Sexual and Reproductive Health with Isaac Eranga

April 6th, 2015 Think about this: Africa has 24% of the global burden of disease, but just 3% of the health workforce. High-income countries, which have only one-third of the world’s population, make up about 75% of the health workforce. This imbalance must be addressed. Skilled health workers are the foundation of a functioning health system. When a country has a shortage of healthcare providers, the entire population suffers and women are disproportionately impacted. In developing regions, the lack of trained doctors, nurses, and midwives to provide women with pregnancy and delivery care has devastating consequences: nearly 300,000 women die every year from pregnancy, millions suffer serious health problems, and three million newborns do not survive their first month of life. It is clear that increasing the number of well-trained health workers is a critical step to improving the health and wellbeing of women and

April 3rd, 2015 Engaging adolescent girls has garnered a great amount of attention this year, both during the recent 59th Commission on the Status of Women and in talks about the post-2015 development agenda. That dedication to engagement, however, is not always accompanied by a clear understanding of how best to do so. Following a rousing speech or panel, many are left with the following question: “How exactly to address the needs of or issues most affecting adolescent girls?” And in a sea of experts, advocates, and government officials, it’s easy to lose sight of the best source of information about adolescent girls – adolescent girls themselves. That is why in the days before the world came together to celebrate 20 years since the Beijing Conference at CSW59, over fifty such experts, advocates, government officials, and adolescent girls gathered to advance our understanding of how to engage adolescent girls in the pro

April 8th, 2015 When society invests in women and girls, everybody wins. That’s the mantra of Katja Iversen ’s organization, Women Deliver, a leading global advocate for girls’ and women’s health, rights, and wellbeing. In the following interview, Iversen explores the power that corporates have to significantly impact the lives of women – and why their success is really good for business. The following interview is part of the series Leading Shared Value, spotlighting the presenters at the 2015 Shared Value Leadership Summit: Business at its Best . Why is shared value one of your priorities as a CEO in the global women’s advocacy space? Women Deliver works to improve the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women around the world, with a particular focus on maternal and reproductive health and the social determinants. We work strategically with the private sector, which is a powerful actor in internationa