Women Deliver 2013 is happening this week in Kuala Lumpur!

Thousands of participants from around the world, including government leaders, policymakers, healthcare professionals, NGO representatives, corporate leaders, and global media outlets are taking part in what is expected to be one of the largest global events of the decade to focus on the health and empowerment of girls and women.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the people and government of Pakistan on successful conduct of national and provincial elections in a statement issued on Sunday. He also praised the significant turnout for the elections, especially the youth and first time voters, who came out and let their voices be heard.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Pakistan are making efforts to ensure credibility of the polling process and increase public confidence for the elections, and it further supports a voter-education campaign targeted at inclusion of youth and women.

Have a look at some of the photos from the elections taken and shared by UNDP’s Country Director in Pakistan, Marc-André Franche, on his Twitter page and read more about how Pakistani women work to strengthen democracy in their country.

Sunday is International Day of the Midwife.

Childbirth is perhaps the riskiest and most miraculous time in a woman’s life. And midwives are truly the unsung heroines of the challenge to reduce the risks women face in brinworld hereging forth life.

Credit: UNFPA

Investing in healthy forests is not only vital for human and environmental well-being, but also crucial in the transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient green economy.

See what else the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) says on this issue here: http://j.mp/11xL3W3

See the latest from the UN Forum on Forests here: http://j.mp/LAT0QO

In this photo, upland women weed their rice fields, an integrated method of agro-forestry in Mokpon Village, Laos.

UN Photo/Lamphay Inthakoun

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and partners are more determined than ever to help change the face of science.

Women are half of humanity, but make up under 30 percent of physicists, engineers and computer scientists in many countries worldwide. Gender inequality in science must be overcome. Science needs female talent to move forward. 

Meet five women scientists being honoured with the L’Oreal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science for their exceptional research and social impact. 

Since the launch of the program, there have been 77 laureates (two of whom have later won the Nobel Prize), and by the end of 2013, 1729 women scientists from more than 100 countries would have benefitted from the program.

Friday 8 March is International Women’s Day.

The United Nations will celebrate the courage of and progress made by women all over the world.

In this photo taken from UN’s archives, delegates gathered for the first Commission on the Status of Women in February 1947 “to raise the status of women, irrespective of nationality, race, language or religion, to equality with men in all fields of human enterprise.”

With the support of the United Nations and partners, an all-female team will climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to highlight the importance of women’s rights and in particular, education for girls.

“Our goal is to have the most professional UN police service possible. However, one cannot be a modern, professional police organization without encouraging equal participation of women and men,” said Ann-Marie Orler, the outgoing Police Adviser. She is pictured here on a recent trip to the UN Peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

Enough is enough.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay welcomes the report of the Verma Committee as a groundbreaking basis for action against violence against women and urges the Governnment of India to follow through on its vision and recommendations.