Make Noise for MDGs

Simply put, malaria kills. Nets can save lives. Here  are some harsh realities about malaria:  Fact: Malaria is preventable, but causes nearly 500 million illnesses each year and kills more than 1 million of those who become infected. Fact: Ninety percent of deaths caused by malaria occur in Africa, where the disease is a leading killer of children. Every 30 seconds a child in Africa dies from malaria.  Fact: Malaria is the #1 killer of refugees in Africa.  Two-thirds of the 33 million refugees worldwide live in malaria endemic countries.  So, as engaged global citizens, what can we do to help? 

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) offers a unique combination of investment capital, capacity building and technical advisory services to promote microfinance and local development in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs):

Launched in 2001, the Measles Initiative is a partnership - led by the American Red Cross, United Nations Foundation, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and World Health Organization - committed to reducing measles deaths worldwide.The Measles Initiative founding partners provide technical and financial support to governments and communities conducting mass vaccination campaigns, improving routine immunization services, and establishing effective disease surveillance. To date, the partnership has invested US $670 million in measles control activities, helping to save an estimated 4.3 million lives.

The goal of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is to ensure that no child will ever again know the crippling effects of polio. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is the largest public health initiative the world has ever known.

S 1425 seeks to increase the economic empowerment of women in developing countries through assistance for women in developing countries with respect to: (1) microenterprises; (2) small and medium enterprises; (3) private property rights and land tenure security Close Official Summary 7/9/2009--Introduced.Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive Act of 2009 or GROWTH Act of 2009 - Targets assistance for women in developing countries with respect to: (1) microenterprises; (2) small and medium enterprises; (3) private property rights and land tenure security; (4) employment access; (5) trade benefits; (6) exchanges with U.S. entrepreneurs; and (7) Millennium Challenge Account assistance. Directs the Secretary of State to establish the Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive (GROWTH) Fund to enhance economic opportunities for very poor, poor, and low-income women in developing countries with a focus on: (1) increasing women-owned enterprise development; (2) increasing property rights for women; (3) increasing women's access to financial services; (4) increasing women in leadership in implementing organizations as well as financial service providers; (5) improving women's employment benefits and conditions; and (6) increasing women's ability to benefit from global trade. Directs the Secretary, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to: (1) provide support for tracking indicators on women's employment, property rights, access to financial services, and enterprise development; and (2) ensure foreign assistance project proposals include capacity building and technical assistance for local, indigenous, nongovernmental, organizations and community-based organizations dedicated to addressing the needs of women and women's organizations. featured in a recent post http://bit.ly/aCzznX

Euforic.org is a non-profit service dedicated to spreading and sharing voices, ideas and information on Europe's International Cooperation. Euforic.org helps audiences communicate and share their voices. Our users find, enjoy, and share videos about the people, issues, and ideas on international cooperation. We gather a collection of opinions, news, video and research publications drawn from policymakers, international organisations, universities, think tanks and conferences dealing with international cooperation issues. We present this content free for anyone to watch, interact with, and share. With our community of users and an extensive, growing library of information, Euforic.org is contributing to the Europe's special role in poverty reduction and Millennium Development Goals as defined in European Consensus on Development. Euforic.org is hosted by European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI). For more information contact: info@euforic.org

This is an excellent example of collaborative tools available on the internet and how they can be used in implementing the Millennium Development Goals. Background We live in an increasingly 'networked' development world, where information, knowledge, and relationships are critical aspects of more effective efforts. Our organizations are adjusting and adapting to become 'global learning networks;' as individuals, we are asked to take on a broader range of roles and tasks become active participants in knowledge co-creation, sharing and use. Taking advantage of emerging opportunities in this area calls for use to develop and use a different communication 'toolset' in our work; we also need to change the ways we work, adopting more a 'mindset' that favours open learning and sharing.

Mission: To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

EURODAD (European Network on Debt and Development) is a network of 58 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from 19 European countries working on issues related to debt, development finance and poverty reduction. The Eurodad network offers a great platform for exploring issues, collecting intelligence and ideas, and undertaking collective advocacy.

The double edge sword of global aid, the system that creates the aid is also arguably the system that creates the problem or at least helps perpetuate it.

The Earth Institute encompasses centers of excellence with an established reputation for groundbreaking research, including the renowned Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, home to some of the world's leading scientists pursuing the study of Earth and its systems. The Earth Institute is implementing solutions to global challenges; pioneering research; advising national governments, the United Nations and other international agencies; and educating the next generation of leaders in sustainable development. While Earth is indeed at a critical crossroads, our work reflects the fundamental belief that the world has within its possession the tools needed to effectively mitigate climate change, poverty and other critical issues.

It's not this diagnosis of Africa's problems that makes Sachs's theories contentious, but his proposed solution, which might be called shock ­aid-­huge, sudden injections of money into poor areas. Over five years, $2.75 million is being invested in the single village of Sauri, and an equal amount will be sunk into each of another 11 Millennium Village sites that are being established in 10 African ­countries.

A critical review of Sachs' Millennium Villages.

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

"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."

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 year World Population Day highlights the importance of data for development. The focus is on the 2010 round of the population and housing census, data analysis for development and UNFPA's lead role in population and development.

The Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) has become a prominent feature in international debates about preventing and responding to genocide and mass atrocities. Since its adoption in 2005, it has been discussed in relation to a dozen major crises and been the subject of discussion at the UN Security Council and General Assembly. This article takes stock of the past five years and examines three questions about RtoP: What is its function? Is it a norm, and, if so, what sort?

Quote from paper: A successor accord to the Kyoto Protocol was supposed to be wrapped up in Copenhagen in December 2009, but negotiations are now expected to extend through the South African UNFCCC conference in 2011 since the Copenhagen talks failed to yield a binding agreement. To reach a comprehensive deal, major gaps between developing and developed countries must be narrowed. The gaps include the character of common but differentiated responsibilities, financial support, technology transfer, and trade subsidies and sanctions. The paper concludes with some options and recommendations.

From the article: 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.)

12 August 2010 - The International Year of Youth kicked off today with calls from United Nations officials to harness the talents and energy of the world's young people to promote better understanding and dialogue between different generations, cultures and religions.

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.