Strengthening UN Capacity
Partnering with the United Nations is central to our approach to tackling the world’s most pressing issues, especially those connected with advancing the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Our recent work with the United Nations Development Fund for Women’s (UNIFEM) “Say NO to Violence against Women” and the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) Campaign to End Fistula are examples of our support for global efforts to achieve MDG 3 (promoting gender equality and empowering women) and MDG 5 (improving maternal health) respectively.
For UNIFEM’s “Say NO to Violence against Women” Internet petition campaign, we issued a challenge grant that donated $1 to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women for each of the first 100,000 petition signatures. Today, more than 5 million people worldwide have signed on and taken a stand against violence.
Our work with UNFPA’s Campaign to End Fistula has helped bring international attention to fistula, a debilitating childbirth injury eliminated in the West a century ago that renders its victims incontinent. Through our advocacy, investments and work with partners, we hope to help UNFPA realize its goal of making obstetric fistula as rare in developing countries as it is in the industrialized world.
STORIES OF IMPACT
Challenges Remain After Haiti Earthquake, But the UN is Still There
Area of Involvement: Women & Population;Technology;UN-US Relations;Children’s Health
It’s been six months since the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti, and while much remains to be accomplished, progress has been made through the efforts of UN agencies and our partners since January 12.
First comes school, then comes marriage
Area of Involvement: Women & Population
Amhara’s child marriage rates are among the world’s highest. An innovative program in Ethiopia — funded by the UN Foundation in collaboration with the Nike Foundation — is working to change that one girl at a time.
RESOURCES
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Celebrate, Innovate and Sustain: Toward 2015 and Beyond - The United States' Strategy for Meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals
Issue Area: Children’s Health
Issue Area: Climate & Energy
Issue Area: Sustainable Development
Issue Area: Technology
Issue Area: UN-US Relations
Issue Area: Women & Population
Obama Administration officials unveiled the U.S. Government’s strategy for advancing the Millennium Development Goals on July 30, 2010, with an emphasis on innovative and sustainable approaches to the world’s most urgent challenges, during a high-level working session hosted by the United Nations Foundation.
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Girls Speak: A New Voice in Global Development
Issue Area: Women & Population
Girls Speak: A New Voice in Global Development shows that girls’ insights in development increase impact and effectiveness. These five actions will help make the unheard heard.
