63rd Annual United Nations DPI/NGO Conference
Advance Global Health: Achieve the MDGs
Melbourne, Australia
From Julie Russell

It is undeniable that health is a social, economic and political issue and above all is a fundamental human right. Therefore, human rights are central to the health issues that face poverty stricken communities and solutions that deal with inequity and social exclusion need to be applied to the programs in operation.
Maternal health has shown to be the least effective of the eight millennium goals. It is imperative to the restoration of struggling communities that women’s empowerment, access to health facilities, education, and gender equality are compiled into agendas that aim to improve the quality of life for the entire population.
The Declaration of Alma-Ata was adopted at an international conference in 1978 expressing the need for urgent action by all governments, all health and development workers, and the world community to protect and promote the health of all the people of the world. It was the first international declaration underlining the importance of primary health care. The primary health care approach has since then been accepted by member countries of WHO as the key to achieving the goal of "Health for All". Unfortunately, certain governments and international institutions, as well as unregulated transnational corporations have suspended the progression of this proposal. Health for all means that powerful interests have to be challenged, that globalization has to insure equitable distribution of resources, and that political and economic priorities have to be drastically changed.
This being said, there is an insurmountable mission facing NGOs to address and overcome difficult issues posed from both their own governments and those they seek to assist. The best way I can see for anyone to make progress is to work together and combine resources in order to grow and attain media attention and recognition so that more people become exposed to the problems and are able to then become part of the solution. As long as the MDGs are unknown to the majority of both developing and undeveloped nations, they will remain unattainable.

I can write a lot about my experience in the workshops and in the roundtable events but the information that needs to be passed on is the potential affiliations that can be established with other organizations that have common interests with those of Simply Help. So below I have listed some of the larger organizations that I felt would be the most beneficial.

One workshop I attended was titled ‘Women & Girl Power: Uniting to build healthy societies, and end and prevent violence against women and girls.’ The sponsor of this workshop was the Soroptimist International and World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. I had the pleasure of speaking with Alice Wells who was the USA representative of the Soroptimist International. She is a strong supporter of opening vocational schools in poor communities in order to bridge the gap of knowledge between developing and developed nations and to rebuild the work force and market of these struggling economies. I believe that a prospective partnership can be created with this organization that would promote the aspirations of future Simply Help projects. To learn more about the Soroptimist International and their ongoing projects and programs, go to: www.soroptimistinternational.org .

Another good organization that Simply Help might be able to collaborate with is The Earth Charter Initiative, which operates internationally and has a link currently working in Honduras. Their mission is to promote the transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework that includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace. Education is fundamental to their mission and therefore they have created the Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development at the University for Peace in Costa Rica. For more information go to: www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/categories/Country/Honduras

The BPW International is a federation of business and professional women who collaborate with NGOs to network and lobby for the development of the business and leadership potential of all women on all levels through advocacy, mentoring, skill building and economic empowerment programs and projects around the world. They operate in 90+ countries and they can be contacted at: presidents.office@bpw-international.org.

The IWDA (the International women’s development agency) is an Australian not-for-profit organization that for 25 years has been creating positive change for women and their communities across Asia and the Pacific. Their projects directly address poverty and oppression in developing countries and are devised and managed by women who live and work in the communities. They recognize that deep and persistent discrimination, including deficient education and resources, limits the opportunities many women have to build a better future for themselves and their families. One statistic they provided was that for every year beyond fourth grade that women have attended school, their family benefit from increased wages by 20%, reduced child deaths by 10% and reducing family size by 20%. Being that they are located in Australia, they may be beneficial to the continuing development of the vocational schools Simply Help has established in Cambodia. They can be reached at: iwda@iwda.org.au.

Global Oneness Project is a unique media outlet that has worked with NGOs and could promote Simply Help through film and select broadcast to promote projects around the world. They have an inspiring collection of films I recommend checking out their work at www.globalonenessproject.org/about-project .

Other organizations that are worth looking into:
The Tzu Chi Foundation www.us.tzuchi.org
Save the Children www.savethechildren.org
The GAVI Alliance www.gavialliance.org
Anuvrat Global Organization www.anuvibha.in