Featured

Three young women patients wait to check-in for treatment of fistula in Sudan (photo credit: UN Photo/Fred Noy) Ending the Shame for Women and Girls: The Effort to End Fistula

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org This May 23rd will mark the first-ever International Day to End Obstetric Fistula.  This is a treatable condition that sadly afflicts women and girls in developing nations that lack decent maternal care. It is hoped that this problem can finally be dealt with by focusing global attention on it, thereby helping
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Ethiopia's false banana tree False Bananas: The Potential for Food Security in Ethiopia

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org As climate change becomes more of a basic fact of life for many people around the world, one way to adapt is to tap into traditional and ancestral knowledge and practices, especially as it pertains to agriculture.  In Ethiopia, one crop with potential is the false banana. Officially called enset, this
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Baboons Ethiopian Park is ‘Awash’ in Pollution and Population Pressures

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Ethiopia is the cradle of humankind.  It is also home to an array of animal species.  Yet both people and nature are under threat, mainly due to environmental degradation, poaching, and human population growth. Today there are close to 90 million people in Ethiopia (it is the 2nd most populous nation
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Nepaltigers Rhinos and Tigers and…Oh Wait, Let’s Limit Their Numbers

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org A recent story on BBC News epitomizes some of the challenges for balancing conservation efforts and the needs of people. The news article of note addressed wildlife, endangered species, development, and population growth in Nepal. Titled Attacks Prompt Nepal to Cap Wildlife Growth, the BBC reports that “Officials in Nepal have
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iStock_000014852074XSmall Earth Promoting the Rights of People and the Planet: Positive Approaches to Population Growth

By HowMany.org Today, almost everywhere we turn, we are inundated with negativity about the state of our world. There is climate chaos, economic uncertainty, terrorism, inequality, environmental degradation, overcrowding, poverty; the list goes on and on. It can be overwhelming to think about global issues and global problems. However, they can’t be ignored, or if
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Climate Change

[photo credit: Take Action on Women’s Rights and Climate Change

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org At long last, a bill in Congress that addresses climate change and women’s empowerment!  If you are looking for something positive to get behind, then read on. A resolution has been re-introduced in Congress by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) which recognizes the disproportionate impact that climate change has on women.  H.
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Water Issues

[photo credit: www.africasti.com] Water, Water Everywhere? Maybe Not for Long

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Another day, another warning by scientists that human beings are pushing the planet to a tipping point. At the “Water in the Anthropocene” conference last week in Germany, 500 leading water scientists declared that water is becoming one of the most serious factors that could limit human development this century, with
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Family Planning and Women's Health

Newborn-Baby State of American Newborns: “We’re Number 30!?”

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Mothers across the U.S. and many other countries were celebrated this past Mother’s Day.  Despite this special day, American women across the country face avoidable harms to their health and that of their babies when giving birth.  A newborn’s actual birth day is the most dangerous time for mothers and babies.
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Social Justice

petals in the dust Valuing Life: Spotlighting the Crisis of Girls in India

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org It’s a subject that few want to discuss, but one of paramount importance.  It is the topic of violence and discrimination against girls (including child marriage), which is occurring with increasing frequency. In India, the past few months have brought increased attention to gender violence, based on some horrific, yet sadly
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Energy and Carbon Emissions

Tracking carbon emissions: the Keeling Curve 400 Parts Per What? and Why You Should Care

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org At some point in early May, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is expected to hit 400 parts per million (ppm).  It will fluctuate throughout the rest of the year, and for the next several years.  It is predicted to stabilize at the 400ppm mark by 2017, and
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Youth Rights

Tena Kebena Staff Giving Youth a Hand to Create a Sustainable World

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Today’s global youth, of course, will inherit the world.  And given the state of this world, it is more important than ever to invest in young adults, and help provide them with opportunities to create a healthy society. One specific project in Ethiopia is providing much hope.  It is called Tena
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Consumption and Waste

illegalivory Consumption, Endangered Species and Human Rights

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org An international conference on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) kicked off this week in Thailand. At the two week-long conference, delegates will address how to protect endangered plants and animals around the world by implementing a ban on the illegal trade of impacted
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