May 2013 - Global Moms Challenge

Getting Health Literally Into Women’s Hands

I’m writing to you from the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia, attending the Women Deliver 2013 Conference where 4,000 attendees share the vision that the health and freedom of women and girls is key to the future of our planet, our world economy and our families.

Empowering Girls & Women, News

Thank a UN Peacekeeper!

Did you know that there are more than 120,000 men and women from 116 countries serving as UN peacekeepers?

Education, Empowering Girls & Women, Motherhood

Giving Women and Girls a Chance to Plan Their Future

Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin is the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Global voices are gathering this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for theWomen Deliver conference on women’s health issues. We had the privilege of asking Dr. Osotimehin a few questions about his work with UNFPA on the eve of the conference.

Motherhood, News

Women Deliver Conference: What it is, why it matters.

This week at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia, the largest global event of the decade to focus on the health and empowerment of girls and women is taking place. We will be closely following the Women Deliver 2013 Conference from here in the States.

Healthy Pregnancy & Birth, Motherhood

Every woman and child deserves the care I received

Seven days after my due date, I was more than ready to meet my first child. So when contractions started early one Sunday morning in December, I mostly felt excitement tinged with a little nervousness.

Education, Empowering Girls & Women, Motherhood

A Life of Impact, A Voice for Change

Milly Businge is 57 years old and is the mother of eight children, seven surviving. She lives in rural Uganda, about 150 miles from Kampala. She was in the USA briefly last week to attend her eldest son’s wedding and generously made time to sit down with a group of global health professionals at the United Nations Foundation in Washington DC.

Empowering Girls & Women, News

International Women’s Day – I got an e-card!

March 8th was International Women’s Day (IWD), and though it seems to be celebrated more in other countries than in the United States, I feel like we’re catching on. I saw more online well-wishing for this occasion than I’ve ever noticed in years past...

Education, News

It’s Only Earth That We Will Ever Have (or Love)

Last week, former Vice-President Al Gore's Climate Reality Project held a live 24 hour broadcast of Climate Reality. Over 16 million views from every corner of the planet focused on one topic: climate change...

Education, Empowering Girls & Women

Why is the World Focused on Girls? Malala Day

The world recently celebrated the first International Day of the Girl. One of the ways we marked this important milestone with our friends at GirlUp and their partners, on a marathon 12 hour twitter chat. Participants joined from all over the world—from Afghanistan to Tanzania, from the United Kingdom to the USA—to share thousands of tweets and links and stories about why girls matter. We also marked this important milestone just one day after Malala Yousafzai was shot for going to school.

Empowering Girls & Women, Motherhood

Moving from Adversity to Global Action

What do you do when your life or the life of some one you love is threatened by an unknown ailment? For most of us, we head to a doctor or an emergency room. We call on the knowledge of specialist and we have faith that they will see us through. And as scary as it may get, we take comfort in the fact that we have access of some sort.

My family is dealing with a medical issue that has, and I say this as honestly as I can and with no trace of exaggeration, scared me like nothing I have ever experienced. And IÍve _ weÍve been faced with some doozies.

My husband has a 6 cm nodule on his thyroid that may or may not be cancer. And in the time that it took for him to drive five minutes to the urgent care facility near our house (a trip that he made for something completely unrelated to this) and be seen by the on-call doctor, our lives changed drastically. In a matter of minutes, my familyÍs security has been dismantled and I am finding it hard to see the futureƒ

But I am trying to focus on the positives.

We have health insurance and access and a strong network of medical professionals to help guide us through the steps that we will need to take to reclaim that security. We are lucky because while this is our experience it is not for so many...

So for the second week in a row, I want to focus on gratitude. Last week a few of you commented that you pay it forward in an effort to show yours. I think paying it forward is an essential part of giving back. Personally, most of my focus has been on doing that within my own community, but I think it is time to grab hold of my fear and do more to ensure that others are afforded the same opportunities for health. Taking the Million Moms Challenge is a first step, but I know that I can do more.

This week, I want to know: how has facing adversity in your life encouraged you to give back on a more global level?

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