Revisiting Zambia: Still So Much to Do

Last month, I was in Zambia, a country especially close to my heart. I was born in Zambia and lived there through the end of high school.

For Manuela

Sexual violence is a reality of the developed and the developing world. Globally, one in three women experience sexual violence in their lifetimes.

The Death Clock Is Counting Them: But Where Are These Women?

On Monday, Amnesty International launched the “death clock” in Times Square in New York City. Every 90 seconds, it ticks off another woman’s life lost from pregnancy-related causes.

Why the Global Health Initiative Needs a Health Workforce Strategy

Entering a one-room health clinic in Cambodia’s Pursat Province, I saw a heavily pregnant woman suffering on the dirt floor. A midwife was the lone health worker staffing this rural post.

Going Digital: Taking the Maternal Health Community Online

The “Maternal health: digital” panel closed the conference with exciting, new, and innovative ways for using technology for global health and maternal health issues.

“What about men?”

On a recent trip to Malawi, I visited the rural community of Matapila outside of the capital, Lilongwe, where a theater group was performing a series of short plays on how couples negotiate sex and make decisions about if and when to have children.

NDM-1: A Potential Superbug Epidemic—What Does it Mean for Health Workers?

New Delhi recently joined the ranks of other metropolitan cities like Washington D.C., Berlin, Singapore, Beijing, and Moscow with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, known as a ‘superbug,’ taking its namesake.

Leaving Windhoek—The Inequality of Life and Death in Namibia

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was walking the wide roads of downtown Windhoek, Namibia.

Demanding Accountability: Key for Continuing Gains in Maternal Health

I’m really pleased to hear discussion here in Delhi at the Global Maternal Health Conference about our collective accountability. For the past several decades, we have lamented the fact that half a million women’s lives were lost every year to pregnancy-related causes.

Proud to be Indian and Making a Difference in Women’s Lives

Sitting here in Delhi at the Global Maternal Health Conference in the India Habitat Center, I feel proud to be Indian. Yes, in part it is that the conference is well-run, and the speakers are thoughtful and thought-provoking, but also it is the fact that India is among the countries showing steady decline in the numbers of deaths related to pregnancy.