Global

A new campaign to support work to end FGM launched on 10 October 2014 in Nairobi Kenya, with a side-event in the Southbank Centre, London

Options' programme Evidence for Action’s reputation on creatively packaging robust evidence based on what works to influence change has been recognised at a global level

Agreement to end extreme poverty puts the poorest first and focuses on women and girls.

This week, Options’ programme, The Girl Generation, launched its new strategic plan for 2015-2020. Global Director, Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell tells us what it means to them.

Today is World Prematurity Day. Prematurity matters because babies born too soon are vulnerable to death or disability. Every year, one million babies die from preterm birth complications.

Earlier this month, a new report was launched by the United Nations agencies on the latest maternal mortality trends from 1990 - 2015.

The Girl Generation's Global Director, Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell, attended the first ever African Girls’ Summit in Zambia, which brought together leaders, policy makers, advocates, youth and organisations to discuss vital issues on girls’ rights.

The Girl Generation marked the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM by bringing together organisations and individuals to rally to end FGM by 2030.

Today, The Girl Generation joins the global community to champion gender parity in marking International Women’s Day. Ending female genital mutilation (FGM) is one critical step in achieving that goal. We are therefore delighted to announce the upcoming launch of the End FGM Grants Programme.

The Africa Health Budget Network's new regional campaign, '#ValueOurHealth: African voices for better spending for women and children' was officially launched at the World Bank/IMF spring meeting in Washington DC.

We're at Women Deliver showcasing our work on accountability for health results.

The Africa Health Budget Network calls on African governments to #ValueOurHealth at the Women Deliver conference in Copenhagen.

Last week a team from Options attended the international Women Deliver conference in Denmark. We used the event to showcase our expertise in accountability through our country and regional level work.

Vital new resources on the prevention of FGM have been launched in the House of Commons by the ‘Tackling FGM Initiative’ (TFGMI).

Earlier this month, the Africa Health Budget Network held its inaugural Steering Committee meeting at our offices in London. Julius Mukunda, from the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group, Uganda has been appointed Chair of the Committee and tells us why he thinks the Network is so important:

We'll be at the 4th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Vancouver, from 14th - 18th November.

Earlier this month a team from Options attended the Fourth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, in Vancouver. This was a fantastic opportunity to share our wealth of experience, innovative practices and lessons learned for building more resilient health systems.

Too many women across the world still struggle to access quality maternal health care. Universal Health Coverage means that everyone – including the poorest and most marginalised – can access the health care they need without financial hardship.

Join the seminar series on 'Innovations in maternal and perinatal health in humanitarian settings: Exploring evidence and innovations to improve maternal and newborn survival among populations affected by humanitarian crises'.

Today marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. A day of global advocacy and a chance for people all over the world to raise their voices and make a difference for girls.

Remembering Louise Hulton, our dear friend and colleague.

"I think being ‘bold for change’ means having the ability to make a decision that might go against the grain of traditional wisdom; it is about standing up and taking responsibility for what you wish to change."

For countries’ FP2020 commitments to result in improved family planning uptake, commitments need to translate into increased budgetary allocations and actual expenditure on family planning.

By working with established relationships of trust between friends, PEER generates rich insights into how people view their world, and how they make decisions on key.

Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell, Global Director of The Girl Generation, reflects on commitments made at the Family Planning Summit and the need to address the wider issues, including FGM.

The Girl Generation has partnered with the creators of ‘The Face Of Defiance’, celebrating FGM survivors and campaigners, to bring the photography exhibition to New York.

It is with great sadness that we write that our colleague Gerard O’Brien passed away suddenly on 16th October following a brief acute illness.

Every year 15 million babies are born too soon, and 1 million of them will die from causes related to premature birth.

Options began in 1992 as a group of experts specialising in maternal and reproductive health. Over the last 25 years we have grown into a global team delivering transformative programmes across health systems in more than 60 low income countries.

Today marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance to End FGM. A day where people and organisations come together to raise awareness of the need to abandon the practice of FGM, an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls.

The Girl Generation has launched a campaign led by African youth who are calling for an end to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in one generation. The campaign will spark one million conversations and break the silence which allows the harmful practice to prevail.

We’re excited to announce that we’ll be participating at the 5th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, hosted in Liverpool this year.

International Day of the Girl Child on 11th October saw The Girl Generation continue the campaign to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The ‘I Will End FGM’ campaign gained new champions and reached out to politicians to publicise the programme’s aim of eradicating FGM within one generation.

This week, global leaders are meeting in Kazakhstan to reaffirm their commitments to strengthening primary health care to achieve universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Significant progress has been made since the 1978 Alma-Ata declaration on Primary Health Care in improving health outcomes, with reductions in maternal & child mortality in particular.

Since 2016, The Girl Generation has awarded grants to grassroots groups working to end Female Genital Mutilation. As the only small grants scheme working for this cause, The Grassroots Fund has received positive feedback through its support of small groups at the forefront of the End FGM campaign.

The Girl Generation has launched an initiative to safeguard activists engaged in ending FGM, focusing on their mental health and wellbeing. Designed by End FGM Ambassador and psychotherapist Dr Leyla Hussein, the Emotional Wellbeing project creates support networks and teaches self-care techniques.

Universal Health Coverage Day is an opportunity for us to unite with others to call for stronger, more equitable health systems so that everyone can access high-quality, affordable health care.

By Faith Mwangi-Powell, Global Director, The Girl Generation The Girl Generation is the largest-ever global collective of organisations working to end FGM and this month marks the end of The Girl Generation’s five-year partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development.

One of the key priorities for Options’ work is to reduce unequal relations between women and men. Key inequalities often relate to decision-making, for example a wife not being able to take her child to a health centre without her husband’s permission.

The Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) held in Kigali from the 5-7 March 2019 brought together diverse stakeholders who zealously engaged in discussions on how the continent can build momentum and accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

As The Girl Generation prepares to take its next steps in the campaign to end FGM, some of its youth activists came to London to discuss how greater support could enable Africa’s youth population to end the practice in one generation.

We can't wait to be at the 2019 Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver, Canada, from June 3-6. It’s the world’s largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women in the 21st century.

The sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women and girls is often a key topic for discussion on the global health agenda. However, this isn’t just an issue for low income countries with poor health systems, but a challenge across the world.

We are delighted to share that we have been awarded Prime contracts through DFID’s new International Multi-Disciplinary Programme (IMDP) Framework.

Options was thrilled to participate in the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver, Canada this year. For one week, 8,000+ global delegates gathered for an engaging week of discussion, debate, commitments and pledges to do more to advance the health and rights of women and girls everywhere.

The countdown is on for The Nairobi Summit on the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). This year marks 25 years since the first summit in 1994, held in Cairo.

The UN General Assembly was historic because it heralded the first ever UN Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage. But can it really deliver for those living at the last mile? Find out in this blog by Jo Elms.

On this year’s International Day of the Girl, I want to pay tribute to a very special woman who is dedicated to helping the next generation of girls to have better lives and more opportunities.

As the international community is gathering at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 to mobilise the political will and financial commitments to fully implement the conference’s Programme of Action, this multiblog looks at what it takes to make sexual and reproductive health a reality for those left behind.

Amid growing calls for more open collaboration between civil society, governments and public service providers, we look at what it takes to achieve social accountability (written by Marleen Vellekoop, Evidence for Action (E4A) Mama-Ye, Allison Annette Foster, Vice President WI-HER, LCC)

As developing countries transition away from aid, coordinated action is critical to ensure it does not hinder progress made or undermine the vision of Universal Healthcare Coverage. Our new paper provides a framework for discussions on transition of donors to lower levels of financial support.

To mark International Women’s Day 2020, we will publish a series of spotlight interviews with Options staff working on the front lines in the fight for gender equality. This piece features The Girl Generation's Global Ambassador and leading campaigner against female genital mutilation Leyla Hussein.

To mark International Women’s Day 2020, we will publish a spotlight series with Options staff working on the frontlines in the fight for gender equality. Our second piece features insights from Options' Regional Sustainability Lead Lamine Thiam on the role of family planning in women's empowerment.

To mark International Women’s Day 2020, we feature the contribution of eight female architects in making Nepal's most at-risk hospitals earthquake proof in this spotlight piece.

Sharing knowledge is crucial for advancing health sector accountability and to deliver Universal Health Coverage. In this editorial note, E4A-MamaYe Project Director Marleen Vellekoop provides insights into how the project will make its resources publicly available as global public goods for health.

To mark International Women’s Day 2020, we will publish a spotlight series with Options staff working on the frontlines in the fight for gender equality. Our third piece features insights from Imo Ude Chinasa, Evidence for Action's (E4A) Niger State Advisor, on the importance of quality of care.

In this note, Options' Managing Director Jo Elms shares details on Options’ response to the Covid-19 outbreak.

As the Covid-19 virus spreads across the globe, countries with particularly fragile health systems can take five steps to overcome the challenge of responding to the pandemic and continuing to provide vital services.

Options and the Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Studies have developed a toolkit that helps governments to assess the readiness of their primary healthcare facilities to respond to COVID-19 and keep their frontline workers safe.

Medical interventions alone will not stem the spread of COVID-19. It requires the public to understand and act on containment measures. But what does it take to develop effective health messages that people can hear?

People with physical and mental disabilities are hit harder than other people during health crises, and are more likely to die because emergency responses don't address their needs. Find out what governments can do to protect them during the COVID-19 outbreak.

COVID-19 has placed enormous pressure on leaders to mount an effective emergency response to protect their citizens, all while maintaining access to essential health services. Find out how Options is supporting national pandemic responses.

After decades of record investments in global health in lower income countries, donors have started to look for exit strategies. These three lessons can support governments to become self-sufficient in financing their health goals.