In the United States, we are given a birth certificate and an official identification number when we are born. We become official citizens. When I turned 16 I got a driver’s license. Many of us will travel overseas and need to apply for a passport. As we live our lives, go to school, visit a doctor, or register to vote, we are able to do these things because we have been given a number that recognizes us as a member of society.
Last week, leaders from around the world gathered for the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss the state of the global economy and outline priorities moving forward. To talk about progress for our global economy, we have to talk about progress for women, 50% of the population.
When girls and women are safe, healthy, educated, and empowered, they can generate a positive ripple effect – helping to lift their families out of poverty, improving global health, and growing economies. Simply put: Supporting the rights of girls and women is a matter of justice; it’s also smart policy.
You may be hearing a lot of talk about budget numbers as Congress and the Executive Branch have reached an agreement on a final spending bill for fiscal year 2014. For the international family planning community, there is good news.
I believe entrepreneurs are the foundation for innovation, economic growth, and job creation and have made it my personal mission to give back to the entrepreneurial community and to empower women around the world to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors. My work as part of the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council and my role as Dell’s entrepreneur-in-residence have given me a platform to reach entrepreneurs on a global scale in ways that would not have been possible on my own.
As we arrived at a Mangochi district secondary school, after driving for what seemed like hours down a dusty, bumpy red clay road in one of the most rural and beautiful parts of eastern Malawi, a group of about 40 girls greeted us enthusiastically and repeatedly sang ?well-a-come, well-a-come, you are most well-a-come.?
Did you know that 222 million women and girls globally want to delay pregnancy but don?t have access to quality contraceptives? This unmet need has devastating impacts on women?s health, and impedes progress on our global development goals.
Did you know that 7 out of 10 women have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime? That?s 7 women too many. Violence takes many forms – physical, sexual, emotional, and mental ? and the vast majority of it is perpetrated by men and boys.
At age five, Kakenya was engaged to a boy from her neighborhood, and she considered herself lucky. Her new fianc?e was around her age, and most girls in her community met their husbands ? much older men ? on their wedding day.
This week, thousands of researchers, development experts, policymakers, and others are gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to discuss one of the most important global issues: family planning.
Around the world, more than 220 million women want, but don’t have access to, modern contraception – which means they aren’t able to decide the timing and spacing of their families. Denying them this basic human right has far-reaching effects for themselves, their families, their communities, and their countries.
