the funding they deserve, and be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind should this legislation come before me in the Senate.
Again, thank you for writing. I hope that you will continue to write on matters of importance to you. Should you have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.
On Tuesday, I wrote about Congress hearing testimony on Millennium Development Goals for the first time. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs heard testimony on the Millennium Development Goals from John McArthur, CEO, (pdf) Millennium Promise, Scott Ratzan, Vice President, Global Health, Government Affairs and Policy, Johnson & Johnson and Kathy Calvin, CEO, United Nations Foundation.
UN Foundation CEO Kathy Bushkin Calvin testified before Congress about how collaboration and partnerships are key to advancing the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 (Read the full testimony here (pdf)).
The UN Foundation Team reminds us that:
Just as no nation should go it alone in the international arena, no single player can achieve the MDGs. From bishops to basketball players, collaborations across government agencies, corporations, foundations and individuals are absolutely essential to eradicating extreme poverty and bringing the MDGs within reach.
What Next for the Millennium Development Goals? "> - Annotated
It is just about time for yet another round of international development goals. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - the eight goals, 20 targets and 60+ indicators that came out of the United Nations in 2000 - are coming to the end of their natural life. Although the official end date is not until 2015, if your country is not close to reaching the MDGs now, there is simply not much time to catch up. (Helpfully, the UN's MDG Monitor website counts down to 2015 by the second.)
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women — UN Women "> - Annotated
In an historic move, the United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously on 2 July 2010 to create a new entity to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide.
UNFPA - Countdown to 2015: Maternal, Newborn & Child Survival "> - Annotated
The report provides a mix of good and bad news. One good news message is that the under-5 child mortality rate has declined by 28 percent, from an estimated 90 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to 65 deaths per 1000 in 2008, accounting for a reduction of nearly 4 million child deaths per year.
This report collects and analyses data from the 68 countries that account for at least 95 per cent of maternal and child deaths. It produces country profiles that present coverage data for a range of key health services, including:
New Statesman - An enlightenment fit for the 21st century "> - Annotated
The Tories’ “big society” challenges the people, and not just governments, to embrace change. To effect its own change for the better, Labour and the left must imbibe new ideas about human psychology and learn how to speak a collective language of ethics.
The Environmental Defense Action Fund put out the video above to make the point that
As far back as Richard Nixon, every president has called for energy reform and action to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. And for 40 years, not a single one followed through forcibly enough to make change happen.
They are looking to encourage President Obama to turn his public commitment to passing strong climate and energy reform in 2010 into action. They need at least 50,000 signatures (click here) before the Senate comes back to work next week to send a strong message.
We have never been closer to success. What we have so far is our President's support. What we need is a full court press by White House officials to do what it takes to get the 60 votes needed to secure Senate passage of a bill.Getting an Energy Bill in the United States is important but it is not the end of the matter. We still need to address Millennium Development Goal No. 7. Environmental Sustainability. My letter to President Obama was geared in that direction.
Nothing short of that will do. History will be made this month. Please help us make this a chapter with a happy ending.
Indigenous Women - UNPFII - United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
“The Forum recommends that agencies and bodies of the United Nations and other inter-governmental organizations rethink the concept of development, with the full participation of indigenous peoples in development processes, taking into account the rights of indigenous peoples and the practices of their traditional knowledge.”
A participating non-government organization in the MDG summit this September. The GMC was created as a result of the outstanding success of the “Say Yes for Children” campaign which led to the UN Special Session on Children in 2002 resolving to help mobilize citizens of every nation families, communities, civil society, organizations of every kind and children within an active, influential and united movement. This means
This blog has done a number of posts in the past on the need to fund Malaria intervention programs around the world. A recent post tried to paint a rosier picture than usual to make the argument that Millennium Development Goal No. 6 was achievable within the next 5 years or at least great strides could be made. I could easily be accused of whistling in the dark because for each positive stride we make the recent economic crisis seems to put us two back.
This May AAAS Science Magazine has a special issue on Tuberculosis and Malaria, two of of focuses for Millennium Development Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases.
Landscapes of Infection -- Hurtley et al. 328 (5980): 841 -- Science
As more nations struggle with stressed economies, aid to the developing world becomes increasingly vulnerable to governments' budgetary cuts. The industrialized world is recognizing that coordinating global development assistance is the most efficient way to maximize effectiveness and minimize duplication. Earlier this year, the United States, the largest funder of global health assistance, announced that it seeks to expand multilateral efforts to address the major health problems of developing countries. One of the triumphs of multilateral cooperation has been the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a program that has saved millions of lives in developing countries. That is why the $50 million reduction in funding for the Global Fund requested by the U.S. government for fiscal year 2011, in the face of increased requests for expanded coverage by those countries, would be a major setback.
The AAAS report also featured one of the good guys in this struggle, the Malaria Consortium which according to their website works in partnership with communities, health systems, government and non-government agencies, academic institutions and local and international organisations to ensure good evidence supports delivery of effective services. Together, we work to secure access for groups most at risk, to prevention, care and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases.
The problem is that these problems are often so far from us and being always in the same countries that it is easy to think that this is just they way things are. That would be tragic. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek Heath Executive Health almost Half of Deaths in Kids Under 5 Occur in 5 Countries,
TUESDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) -- Infectious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and blood poisoning account for more than two-thirds of the 8.8 million annual deaths in kids under 5 years of age worldwide, a new report shows.Adding more of a burden on the tragic irony of the situation, impoverished Women in developing countries are forced to to choose between trying to save their children from malaria and spending money for food to avoid risk losing their children to starvation. An average poor family spends 30 percent of household income fighting malaria.
The good folks at Care2 raised this issue an important truth about focusing on only one aspect of the Millennium Development Goals at a time.
Malaria is economically devastating, too. According to research by Freedom from Hunger, in West Africa very poor families, on average, spend one-third of their income dealing with malaria. It's essential that the UN Capital Development Fund educate women about microfinance opportunities so they can develop the financial resources to fight this deadly disease.
To help you imagine what it means to spend a third of your income just to prevent one disease, that is the percent of income that in the United States is viewed as being an appropriate level for affordable housing. In America, you should expect to pay 30% of your income to pay for your shelter, the greatest essential expense most people in this country have. You can help by clicking here to tell the UN Capital Development Fund to increase these opportunities for women. >>
It is widely recognized that women are the key to getting these countries out of poverty. Giving these women a boost with a micro loan helps them to take that extra step and give themselves permission to be creative and resourceful. These systems are already in place. We just need to make sure they reach these families in time.The UNCDF or United Nations Capital Development Fund offers a unique combination of investment capital, capacity building and technical advisory services to promote microfinance and local development in the Least Developed Countries
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We are now two-thirds the way to 2015, the supposed finish line to achieving the United Nations' Eight Goal Millennium Campaign, but our progress has been sorely lacking in many ways.
According to the United Nations Non-governmental Liaison Service and other sources, 2010 will be a critical year in determining which development pathways our world will pursue. In 2000, UN Member States agreed to the Millennium Declaration and committed themselves to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
On 20-22 September 2010, the General Assembly will hold, in New York, a High-level Plenary Meeting, also referred to as the ‘MDG Summit’. The Summit’s main focus will be to build on what we have learned during the past 10 years since the adoption of the Millennium Declaration and how to accelerate progress towards the internationally agreed development goals, in particular MDGs. The Summit will take stock of the successes, best practices, lessons learned, obstacles and gaps related to the MDGs and other development goals.
Read the Secretary-General's report, " Keeping the Promise", (and in his remarks calling for the adoption of a global action agenda for accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which serves as the basis for Member States' deliberations on an action-oriented outcome document for the Summit. It identifies successes and gaps, and lays out an agenda for 2010-2015. "Our world possesses the knowledge and resources to achieve the MDGs," Mr. Ban says in the report. Falling short of the Goals "would be an unacceptable failure, moral and practical."
The problem according to Secretary-General Ban has been a lack of political will:
Political Will the Missing Link for MDGs - IPS ipsnews.net:DEVELOPMENTBan addressed U.N. member states and media following the release of his report, "Keeping the Promise", on Mar. 16. The report "reviews successes, identifies obstacles, and suggests ways to accelerate progress," according to the secretary-general.As a part of the process leading to the summit, the General Assembly will also convene ‘Hearings’ with representatives of civil society and the private sector from 14-15 June. The outcomes of these hearings will provide an input to the preparatory process for the Summit and be issued as an Assembly document.
At a meeting of the General Assembly, he warned that, "We are off course because of unmet commitments, inadequate resources and a lack of focus and accountability."
"We do not need new pledges," Ban said later that day at a media briefing. "If nations deliver on the financial commitments they have already made, we can achieve the goals. There is clearly a lack of political will."
A nomination process for speakers at the hearings has now been opened so that interested individuals can apply to actively participate at the event. The application deadline is 16 April 2010 for the June meeting. Click here for more information on the Hearings and the speaker selection process.
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What the Millennium Development Goal No. 3 Gender Equity is trying to achieve is made manifest in the celebration of International Women's Day. This post is in support of the International Women's Day online event being sponsored by BloggersUnite member BlogCatalog.
International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.
The Internet provides numerous ways of getting involved. This is what I heard from fellow ONE Member Rochelle Gibbs providing means of social collaboration and engagement.
I joined ONE because I'm a mom. I saw what other mothers go through in developing countries, the difficult decisions they have to make and their incredible strength. I could only imagine how I'd feel in one of their places.One million women's voices. Imagine what we can get done.ONE is starting a new initiative called "Women ONE2ONE", and it's all about women taking action and connecting with each other to fight poverty. With every voice we add, we can help send another young girl to school, help an HIV-positive expecting mother keep from passing the virus on to her baby, and help another woman find the courage to speak out against oppression and corruption.
I'm asking you. Raise your voice today for a woman who can't.
Issues of economic sustainability impact women across the globe as demonstrated by this talk from the World Economic Forum India Economic Summit - New Delhi, India demonstrates.
Investing in Girls, Investing in Development means that empowering girls means breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and helping to build sustainable economies.The question is, "What needs to be done by business and government to ensure that girls are placed at the forefront of the regional development agenda?"
The folks at Care2.com share part of the answer and that is by Reaching Millions of Girls in the Developing World.
The UN Foundation and the Nike Foundation provided seed funding for a UN project to end child marriage in the Amhara region. The project, called Berhane Hewan, convenes community discussions, and girls’ clubs where girls get access to education, health and HIV education, and are encouraged to delay marriage. Families who keep their daughters in school and in the program are rewarded with an economic incentive that will contribute to the long-term well-being of the family, such as a sheep.Kathy Calvin CEO of the UN Foundation, a public charity that connects people, ideas, and resources to the UN to solve global problems.
These are just some of the ways of getting involved.
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