The future of global security will depend in large part on the fate of today’s 1.2 billion young people. Do youth between the ages of 15 and 24—a critical phase of life—possess  the necessary social, physical, intellectual, and financial building blocks to underpin productive, healthy adulthoods? Or do they lack this solid base, putting them at risk of personal and social instability?

“Disrespect and abuse during facility-based childbirth is a very widespread phenomena with different manifestations,” said Rima Jolivet from the Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) during a recent webinar hosted by MHTF and Ariadne Labs on the need for respectful maternity care (RMC). Jolivet was joined by Katherine Semrau from Ariadne Labs, Rose Molina from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Ariadne Labs, Saraswathi Vedam from Birth Place Lab, and David Sando from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“The aspirations of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs are really high, and the data that will enable that have a long way to go,” said Rachel Snow from the United Nations Population Fund at a Wilson Center event on July 14, 2017.

More than 60 percent of the world’s refugees and 80 percent of internally displaced persons (IDPs) now live in urban areas. In contrast to traditional refugee camps, which have mainly been in rural areas, cities and other urban settings can offer refugees greater economic opportunities, a degree of anonymity, and better access to services—at least in theory, said Mary Nell Wegner, executive director of the Maternal Health Task Force, at the Wilson Center on May 31. However, in practice, the urban advantage may be a myth, as local systems, already strained by growing populations, are not well equipped to handle a large influx of people with complex needs.

Our nine-part “Choke Point: Tamil Nadu” series with Circle of Blue has been a must-read on the conflicting demands for water, food, and energy in the South Indian state. In May’s most popular post, S. Gopikrishna Warrier introduces us to Chennai’s tech-savvy social entrepreneurs, who are providing the city’s residents with real-time information on the risk of flooding. (The ninth and final post in the series was published yesterday; catch up on all of them at “Choke Point: Tamil Nadu”).

Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the executive director of UNFPA and an inspiring leader in the global health community, passed at his home on June 4 at the age of 68.

KODAIKANAL, India – In the dogged community of eco-activists, journalists, local leaders, and artists that find common ground defending Tamil Nadu from rapacious development and rampant pollution, Nityanand Jayaraman stands out.