YWCA News current

The UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights released a statement and recommendations on the Global Fund and crisis on HIV funding, in response to the November 2011 announcement of the cancellation of the 11^th round of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund has been instrumental in moving the health and human rights goals of the global HIV response forward. The cancellation of the 11^th round of funding comes at a time of worldwide financial crisis and the Global Fund’s financial difficulties echo the current economic climate. However, this crisis could not come at a worst time, as science and medicine are continually improving and developing the tools for success in response to HIV, but lack adequate funding.

6^th  of February being the International Day on Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a conference hosted by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC) was held in the Ariana Museum in Geneva, Switzerland.

YWCA-YMCA Sweden hosted a meeting of Nordic YWCA-YMCAs in Umea, Sweden, from January 27-29, 2012.  The annual meeting provides space for member associations from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden to report on their activities and future plans, and to discuss current challenges facing their respective movements.

The call for nominations for the 2012 Red Ribbon Award is open. As in the past, the award honors and recognises exceptional grassroots leadership in responding to the AIDS epidemic. Nominations are accepted until February 29, 2012.

Since its beginning the World YWCA Power to Change Fund has been making a positive difference to lives of women and young women around the world. Direct grant making to YWCA Member Associations has meant that projects have benefited from a capacity building approach The Power to Change Fund provides innovative leadership programmes and empowering opportunities through dialogues, training and sharing of experiences and skills at regional, national and global advocacy platforms. Projects in 2011 included a range of YWCA initiatives from around the world on violence against women, sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV, and economic empowerment. Three such projects were carried out in Myanmar, Colombia and Tanzania.

“Today I felt the true strength of the women’s movement in Malawi. For so long it’s always been about different organisations with similar goals working in isolation, unable to draw from each other’s strengths, or learn from the other’s weaknesses. But on this day, women, girls, rich, poor, Christian and otherwise transcended all manner of real or perceived barriers, going above and beyond politics to raise a unified voice in protest against the abuse of women.” -  Rebecca Phwitiko, President YWCA of Malawi.

News has just come in that Jenta Tau, the 2011 World YWCA intern from the Solomon Islands, has been appointed the new General Secretary of the YWCA of the Solomon Islands.

Four young women, who attended the World YWCA meeting in Zurich this past summer, will represent the YWCA USA at the 56^th  Session of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women in February – World YWCA Broad member Luna Lee and Kris Silvestry from the Northeast, Jenna Lodge from the Southeast and Leanne Baumung from the Pacific Region, who in 2008 worked in Geneva as part of the World YWCA team as a one year intern . In addition, Sandra Cano from New England will serve as an intern for the World YWCA delegation that includes women from 18 countries. Women led non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from around the globe gather each year to promote women’s rights as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals.

“We don’t want nuclear power! Stop nuclear power plants NOW!”

 The two day Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World held in Yokohama, Japan, on January 14-15, 2012, attracted some 11,500 people from 30 countries worldwide, as well as 30,000 who watched online, to help create safe societies with justice and to cry out “NO!” to both nuclear weapons and to nuclear power, which had been promoted as “clean energy”. The conference was organised by grassroots NGOs and supported by many individuals and organisations including the YWCA of Japan, to provide a space for people to network, exchange information and ideas, contribute skills and knowledge, and share actions to make the world free from nuclear power.

Girls Not Brides is a new global partnership committed to ending the harmful traditional practice of child marriage. Initiated by The Elders, Girls Not Brides  brings together more than 50 organisations from around the world including the World YWCA, who are currently working to tackle child marriage at the grassroots, national and global levels. As a movement, the World YWCA is committed to promoting women, young women and girl’s rights and fully supports the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.