Blog Contributor:
Guest Blogger
May 15th, 2012 10:12 AM UTC
By Guest Blogger
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Victoria Quinn, senior vice president of programs at Helen Keller International discusses why a child’s first 1,000 days of life are the most important. This piece was republished from the Huffington Post with permission from the author.
There is a time in a child’s life that has a profound impact on her ability to grow, learn and rise out of poverty. It’s the 1,000 day window beginning with a mother’s pregnancy through to her child’s 2nd birthday. During these critical 1,000 days, ensuring that mothers and children have proper nutrition can have a profound impact not only on the individuals, but also on the long-term health, stability and development of entire communities and nations.
Photo credit: Helen Keller International
In fact, it’s been demonstrated that nutritional status improves when mothers receive proper nutrition throughout their pregnancies and continue to nourish their babies through breast feeding from birth to two years, while introducing nutritious solid foods at 6 months. Better nutrition is linked to healthier economies and a country’s GDP can increase by at least 2 to 3 percent annually as a result. Investing in better nutrition during this 1,000 day window is a smart investment for the health of children, families, communities and entire countries.
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May 9th, 2012 12:49 PM UTC
By Guest Blogger
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This piece by Gregory Adams was originally published on Oxfam America’s Politics of Poverty blog.
“His stomach lurched as he realized that tinny, tiny sound was coming from his own midriff. He could barely believe it. The recorder he had taped to his stomach, its wire lead and microphone stuck to his breastbone, had somehow switched into ‘play’ mode. The voices of the two men before him were now being relayed back, potentially exposing him as what he was: spy, sneak, mole . . . He scoured his two colleagues’ faces for signs of suspicion. If they had noticed what had happened, he could expect to be arrested that night, his office sealed, staff sent away, files seized, house raided . . .”
So begins Michela Wrong’s gripping book, It’s Our Turn to Eat, the story of John Githongo’s effort to uncover corruption inside the administration of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki. The book tells the story of how Githongo risked his life and livelihood to help make his country more just and accountable to average Kenyans—and the challenge that entrenched corruption poses for development.
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May 8th, 2012 11:24 AM UTC
By Guest Blogger
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Laura Reynolds, a research intern for the Nourishing the Planet project, summarizes the findings from a new UN agriculture report. This blog post was originally published on Worldwatch Institute’s Nourishing the Planet blog.
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) has released a report entitled “Food and Agriculture: The future of sustainability.” The report will provide input for UNDESA’s Sustainable Development in the 21st century (SD21) Report for Rio+20, which will serve as a road map during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development this June.
The report sought contributions from four major groups working in the global food and agriculture system: a policy and trade group, a business specialists group, a rural livelihoods and poverty expert group, and an agricultural production and environmental sustainability group. Nourishing the Planet director Danielle Nierenberg coordinated the rural livelihoods and poverty expert group.
The central idea of the report is that during this century, farmers will need to produce more food per unit of land, water, and agrochemicals to feed the rapidly growing world population. But they will have to do this while facing climate change, market and social volatility, shifting nutrition needs, and an increasing scarcity of most of the factors involved in food production, including fertile soil, fossil fuels, and even farmers themselves.
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May 4th, 2012 3:58 PM UTC
By Guest Blogger
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Janessa Goldbeck from the Make US Strong campaign reports on her 4,200-mile trip across the country:
Three months ago, I set off from San Diego on what felt like the world’s heaviest bicycle with one mission: to spread the word that international development, or foreign aid, keeps America safe.
Today, after 4,200 miles of cycling coast-to-coast and then some, my journey comes to an end.
RELATED: ONE member Janessa Goldbeck cycles cross country for foreign aid
International development has been a key part of America’s national security since the Greatest Generation rebuilt Europe and Japan at the end of World War II. Since then, development has been key to taking on some of the biggest challenges of the 21st century: limiting the spread of pandemic diseases, shutting down gun and drug trafficking, and making sure developing nations can stand on their own feet. With Congress considering cuts to these programs, there’s never been a more important time to get the word out about the critical role international development plays in our national security.
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May 2nd, 2012 9:11 AM UTC
By Guest Blogger
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This piece by Bill Gates, Sr. was originally published on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Impatient Optimists blog.
When my wife was pregnant with our first child, one of the worst polio epidemics in history was tearing through the United States. When my daughter was born, I was excited to be a new father, but I was also terrorized by visions of my newborn daughter confined by an iron lung, so much so that I didn’t let her drink from water fountains, or go for a swim.
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Apr 30th, 2012 12:17 PM UTC
By Guest Blogger
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Ansley West Rivers, a documentary filmmaker and photographer based in Uganda, shares how she met her husband, fell in love with agriculture and found the subject of a new film, “Mothers of a Nation,” in this amazing personal story:
I first traveled to Uganda in 2007 as a photographer with UAPO, the Ugandan American Partnership Organization. I quickly fell in love with the beautiful town of Jinja at the headwaters of the Nile River. I returned to the USA but knew I had to return to Uganda. I had recently gotten back together with the love of my life, after a four year separation. We were living in beautiful Wyoming, which he was reluctant to leave for an unknown place and worried about moving with no job of his own.
Listen to an interview with Rafe and Ansley in this 15 minute podcast:
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Apr 30th, 2012 10:17 AM UTC
By Guest Blogger
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Lisa Schechtman, head of policy and advocacy at WaterAid in America reports:
In part thanks to the US government, things are looking more hopeful for the 783 million people without access to safe drinking water and the 2.5 billion without sanitation. And for the 4,000 children under five years old who die each day from preventable causes related to poor quality water and sanitation. Those numbers are high — and the problem daunting — but with interest from Congress bolstered by new commitments from the Administration, there’s much to celebrate.
Last week was the second High-level Meeting of the Sanitation and Water for All Partnership (SWA). The SWA is the multilateral organization focused on meeting the safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs of the countries that are farthest behind in reaching their goals for sustainable access to these vital services. The partnership includes donors, governments, civil society and so-called sector partners, organizations like WaterAid that have particular technical expertise to share.
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