Celebrating the Family Planning 2020 midway point
July 11, 2016
By David Williams, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Association of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a small country in West Africa with roughly 6 million residents. According to the 2013 Demographic Health Survey, adolescents and youth constitute 55% of the total population, yet youth access to reproductive health services remains a challenge. The prevalence of child marriage is very high, and 48% of 20-24 year old females were married by age 18. Coupled with this is a high adolescent birth-rate; 4 out of 10 women give birth by their 18th birthday. 31% of women want to space or limit their births, but are not currently using a modern form of contraception (also known as “unmet need” for family planning). In fact, only 16% of married women between ages 15-49 use any form of modern contraception.
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Follow the Data Podcast: Episode 3 featuring Data for Health
June 30, 2016
In the third episode of Follow the Data – a podcast about how our work is driving change and making an impact in the areas of education, the arts, the environment, public health and government innovation – we hear from partners of our Data for Health initiative to understand how they are working to improve health data around the world.
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50 Conversations to Transform the Way Cities Work
June 29, 2016
By Katie Appel Duda, Bloomberg Philanthropies Government Innovation team
How can City Halls go beyond business as usual? It can start with a conversation. Having frank discussions with cities facing similar challenges is one of the best ways local governments can share ideas and spread their most innovative practices.
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City Action at the 2nd US-China Climate Leaders Summit in Beijing
June 10, 2016
By Ailun Yang, Bloomberg Philanthropies Environment Team
This week I had the pleasure of joining Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partners and sixteen U.S. Mayors and city representatives in Beijing, China at the second U.S.—China Climate Leaders Summit. Throughout the two-day Summit, Bloomberg Philanthropies and our partners highlighted the important role cities play in combating climate change through a series of new partnerships, research and initiatives.
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Working Together to Restore Our World’s Oceans
June 8, 2016
By Patricia E. Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies
The world’s oceans are as beautiful as they are important. As a diver for more than 25 years, I have seen firsthand the devastating impact poor management has had on our oceans. The mysterious and beautiful world below the oceans’ surface plays a critical role in our global economy and food supply, but is under threat.
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China’s Green Finance Opportunity
June 6, 2016
By Antha N. Williams, Bloomberg Philanthropies Environment Team
As representatives from Chinese and U.S. cities gather in Beijing to announce new ways of working together to combat climate change, “green finance” will be high on the agenda. With innovation and the right mechanisms, cities can attract new private capital for China’s green projects.
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Follow the Data Podcast: Episode 2 featuring the Brooklyn Museum
June 3, 2016
In the second episode of Follow the Data – a podcast about how our work is driving change and making an impact in the areas of education, the arts, the environment, public health and government innovation – we take a deeper dive into the work of Bloomberg Connects partner the Brooklyn Museum to see how they are transforming the visitor experience through technology.
Read moreStatement by Dr. Kelly Henning on UK Court Decision to Strike Down Tobacco Industry Challenge on Plain Packaging
May 19, 2016
“Today the UK High Court ruled in favor of public health by dismissing tobacco industry claims that challenged the 2015 UK law that required tobacco products be sold in plain packaging. Bloomberg Philanthropies supports this ruling and applauds the UK court for paving the way for implementation of UK plain packaging, tomorrow, May 20th. The Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use focuses on evidence based tobacco policies and works to promote public awareness of tobacco’s harms. This ruling is an important step in the accelerating movement by countries to include plain packaging in their comprehensive tobacco control strategies and to raise awareness about the massive health harms of tobacco use.”
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“It can be done!”
May 10, 2016
With the generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2008 and the Fondation H&B Agerup in 2012, Vital Strategies – formerly known as the World Lung Foundation – set out to upgrade rural Tanzanian health centers to provide comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care (CEmONC). At that time, CEmONC services were only available at hospitals, located hours away for most rural women experiencing potentially life-threatening obstetric complications. Vital Strategies trained non-physician clinicians (known globally as ‘associate clinicians’) in obstetric surgery and anesthesia, built operating theaters, set facilities up with equipment, supplies and medications and provided mentoring, supervision and continuing medical education to health providers.
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12 Instagram Accounts That Think of Our Planet All Year Round
April 20, 2016
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Environment program brings together a wide range of partners, including cities, businesses, public health advocates and citizen’s groups, to address some of the most serious threats to our environment. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite environmentally-friendly @instagram accounts to keep you in the know on just a few of the initiatives impacting our Earth. Don’t forget to follow us on @BloombergDotOrg to learn more about these organizations and how we’re supporting their causes.
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