It Takes a Movement: Reflecting on Five Years of Progress Towards Ending Child Marriage.
To mark the five-year anniversary of Girls Not Brides, the organization is launching its first progress report: “It Takes a Movement: Reflecting on Five Years of Progress Towards Ending Child Marriage”.
The report covers several areas of progress, including child marriage trends, global and regional commitments, strengthening legal and policy frameworks, building a movement, creating an understanding of what needs to be done, and funding for the field. It ends with a seven-point list of recommendations to build on the progress made thus far and make a difference in the lives of millions of girls everywhere.
GRAN has been a member of Girls Not Brides since 2014, actively participating in raising awareness and mobilizing action through media, social media, global campaigns and speaker series. We meet and correspond with Canadian Members of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentary Committees and other leaders who can influence this issue nationally and globally.
With the U.S. pushing for ratification of the TPP before the end of President Obama’s term, ISDS has become a major obstacle to TPP ratification, according to some. ISDS (Investor-State Dispute Settlement) is a legal right outlined in the TPP for those who invest in a foreign country. Under this system, a corporation that invests in a foreign country can appeal to an international arbitration panel if that country enacts a law or regulation that, in the view of the investor, could jeopardize their expected future profits.
As indicated in GRAN's Open Letter to Ministers Freeland and Philpott, ISDS is a major area of concern to GRAN. A recent article in The Huffington Post discusses concerns with ISDS and includes hyperlinks to a Huffington Post investigation and a four-part series at BuzzFeed. Read more here.
MSF welcomes GSK's decision to lower the price of the pneumonia vaccine for some of the world's most vulnerable children.
On September 20th, 2016 Médecins Sans Frontiéres/Doctors without Borders (MSF) welcomed the decision by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to lower its price of its pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) for humanitarian organizations that serve refugee and crisis-affected children.
Read on for the entire announcement here.
GRAN Co-chairs have sent an Open Letter to Minister Freeland (International Trade) and Minister Philpott (Health) regarding the TPP. The letter has been published in the Hill Times and was also signed by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development and the Canadian Nurses Association. You can read the letter HERE.
The 5th Replenishment Conference for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria wrapped up in Montreal this afternoon pretty much on target for its $13 Billion goal. You can read a statement from the Global Fund HERE
And if you want to read even more, you can see the Press Release from Canadian Civil Society Organizations by CLICKING HERE
Another in the blog series from Huffington Post and the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD) leading up to the Replenishment Conference September 16 and 17, read the poignant story which makes the strong case for fully funding the Global Fund. READ HERE
GRAN has been supporting the Global Fund for many years by encouraging our government to do its fair share in pledging to the Fund. We are so pleased that Canada is hosting the Global Fund’s 5th Replenishment Conference in Montreal on September 16 and17 and that this government has increased its pledge by 20% over what was pledged three years ago.
Read a blog post by the Minister of International Development, the Honorable Marie-Claude Bibeau.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/interagency-coalition-on-aids-and-development-icad/canadasfight-to-end-hiv_b_11742486.html
This week over 5 million Canadian children and youth will head back to school looking forward to another year of learning. However, GRAN's thoughts are with the 62 million girls who are not only being denied this right but also a chance to make their dreams a reality.
Please consider signing Global Citizen's petition, one of our partners in education, to encourage world leaders to commit to getting all girls in school to ensure they have a future with choices, hopes and possibilities.
Signing this petition will let PM Trudeau know that girls' rights are important to us and that education will help achieve both gender equality and the rights of girls and women.
Click here
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/action/let-girls-learn
GRAN representative Irene Clarke attended the Civil Society Organization Hearing that led to the UN High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in early June. The result of the meetings was the UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. Read a discussion of the recommendations that appeared in The Lancet. The author proposes three critical areas of action, one of which is access to medicines.
Click here
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2816%2931336-8/fulltext?elsca1=etoc#.V7i-qGCidtQ.email
The Education Commission is a major global initiative engaging world leaders, policy makers and researchers to develop a compelling investment case and to provide a roadmap to overcome the barriers to lifelong education and learning for all.
Launched in September of last year, the Education Commission’s findings will be presented to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the 2016 General Assembly in New York on September 18th who has agreed to act on the recommendations in the report.
The Commission has three clear objectives:
- Bring together the best evidence from around the globe about what works to expand and improve learning opportunities.
- Agree on an investment case and agenda for action.
- Inspire and persuade leaders – at all levels and sectors – to action
Learn more about the important work of the Education Commission at http://educationcommission.org/
See also
http://www.aworldatschool.org/news/entry/Global-education-can-happen-says-Erna-Solberg-of-Education-Commission-2726
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