Romeo Does Not Have to Die!

On April 3^rd, Jet Li, an international film star and a martial arts expert, was appointed to be World Health Organization's Goodwill Ambassador. After experiencing the 2004 South Asian tsunami firsthand, Jet Li became actively involved in disaster relief efforts as well as promotion of mental health amongst youth. He set up the Jet Li One Foundation, which collaborates with the Red Cross Society of China in focusing on education, health, environment, and poverty. In honoring his effort as well as encouraging his future involvement, the World Health Organization chose Jet Li to be the spokesperson for raising awareness on key health issues. The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that directs and coordinates support on international public health issues.

Before Li’s appointment, many other celebrities have led the efforts of United Nations, such as George Clooney as a United Nations Messenger of Peace, Drew Barrymore as the Ambassador Against Hunger for the World Food Program, and Angelina Jolie as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Whoa, Maama!

Ninsiima Judith just gave birth to a healthy 9-lb boy. Ninsiima is one of several hundred women in Ruhiira, a village in Southwestern Uganda, to give birth in a health institution. She delivered her previous children at home with the assistance of traditional midwives because health institutions lacked the essentials.

This is now changing rapidly. Ruhiira has placed child and maternal mortality among its highest priorities and is decreasing death rates dramatically. Now, thanks to a health kit disseminated by UNDP and known as the “Maama” Kit, the number of medically-supervised deliveries in Ruhiira has increased to 75%, up from 8% in December 2007. That’s 263 births per months, up from 51.

The “Maama” Kits are designed to help women deliver in clean conditions. They include baby sheets; soap; pads; gloves; a surgical blade; a sterilized chord for tying the umbilical cord and rehydration packages. The pack reduces the risk of vaginal and eye infections, tetanus and diarrhea, all of which may occur in bad hygiene conditions.

UNFPA Lobby Day

Did you know that every minute another woman will die from complications associated with childbirth? Without access to health care and education about pregnancy and contraception, women living in developing nations have a greater risk of dying from giving birth. In Africa, where women are 184 times more likely to die from a pregnancy related complication than women living in the US, 1 woman out of 26 will die each year due to preventable complications. Every year, UNFPA which provides women with prenatal health care and health education, relies on the financial support of the US and other nations.

To help educate legislators about UNFPA, I attended Lobby Day on Friday March 6th in Washington, DC. By educating legislators about the need for congressional funding for UNFPA programs, $50 million dollars was allocated to UNFPA for 2009. As a result of this valuable funding, the UN will be able to implement women-empowering programs that focus on HIV/AIDS prevention, humanitarian relief following a crisis, family planning, and better access to maternal healthcare.

To find out more about UNFPA, click here

Oh! The Aches and Pains!

Couldn’t we all use a massage now and then to get out all the knots and kinks from a long night of studying or a difficult day in the office?

With funding from a UNHCR program aimed at teaching local and refugee women the skills they need to work as community rehabilitation workers, 29 women are learning how to treat disease, injury and deformity through exercise and physical methods at the Physiotherapy Educational Institute in Peshwar, Pakistan. Of these women, 22 are refugees from Afghanistan, who hope to apply their new skills in Afghanistan if they return.

The course is part of UNHCR’s Refugee Affected Hosting Areas (RAHA) program. There are 1.7 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan. After the devastating earthquake in northern Pakistan in 2005, which affected both Pakistanis and Afghans, the program was necessary because few people had the skills to help the thousands of people in need of rehabilitation.

For more information, check out this article.

WHO works to ban tobacco advertising (and does not like electronic cigarettes either)

On May 30th of this year, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO), as part of its “World No Tobacco Day” campaign, called on all governments to ban the promotion, sponsorship, and advertising of tobacco and cigarettes as a result of shocking statistics on youth smoking due to ‘predatory marketing and advertising strategies’ ,aimed at youth populations. At the same time, other companies creating “quitting methods” and products to quit smoking, the electronic cigarette for example, are not considered safe either by the WHO. The electronic cigarette is a battery-powered product usually made of stainless steel and resembling a real cigarette that claims to be a nicotine replacement has not been proven to be safe or legitimate. Users puff on the electronic cigarette as they would a real cigarette, but producing no smoke. Rather, the product, which has a chamber for storing liquid nicotine in various concentrations, produces a fine, heated mist, which is absorbed into the lungs. The WHO study group on tobacco product regulation is set to address the issues surrounding the electronic cigarette, among other topics, when it meets from 12 to 14 November in Durban, South Africa.

World Leaders Optimistic Malaria Will be Eradicated by 2015

On Thursday, September 25, world leaders announced the goal of ending deaths from malaria by 2015 is within reach. Malaria, the single greatest cause of death for the world’s children, causes more than one million deaths each year. A celebratory mood could be felt at the Malaria Summit as data released by the World Health Organization suggested malaria rates are falling. The decline is credited to scientific advancements, including the development of a possible vaccine, as well as increased prevention efforts. Historically, malaria has been a blight on the world’s health record, since it is a largely preventable disease. However, news that the instance of malaria has decreased creates excitement and momentum for this campaign. An unprecedented pledge by a number philanthropic organizations for $3 billion for malaria programs was also announced on Thursday, providing the funds that will hopefully eradicate this disease. "Everyone needs victories," said Timothy Wirth, president of the U.N. Foundation, “and this is a good one.”

United Nations Quickly Tackles Cholera Outbreak in Zimbabwe

The United Nations has rapidly responded to a deadly outbreak of Cholera outside of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. Marie Okabe, a U.N. spokesperson, has reported that more than 90 people have contracted the disease, and that the primary cause stems from a lack of clean domestic water. To combat this, the U.N. has established a means by which to deliver 30,000 liters of water for each day of the outbreak, until the local water is once again sanitary. In addition, the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization have created two treatment clinics in the area for those who need help. These clinics are being operated jointly with the NGO Doctors Without Borders.

Support Women's Heath and Rights

Americans for UNFPA is working (in the time after the appropriations markups and before the new President and Congress are sworn in) to get the next President on the record supporting global women’s health and rights. They’re taking out an ad in Roll Call in September, aimed at Obama and McCain, with a simple statement “Dear Senators Obama and McCain, promise to fully fund global women’s health by restoring the $235 million that has been blocked from UNFPA in the last seven years” and the signatures of supporters. The visibility of the names of global women’s health and rights supporters will demonstrate the value of global women to both presidential candidates.
Take a second to sign this ad, and your name will be listed with thousands of others in an ad directed at Obama and McCain.

Promoting Potatos

Did you know that spuds can save lives? Yep, it is true... the carb laden potato that you shun in the name of weight loss has huge potential to deal with global hunger problems.

Why? The potato produces more nutritious food more quickly, on less land, and in harsher climates than any other major crop - up to 85 percent of the plant is edible human food, compared to around 50% in cereals.

In honor of this humble nightshade plant (and its potential to help solve the global hunger crisis), the United Nations has declared 2008 to be the year of the potato.

Check out the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for more information on the International Year of the Potato! The video on the home page is quite informative, although a bit dry.

Youth: Lots of them, lots of opportunity

There are 1.2 billion people who are between 15 and 24. That's a lot!

To take a look at the major issues, opportunities, and challenges facing these young people, on Tuesday the United Nations released The UN World Youth Report 2007.

In addition to talking about youth as a postivie force for dealing with world problems, it identifies 15 priority areas inlcuding employment, education, health, poverty and violence.

Check it out at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/wyr07.htm.

WHO doesn't like the flu?!

At the opening in of the Intergovernmental Meeting on Pandemic
Influenza Preparedness in Geneva yesterday, World Health Organization
(WHO) Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan explained that,
"vulnerability is universal," with the flu pandemic, and it will reach
every corner of the globe.

Dr. Chan stated that "countries need to brace themselves for a
situation where up to 25 per cent of the workforce may be ill at a
given time. They have to brace themselves for a possible meltdown of
basic municipal services and a slowdown of economic activity. And
this situation will be occurring globally."

Dr. Chan also expressed the need for better access to vaccines, citing
them as the best protection against a serious pandemic. The meeting
will also address the sharing of viruses for medical research, which
Dr. Chan pointed out serves public health in ways that go beyond the
development of pandemic vaccines, including by providing "the first
clues, the first early warning that the virus may be evolving in a
dangerous way."

Know your reproductive health!

Reproductive health remains a top concern across the world, and especially in Asia. Experts, advocates and activists meeting at a United Nations-backed meeting in Hyderabad, India addressed this issue on Wednesday. In an opening session subtitled, “An unfinished agenda,” the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Deputy Executive Director Purnima Mane noted that Asia continues to have “high rates of unintended pregnancies, high rates of maternal death and disability, increasing numbers of new HIV infections, and persistent and widespread violence against women and girls,” despite the region's progress in reducing poverty.

Participants of the meeting cited external pressures, outmoded laws, and regulatory structures undermining reproductive health as the root of these reproductive health issues. The participants vowed to push for greater resources and awareness in a better attempt to achieve the goals of the Fourth Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights, which is an ongoing review series since governments pledged in 1994 to make reproductive health services accessible to everyone by 2005. Clearly, that goal has yet to be accomplished.

This UN-backed meeting comes at the heels of UNFPA denouncing the practice of son preferences in Asia. Preference for sons is deeply rooted in many Asian countries for both cultural and economic reasons, but UNFPA explains that prenatal son selection in several Asian countries could result in severe social consequences – such as a surge in sexual violence and trafficking of women.

Congo Malaria Train

Malaria kills more children under five than any other disease in Africa, and yet it is completely preventable. In the Congo alone, it is responsible for nearly a quarter of child deaths.

At the end of last week, the UN began a two-day mission to deliver 300,000 malaria nets to the Congo via the Congo-Ocean railway. The initiative, spearheaded by UNICEF (UN Children's Fund) and the Congolese government, targets 10% of the population, mainly children in high risk areas.

The train will stop at several small towns along its journey to Brazzaville, the capital, where nets will be dropped off for distribution free of charge in health centers and hospitals.

UNICEF's work in Congo doesn't stop there. UNICEF and its partners have rehabilitated several health centers, facilitating the distribution of vaccines. A large number of wells and latrines have also been constructed to improve access to water and sanitation. In addition, several schools have been rebuilt and are now able to provide basic services to the youth population.

In helping to curb malaria and improve public services, the impact of these projects will significantly increase and improve the lives of thousands of Congolese.

Giving Women Their Rights

2-3 million girls worldwide undergo FGM/C (female genital mutilation or cutting) each year, defined by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) as the “partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons.”

FGM/C is hard to talk about because it has a deeply entrenched cultural component. But the detrimental health effects on women can’t be ignored: pain, psychological trauma, infection, infertility and even death.

Today marks the end of a 4-day conference in Ethiopia convened by UNFPA devoted to understanding this practice and devising a strategy to protect those that suffer from FGM/C. Participants included many development experts, ranging from other UN agencies and NGOs to the World Bank and USAID. This gathering is meant to provide an opportunity for the intersection policy and ideas.

UNFPA is doing incredibly important work in ending harmful practices against women, while ensuring that men are also involved in this process, as well as discouraging all forms of gender-based violence.

Malaria Nets for Chad

Nothing But Nets, an initiative of the UN Foundation designed to stop the spread of malaria, is conducting an emergency campaign for Chadian refugees that have been forced from their homes due to the continuing conflict in Darfur.

The rainy season, which stretches from June to November, puts these people at extreme risk of contracting malaria. The target is to send 40,000 nets in the next 6 weeks and they need all the help they can get!

Men At Work

Who says men can't participate in maternal health? In fact, overlooking their important role in this endeavor would be a mistake, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid recently stated that "Men are equal partners in making the new life that the women will deliver." To emphasize this, the chosen theme for World Population day, held on July 11, was Men as Partners in Maternal Health. Men all around the world, from Nigeria and Zimbabwe to Brazil and Indonesia, took this message to heart and supported maternal health initiatives to demonstrate their commitment to the it-takes-two mentality.

UNFPA is committed to the equality of development in men, women and children. It operates under the guidance of the UNDP governing council and is a founding member of the UN Development Group (UNDG).

More on-the-ground help for South Sudan

Go local - this is the conventional wisdom behind development strategy. The UNDP takes this to heart when implementing projects in the field both by working with local partners and facilitating progress at the micro level.

Recently, the UNDP - working through its country office and with NGOs - has helped the local government of South Sudan set up 15 clinics to treat tuberculosis and test for HIV. 100 out of 1,000 South Sudanese are currently infected with TB and do not have access to health care. This is particularly frustrating because TB is easily curable with appropriate medical attention.

The UNDP, following a funding agreement last month, has also implemented training programs in local prisons to educate both warders and inmates about their rights, as well as the protocol for requesting and providing services.

Click here to watch two great videos on UNDP's work in South Sudan, as well as in several other African nations.

Malaria Kills, Nets Save Lives

Quick congratulations to our friends at UNF on their Nothing but Nets campaign winning a Webby yesterday. They received the People's Voice award in the non profit category.

If you haven't already, I strongly encourage you to learn more about their fight against malaria in Africa and how just $10 can make a difference.

Road Map to Saving Lives

Every day in Malawi, 16 women die while giving birth. With 1 in every 100 mother's losing their life in child birth - 90 times higher than the rate in the US - the country has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.

Over the past decade, Malawi has managed to nearly halve its infant mortality rate. However, even today 1 in 10 children die within the first few weeks of birth.

But most of these deaths could be easily prevented - if women in rural areas were aware of the warning signs of the most common dangers and knew where to get help.

The Malawian government, with help from UNDP and UNICEF, is one of the first in the region to develop a road map to making more deliveries safe.

No More Silence, Act Now! includes a national action plan to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, increase the number of trained professionals to attend deliveries, and improve awareness of and access to regular and emergency medical care.

This inexpensive project will also provide much needed information about pregnancy and child birth to the harder to reach areas of Malawi, where women are often not educated about the health dangers they face

Check out more on the project and what else UNDP is doing in Malawi.

UN Foundations Nothing But Nets Up for a Webby

The UN Foundation's Nothing but Nets campaign has been nominated for a Webby Award in the charities category.

Nothing But Nets came about following an article by Sports Illustated's Rick Reilly last year on how a $10 bed net treated with anti-malarial insecticide can save a child's life. They have since teamed up with the NBA and people across the country to distribute 500,000 nets throughout Africa.

Click here to vote for your Webby choice (if you are thinking about voting for the Denver zoo check out this story - beware the sea lions!). Even better, donate $10 and help save a child.