The view from the helicopter gave me the first inkling of how conflict and violence had impacted the town I was moving to. I saw destroyed and abandoned buildings and homes, I saw a huge camp for displaced people in the middle of a forest. The town is Banki, in northeast Nigeria, 2.5km from the Cameroonian border and 135km from… Read more →←
Children everywhere are gaining access to the internet – most often via a mobile phone. In many places, too, parents are feeling challenged in their competence, role and authority. Distinctively, internet access is bringing children access also to valued sources of knowledge and connection that their parents may lack. How are parents… Read more →←
How does a country improve HIV and sexual and reproductive health progress for adolescents? We may think it is tech innovation or new celebrity voices or novel social media. But in fact, it is much simpler. Analysis and planning will accelerate progress for adolescent health. Although Rwanda has high coverage of HIV services, the… Read more →←
On World Children’s Day, Khyati Chauhan came to New York City to celebrate the rights of girls around the world and to share her work — fighting to be sure they have a fair chance to an education. My cousin was in 11th grade when she moved from a typical Indian village to my place in New Delhi. We were polar opposites yet the… Read more →←
Six girls – 16-17 years old – are currently being held 9.6 miles from the UN Headquarters at Rikers Island. These teenagers wake up not knowing how long until they will be tried or sentenced. Gigi Blanchard leads a biweekly writing workshop with these young women. “With my men’s and women’s classes, they all know their future,… Read more →←
It’s unclear who first invented the toilet. Early contenders include an ancient settlement in Scotland dating back to 3000 B.C. and a palace on Crete that was built around 1700 B.C. Fast forward to today: around 60% of the world – 4.5 billion people – don’t have a toilet or similar facility that safely manages human… Read more →←
“That child could have been dead by morning,” UNICEF Health Officer Christopher Otti Ajumara tells me. “If we hadn’t come here today, he could have died.” We are in Ajuong Thok in northern South Sudan, having just visited the home of Lina, 20, a mother of three. Her nine month old son, Mapir, became ill with malaria five days… Read more →←
“I am used to the difficulties,” says Cira Kanote, 16. Bent over a muddy river with her baby daughter Daby tied to her back, she scoops up some dirt in her calabash, a container made of gourd, and carefully sifts through it. Married when she was only 14, Cira became pregnant immediately by her 36 year old husband. The… Read more →←
I was seven months old when my mother took me to see a doctor in Suran, my hometown. I had a high fever, and she had noticed weakness in both my legs. It was then that I was diagnosed with polio. Polio is a highly contagious disease that attacks the nervous system. It can cause paralysis or even death among young children. While the… Read more →←
In the first few seconds of life, a newborn baby should be delivered and held in clean hands. As a baby enters the world, one of the simplest ways we can protect them is to make sure they are delivered in a clean environment. New mothers are also vulnerable, and require the same cleanliness to reduce the risk of disease and infection.… Read more →←
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