By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Last week, the United Nations released a report that found that despite gains in reducing global poverty, growing inequalities will undo significant gains in health and longevity made over the past 20 years. According to the ICPD Beyond 2014 Global Report, the estimated 1 billion people living in the 50 to
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org This Valentine’s Day goes beyond love, with a global call to action to bring attention to violence against women, and justice for women, who have endured horrific pain due to gender. One Billion Rising, for the second year in a row, has galvanized people around the world to raise awareness by
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org “We are going to create something that will explode beautifully into the world,” stated Osprey Orielle Lake, organizer of the first International Women’s Earth and Climate Initiative Summit.  She echoed the heartfelt sentiments of 100 women environmental leaders who gathered for the conference in late September and came from more than
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Today is celebrated as World Contraception Day.  Perhaps there are not actually a billion reasons to celebrate it, but there is a case to be made that a billion dollars would go a long way in meeting the need for contraceptives for women and families all over the world. Banks or
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Can the world improve food security in the face of rising food prices, population growth, climate change, poverty, and gender inequality? New research in the journal Climatic Change found that a changing climate will likely push food prices up 20 to 40%, regardless of cuts to future carbon emissions.  As reported
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Confronted with so much grim news 24/7 – severe droughts and floods, poverty, loss of biodiversity, and much, much more – people are understandably hungry for something positive. Fortunately, there are some dedicated organizations and government agencies working to improve peoples’ lives and natural environment via an approach linking issues that
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The headlines out of the Sahel region of Africa (and Sub-Saharan Africa) are not good, and are reflective of climate change, food insecurity, and poverty.  The situation highlights the need to invest in and empower women as one answer to these problems. The Food & Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Situation Update on
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org According to a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Pakistan is “one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, not far from being classified, ‘water-scarce’.” This has huge implications for the world’s sixth most populous country, which currently stands at 182 million people.  Projections released last month by
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org With all the media focus on the NSA spying scandal, you might have missed the news that Egypt and Ethiopia – the second and third most populous countries in Africa, respectively – are coming into a war of words over a proposed dam on the Nile.  Though tensions have eased somewhat,
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org World Oceans Day is June 8th, designated to raise global awareness on the state of oceans and the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans.  Given increasing global problems – especially climate change – the urgency of protecting oceans is imperative. Our Vital Oceans A few
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