Children born today will face significantly more scorching heatwaves and droughts in their lifetimes compared to their grandparents.

By: Benjamin Viénot, Country Director for Action Contre la Faim, Maureen Philippon, Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Malik Allauona, Country Director for Save the Children

By Samantha Halyk

As we witness the novel coronavirus spread across Canada and from one country to the next, it is clear that COVID-19 knows no borders. This pandemic is a global threat and our shared humanity demands a global response.

Currently, there are 56 long-term ‘Drinking Water Advisories’ in First Nations communities - 43 boil-water and 13 do-not-consume advisories.

Every seven seconds, somewhere in the world, a girl under the age of 15 is married. Just when they should be looking ahead to a future full of hope, their opportunities are cut short. They can be isolated. Prevented from going to school, seeing their family or accessing healthcare. They are often prevented from working outside of the home, which results in not having their own income and little decision-making power regarding the resources in their household.

I still remember my first contractions the night of my birthday. I was in denial and absolutely not ready to become a mother just yet: I had an “important” meeting the next day at work, I hadn’t purchased the baby car seat, and even my baby shower was planned for the following weekend. It could not be happening a month earlier! Yet, it did, and a couple of hours later, I had my little boy screaming on my chest. Adam was a premature baby (a premature birth is one that occurs before the start of the 37th week of pregnancy) with low birth weight. In the first 24 hours of his life, he had difficulty maintaining his body temperature, but overall he was a healthy baby. Health professionals monitored him closely while we were bonding “skin to skin” under a warm blanket. I felt privileged to be able to give birth in a safe and intimate space, with midwives providing quality care to my son and myself. Four years later, I am grateful to watch Adam growing healthy and strong.

Young people are changing the world today: they are advocating for positive change and shaping a gender equal world. From June 3 to 6, up to 1,400 young people from around the world came together in Vancouver to speak up, challenge discriminatory norms, collaborate and build networks. These inspirational young leaders, who are advancing gender equality in their communities and countries, joined more than 8,000 others from a multitude of sectors at Women Deliver, the world’s largest conference on gender equality.

Have you ever seen a just-born premature baby? Don’t worry, most people haven’t. I can tell you they’re generally no bigger than the size of a tissue box, limbs included. Everything you might already think is small and precious about a full-term baby, is even smaller, more fragile and more frightening to touch in a premature baby. And their risk for infection, disease, disability and complications in development are much higher. The truth is, premature births are largely preventable if we address major risk factors. Yet, each year, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm around the world, with the lion’s share in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.