Human development report 2011 by UN

Men Exceed Women – UN
Population Shoots Up
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27, (KUNA): A UN report issued on Wednesday noted that the Kuwaiti male population exceeds the female population and that the population growth rate in the country is seen increasing at a rate of 2.4 percent in the period 2010-2015.
The report, entitled ‘State of the World Population 2011’, issued by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said the Kuwaiti’s population (locals and residents) is now 2.8 million, and that the male population is 1.7 million, whereas the female population is only 1.1 million.
Globally, the report said that with the world population projected to reach 7 billion in five days’ time, actions taken now will decide whether the future will be healthy, sustainable and prosperous, or marked by inequalities, environmental decline and economic setbacks.
The world must seize the opportunity to invest in the health and education of its youth to reap the full benefits of future economic development, or else face a continuation of the sorry state of disparities in which hundreds of millions of people in developing nations lack the most basic ingredients for a decent life, UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin warned in the foreword of the report.
The report noted that the record population size can be viewed in many ways as a success for humanity because it means people are living longer and more children are surviving worldwide. But not everyone has benefited from this achievement or the higher quality of life that this implies.
Great disparities exist among and within countries and in rights and opportunities between men and women, girls and boys, as evidenced by the fact that that 215 million women of child-bearing age in developing countries lack access to voluntary family planning.
“Our work is far from done,” Osotimehin said, suggesting that charting a path now to development that promotes equality rather than exacerbating or reinforcing inequalities is more important than ever. “We must tear down economic, legal and social barriers, to put women and men and boys and girls on an equal footing in all spheres of life.”
Source: Arab Times

Statement by Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Michelle Bachelet on the Famine in Somalia

Posted on August 11 2011 | Executive Director Michelle Bachelet | Statements

The most severe drought in decades is threatening the lives of more than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa, with the people of Somalia facing the greatest risks resulting from armed conflict and lack of sustainable security and governance. This confluence of famine and conflict is particularly devastating for women and children. While attempting to save their children from starvation, malnutrition and disease, women in Somalia are subject to conflict-related security threats including sexual violence. As they make the long journey from what was once their home to the refugee complexes either in Kenya or Ethiopia, women and children’s vulnerability is exacerbated.
Adding to the efforts of others, I call on the international community and world leaders to rise up to the challenge of protecting women and children and responding to their urgent survival needs.
Despite all the efforts made to date, less than half of the funding needed to respond to the famine has been committed while the disaster deepens by the day. Out of the requested approximately USD 1 billion, only 40 percent — USD 408 million — has been provided, and an additional USD 49 million has been pledged.
UN Women urgently calls donor countries and all political and military factions in Somalia to ensure that special attention be given to the critical needs of women and children and ensure that this assistance reaches those most acutely in need.

My prayers and thoughts go to all women and children of Somalia. God preserve them !

If you wish to donate charity for women and children of Somalia, you can donate through Zakat House which is independent govermental authority of the State of Kuwait.
You can call: hotline  22241994
                      call center 175
or donate in their centers or deposit to bank account in any local bank. Alternatively you can donate via local telecom companies by sending messages to certain numbers.

During the holy month of Ramadan, all moslims are encouraged to feed poor and provide charity. Zakat, which is one of the pilars of islam encorage moslims to pay 2,5% of their savings to poor ( for every 1000KD is 25 KD due to zakat). 

NEWS RELEASE Global partners stand behind global standards for midwifery

ICM International Confederation of Midwives~s press release:

On the last day of the International Confederation of Midwives Triennial Congress in Durban, South Africa, global agencies have expressed their commitment to work with each other and with ICM to tackle maternal mortality. The UN Population Fund, World Health Organization (WHO), the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) and the International Federation of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) have each pledged to support the implementation of ICM’s landmark global standards for midwifery education and regulation as a core strategy to tackle maternal mortality worldwide. Around 350,000 women die each year as a result of preventable complications in pregnancy and childbirth. 99% of these deaths happen in low income countries, many of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. Millennium Development Goal 5 commits countries to delivering significant improvements to maternal health worldwide but has been the slowest moving of all the MDGs so far.

 ‘Evidence shows that access to competent, educated and strong midwives significantly reduces maternal and infant mortality.’ said Bridget Lynch, President.  ‘ICM set out on the Road to Durban three years ago, committed to reaching our destination with the tools needed to help governments around the world tackle unacceptable rates of maternal and infant mortality. Since then, we have worked with midwives of the world and our global partners to make sure we arrived with these tools in our hands. I am proud to say that we are now the first health profession in the world to have achieved global standards for the competency, education and regulation of our workforce. These, alongside the information provided by the UNFPA’s State of the World Midwifery Report will be essential to the achievement of each countries maternal mortality target.’

Transparent City- Martin

It is my pleasure to announce that the city I was born in: Martin, Slovak Republic will receive today prestigiuos award "Transparent City" Preventing and combating corruption in the Public Service from UN.  Congratulations!

State of World`s Mothers 2011

State of World`s Mothers 2011 by UN is yearly evaluation of the Mother`s Index.

 "What are the world's best and worst places to be a mother? The 12th annual Mothers' Index analyzes health, education and economic conditions for women and children in 164 countries.Norway ranks #1 this year and Afghanistan ranks last. The United States comes in at #31 among the 43 developed countries ranked. "

Sadly, State of Kuwait is ranking No. 35 in category of less developed countries. You can read more about the Maternity Health Statistics in the Middle East and Human Development Report .

  

UN spotlights role of midwives in improving maternal and children’s health

Source: UN News Centre 
17 June 2011 – 

The United Nations is set to unveil a report highlighting the vital work of midwives in ensuring that millions of women and newborn children do not die needlessly at a time when many countries still lack enough skilled staff to serve as birth attendants.The report, The State of the World’s Midwifery 2011: delivering health, saving lives, is the first of its kind and draws on data gathered from 58 countries.
Co-authored by several UN agencies – including the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) – and more than 20 international partners, it will be released on Monday at a global conference of midwives taking place in Durban, South Africa.
The report will examine the progress made so far on boosting the numbers of midwives, which are particularly critical to the achievement of two Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): boosting maternal health, and reducing child mortality.

Midwifery in Arab/ Middle East Countries

UN just published State of World` s Midwifery 2011, covering some 58 countries in all regions of the world.

"Increasing women's access to quality midwifery has become a focus of global efforts to realize the right of every woman to the best possible health care during pregnancy and childbirth"

I would like to focus on Middle East/ Arab countries. Reports are available from following countries:
1. UAE

"It is clear the women do not know what a midwife is and many women think that they are safer with care from a doctor. Based on the results of this research a marketing strategy has been developed to promote the role of the midwife as the expert in normal birth and work has begun both with the medical profession and women to improve the profile and status of midwifery in the UAE"

2. Gulf Countries

"If only considering the percentage of deliveries attended by skilled health personnel and the maternal mortality ratio, the nearly 22 Arab States can be divided into three groups (Table 1). The first, where both indicators are balanced, contains small, rich Gulf countries as well as middle-income countries such as Tunisia, where the government has adopted a holistic, multi-disciplinary health strategy including the investment in training and empowering midwives. Also in this group are countries such as Palestine, where despite an instable and insecure environment, important and well-structured NGO interventions ensure good maternal health care. In the second group, both indicators are high and this can be explained by geographical, social, cultural and economic factors including the weak quality of maternal health services, as in Djibouti, and over-medicalization and low profile of midwifery as in Lebanon and until recently in the United Arab Emirates. The third group has countries where the percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel is low and the maternal mortality ratio is high. In addition to other factors, the situation in most countries in this group (including Morocco, Sudan and Yemen) can be linked to the lack of availability, accessibility and affordability of maternal services in remote and rural areas"

State of World`s Midwifery

UNFPA just published State of World`s Midwifery. Midwives are primary health care providers providing care for low-risk women during pregnancy, labour, after delivery, including the care for babies.

Increasing women's access to quality midwifery has become a focus of global efforts to realize the right of every woman to the best possible health care during pregnancy and childbirth. A first step is assessing the situation.

The State of World's Midwifery 2011: Delivering Health, Saving Lives, supported by 30 partners, provides the first comprehensive analysis of midwifery services and issues in countries where the needs are greatest.

The report provides new information and data gathered from 58 countries in all regions of the world. Its analysis confirms that the world lacks some 350,000 skilled midwives -- 112,000 in the neediest 38 countries surveyed -- to fully meet the needs of women around the world. The report explores a range of issues related to building up this key health workforce.

This page includes access to the full report in three languages, as well as related resources, applications, bibliographical information, individual country profiles and stories of midwives.

Kuwait gets membership in human rights council

Source: Kuwait Times 

Published Date: June 20, 2011

GENEVA: Kuwait's accession into the United Nations Human Rights Council, effective today, constitutes a major national achievement and a qualitative step in the Kuwaiti diplomatic activities, said a ranking diplomat. This membership was sought in accordance with a decision by top political leaders, said Kuwait's Permanent Delegate to the UN Office in Geneva Ambassador Dharar Razzooqi, in an interview on the occasion of the significant event, the first of its kind since the Gulf state joined the United Nati
ons Security Council 30 years ago.

Human Development Report UNDP 2010

Check 3D visualisation of the HDI ( kindly open the link) Human Development Index. Enter the name of your country, press play and watch the animation of the developement from year 1980 up to 2010.
HDI evaluates following indicators:
          1. Rank "A country's rank relative to other countries based on the HDI value for a particular year."  
              State of Kuwait ranking as High Human Developement Group      

2. Value"A composite index measuring average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development—a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living. For details on how the index is calculated, see Technical note 1. Calculated based on data from UNDESA (2009d), Barro and Lee (2010), UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2010b), World Bank (2010b) and IMF(2010a)."

            State of Kuwait is ranking No 47 from 169 countries in 2010