VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia – Here are the United Nations’ top five most inspiring moments in 2013.
1. Malala’s U.N. Speech
“I am here to speak up for the right of education of every child. I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all terrorists and extremists. I do not hate the Tali who shot me.”- Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai celebrated her 16th birthday on July 12, 2013 at the U.N. by giving her first high profile public speech on the importance of education for every child. The same day was designated as Malala Day in support of the U.N. Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative (GEFI.)
More than 500 young leaders convened on the U.N. Youth Assembly and heard Malala’s inspiring speech of the “global struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism.”
“On the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed. And then, out of that silence came, thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born,” said Malala to a rousing crowd.
The Pakistani teenager who was wearing a pink shawl that once belonged to Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan killed in 2007, spoke with grace, “non-violence” and “forgiveness” as she advocated for change and to bring equality into society. Malala, who is now the most recognizable symbol and face of girl’s education, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and was chosen as the runner-up for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2012.
She ended her speech with a stirring declaration: “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first.”
2. Remembering Nelson Mandela
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” – Nelson Mandela
The U.N. family mourned the loss of Nelson Mandela and honored his legacy as former South African leader, freedom fighter, symbol and face of South Africa’s struggle against apartheid, as well as the first black President in South Africa. The U.N. flag was flown at half-staff at the New York world headquarters and the 193-member General Assembly held a minute of silence to commemorate the memory of Mandela also “affectionately known as Madiba.”
The U.N. Secretary-General called him a “giant for justice” and said Mandela “showed what is possible for our world and within each one of us–if we believe, dream and work together for justice and humanity.” Ban spoke to the press after the announcement of Mandela’s death.
“Nelson Mandela was a singular figure on the global stage-a man of quiet dignity and towering achievement, a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration,” added Ban in a press statement. “Many around the world were greatly influenced by his selfless struggle for human dignity, equality and freedom. He touched our lives in deeply personal ways. At the same time, no one did more in our time to advance the values and aspirations of the United Nations.”
3. Ali Maow Maalin – A life dedicated to eradicating polio
“I’m the last smallpox case in the world. I want to help ensure my country will not be last in stopping polio.” – Ali Maow Maalin
Ali Maow Maalin was the last known person in the world to catch smallpox and he was instrumental in helping to end polio in Somalia. It was reported that several weeks before his death, he was still in action and directing the anti-polio campaigns in some of the most volatile areas of Somalia.” World health leaders called Maalin “an inspiration,” according to NPR.
Maalin contracted the naturally occurring small pox in 1977. He was a cook at the Merka hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, but he caught small pox while driving an infected family to the medical clinic. He had not received the small pox vaccination because he was afraid of the pain from the shot. He eventually recovered. In 1980, Somalia and the rest of the world was declared small pox free.
“In that respect, Maalin is extremely important,” says Dr. Donald Hopkins, who directs health programs at The Carter Center. “He is an emblem of the global smallpox eradication campaign.”
Somalia was the last country with smallpox, but Maalin wanted to help ensure that his country would not be the “last place with polio too,” according to Vaccine News.
Maalin officially became a polio vaccinator in 2004. “He organized volunteers, went door to door immunizing children and helped to convince families the vaccine was safe.” He often used his own story to encourage mothers and families to get their children vaccinated. Maalin became a lead advocate in the campaign against polio in Somalia.
The district polio officer died of a sudden illness on July 22, 2013, while leading the polio eradication vaccination campaign in his home district of Merka, Somalia.
4. More children are saved
“The global rate of under-five mortality has roughly halved.” – UNICEF report
In September 2013, the UNICEF reported significant progress has been made in reducing child deaths since 1990. The estimated annual number of under-five deaths has plummeted from 12.6 million to 6.6 million or “17,000 fewer children die each day in 2012 than did in 1990.” The UNICEF further indicates that the world is decreasing under-five deaths at rates faster than any other time during past two decades.
The international children’s fund credits its “global progress” as the result of more effective child survival intervention treatments, groundbreaking ways of bringing critical interventions to the poor and under-served as well as “sustained political commitment.” These efforts have helped to save approximately 90 million lives since the past 22 years.
5. Ending extreme poverty by 2030
“Our vision and our responsibility are to end extreme poverty in all its forms in the context of sustainable development and to have in place the building blocks of sustained prosperity for all.” – High Level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established a High Level Panel to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. Co-chaired by the eminent Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron, the 27-member High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda released a report on “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development.”
“This report sets out a clear roadmap for eradicating extreme poverty by 2030. We need a new global partnership, to finish the job on the current Millennium Development Goals, tackle the underlying causes of poverty, and champion sustainable development,” wrote Prime Minister of U.K. on the High Level Panel website.
The May report reveals the road map, which includes five major transformative changes on eradicating global poverty by 2030:
- Leave No One Behind – This is to ascertain that no person “regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status is denied basic economic opportunities and human rights.”
- Put Sustainable Development at the Core – This targets the incorporation of all aspects of sustainability including social, economic and environmental dimensions and to pursue active steps to reduce the pace of climate change and environmental degradation.
- Transform Economies for Jobs and Inclusive Growth – This goal calls for economic transformation by “harnessing innovation, technology and the potential of business.”
- Build Peace and Effective, Open and Accountable Institutions for All – It aims to help people around the world to “recognize peace and good governance as a core element of well-being, not an optional extra.”
- Forge a New Global Partnership – The new partnership must be grounded by a “new spirit of solidarity, cooperation and mutual accountability” and “based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.” It must be focused around people including those “affected by poverty and exclusion.”
– Flora Khoo
Sources: UN Foundation, BBC, CNN, CNN, UNICEF, HLP, HLP, CNN, UN, UN, NPR, Vaccine News
Photo: Sojouners