Tag Archives: United Nations

Beyond International Women’s Day

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Women’s Empowerment Beyond International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day, also known as United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace was March 8th.  Child Family Health International (CFHI) firmly believes, however, that we must reflect more than once a year on women’s empowerment, progress made, and steps we can take as individuals and organizations to push this initiative forward.  In fact, front and center in CFHI’s tagline we highlight the importance of this as part of our everyday mission: Transformative Global Health Education and Community Empowerment.  This includes working towards UN Millennium Goal 3 – Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women.UN Millennium Goal 3 Photo

Just a few weeks ago, in partnership with CFHI, Winnie and James Chang of Palo Alto, California hosted an event celebrating the recent opening of The Center for Empowerment of Young Mothers (EMJ) in Bolivia. The Changs are spearheading fundraising and donations for this project based in Bolivia working to empower young mothers.

Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and the education system is often underdeveloped. In addition, the rate of sexual violence is extremely high; 7 out of 10 female teenagers are assaulted.  Many of these young women become pregnant, some as young as 14 or 15.  To combat these issues and provide support to young mothers, the EMJ Center was created. It operates a facility in El Alto, Bolivia, staffed by doctors, nurses, administrators and volunteers and provides help to young women from all socio-economic backgrounds.  In South America, young mothers are often impoverished, socially isolated, and have little education. Understanding the importance of education and improving their self-esteem is key to mobilizing change. Because South American women are usually in charge of the family, they play a very important role in society. The EMJ Center in partnership with CFHI works through education and empowerment so these women will positively affect Bolivian society at large.

EMJ provides daycare services for more than 20 mothers, recreational activities for children and moms, and are launching a fair where mothers are able to sell crafts and handiwork they have created. Mothers at the center were interested in learning about family planning, so EMJ provides education on these issues as well as women’s rights and gender issues.

CFHI and the EMJ Center are physically far away from one other, yet they strive for the same goal – to empower women.

You can help this great cause and do your part to further United Nations MDG 3 and women’s empowerment by donating to support the EMJ Center.

Help support young mothers in Bolivia: http://www.emjcenter.org/donate/.

 

Thanks to guest bloggers Alexandria Tso and Nayanika Kapoor for contributing in part to this article.

World Food Day

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United Nations World Food Day

World Food Day

Today is World Food Day.  The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has issued a report that should be on the ‘must read’ list of anyone interested in global health.  There is some good news but also some disturbing news that should act as a wakeup call for the world community.  Staple food prices are at or near all time highs.  One of the most alarming facts in the report entitled Food Prices From Crisis to Stability is that just since last year the increases in the cost of basic food has, “pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty.” 

 

Past Successes Have Not Kept Pace

The report points out that while the world’s population doubled between 1960 and 2000, there were significant advances in agriculture that allowed food production to “meet and even exceed demand in many countries.”  Unfortunately, the investments in research that were made, by both rich and poor countries, to produce the much needed innovations have not been maintained in recent decades.  There has been a 43% decrease in government spending on research and development in the area of agriculture in the last 30 years.  Therefore while the population of the world continues to increase, food production has not kept pace.

The last time food prices were this high was in 2008, when the price of various staple foods shot up very quickly and there was rioting in over 20 countries as a result.  Certainly the global

FAO Food Price Index October 2011

FAO Food Price Index October 2011

economic situation is in even less shape to deal with record high food prices today.  What’s worse is that due to the inability of food production to keep pace, “The global market is tight, with supply struggling to keep pace with demand and stocks are at or near historical lows.”

 

Promising New Successes

While the report warns that food price volatility may become an unsettling fact of life for the foreseeable future, it also gives some success stories that offer great hope.  If we can prioritize research and development and scaling of existing successes, we may be able to prevent some of the volatility that now seems inevitable.  Some scientific advances in Africa and Asia are resulting in higher yields but much more needs to be done in this area.  Some countries have made increasing their food production a priority by encouraging agricultural land use and supporting research.  Other countries like Mexico have been proactive in targeting assistance to some of the 70 million globally who are the new poor.  Through carefully monitored programs tied to the education system, the Mexican government has been able to provide assistance to one in four families who have been hardest hit by rising food process.  Even in these difficult times, this effort has, “…been credited with improving the health of children and adults, and raising nutrition and school enrollment levels.”

As we advocate for improved basic healthcare, we must also advocate for smart basic development that learns from the past and is doing the necessary research to keep up with our current and future needs.  For the cornerstones of global public health continue to be water, food, sanitation, and education.

CFHI Convenes UN Forum on MDG 3 Empowerment of Women

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Earlier this month on September 15, 2010, CFHI convened a Forum on the Empowerment of Women, at the United Nations in New York.  The purpose of the event was to increase awareness of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal #3, to Promote  Gender Equality and Empower Women.

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, former Under-Secretary General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, moderated a panel of women representing Panel of Speakers at CFHI Forum on the Empowerment of Women 2010 UN New Yorka cross section of leadership roles.  As world leaders met this past week to discuss the MDGs, this Forum, held a week in advance,  provided an opportunity for the voices of women from everyday life t be heard.  Co-sponsoring NGOs included the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns, The International Center for Good Business, The Institute of International Social Development, and The Spiritual United Nations.  Panelists included M. Christine MacMillan, Commissioner, Director of the International Social Justice Commission of the Salvation Army, Monika Mitchell, Executive Director, Good Business International, Hema Pandey, India Coordinator, Child Family Health International, and Jessica Evert, MD, Medical Director, Child Family Health International.

The Title of the Forum was Successes and Challenges of Women in Leadership Roles in Traditionally Male-Dominated Environments.  As women are increasingly taking on leadership roles, it becomes important for them to share their experience.  The panelists spoke with examples from their own lives and the audience was invited to share their comments and life experience as well.

We were especially happy to welcome our India Coordinator, Ms. Hema Pandey who was visiting from New Delhi.  Hema is responsible for coordinating six CFHI Global Hema Pandey Speaking and Jessica Evert at CFHI Forum on the Empowerment of Women 2010 UN New YorkHealth Immersion Programs taking place in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Dehradun, and Rishikesh, as well as multiple ongoing community health projects.  In the course of this work, she manages a group of five local CFHI Medical Directors, all of whom are men.  Ms. Pandey spoke of using a cooperative style of working that invites the participation of those she works with thus creating a joint feeling of ownership.  This being her first trip outside of India, Ms Pandey said she was surprised to find that women in the United States also felt that they were still struggling to achieve gender equality.

As the Forum drew to a close, there was a common expression of the panelists and the audience that this Forum should become and annual event until 2015, the target year for the Millennium Development Goals.

CFHI Granted Consultative Status at the United Nations

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Just prior to the opening of the United National General Assembly this year, I was fortunate enough to be at the UN to represent the small but powerful global family of Child Family Health International (CFHI).  Recently CFHI was granted Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).  This is a great honor that speaks to our unique collection of dedicated professionals and students who truly work at the grassroots level to improve the health of the world community.

As the Executive Director of CFHI, it was indeed a high honor for me to represent our organization and I came prepared to explain our work and our efforts in Bolivia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, and South Africa. To my great surprise, I did not have to do any of that.  I found the staff at the NGO Section of ECOSOC  wonderfully welcoming and accommodating, and also found they had done their homework and already were quite aware of CFHI and our work.  They had read the documents we had sent more than a year earlier in the process of being granted consultative status and they also brushed-up by reading our website prior to my arrival.

What with the UN being such a huge organization, I expected everything to be very bureaucratic and fairly impersonal.  Sure it is a big place and with the leaders of the world, about to arrive, there was quite a bit of bustle all about, so it was a surprise to find such personalized service and attention.  My meetings with the Deputy Chief of the NGO Section and the Program Officer were cordial and productive.

I learned that there are about 3,200 NGOs around the world that have been granted consultative status.  Many are more associated with a cause while they see CFHI as a more “practical” organization.  The grassroots nature of our work is appealing to them as well as the diversity of our global family along with the close, long term relationships with CFHI partners who are at the front lines of the delivery of healthcare in so many places.  To a large extent, we have our finger on the pulse of global health at the grassroots level and so we have much to share, especially the CFHI model of empowering local communities.  Of those more than 3,000 organizations, only about 800 are really active.  Work is going on to improve the website of the NGO section and the hope is that there will be much more online functionality to allow for sharing and collaboration.

Flags of the CFHI Global Family now including the United Nations

Flags of the CFHI Global Family now including the United Nations

One official told me, “The international community has looked at your organization from top to bottom and the feeling is that it is a good organization and has a model that is important. We actually hope that it can be replicated in areas of health yes, but also in other areas.” So as we add the UN flag to the flags of nations comprising the CFHI Global Family, we do so with great honor and great pride, and with responsibility for the role that we have assumed through this honor.