U.S. Department of State’s “DipNote”: Millennium Challenge Corporation Launches ‘Smart Aid’ Series on International Women’s Day
Leigh Stapleton, lead for public engagement and outreach at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), discusses the MCC and the Society for International Development’s launch of a new “Smart Aid” series in celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. Stapleton writes, “The ‘Smart Aid’ series brings together development practitioners, thought leaders, and MCC experts for a roundtable discussion of best practices, innovative approaches, and lessons learned across a range of development topics to foster greater collaboration…” (3/8).

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists”: Immunization: A Powerful Piece of the Equality Puzzle
Anuradha Gupta, deputy CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, discusses the role of gender equality in global immunization coverage and writes, “Gender barriers [are] standing in the way of better immunization coverage” (3/8).

Friends of the Global Fight Blog: For International Women’s Day, Invest in Health and Well-Being for Women and Girls
Katie Broendel, senior communications manager at Friends of the Global Fight, highlights initiatives by the global health community to improve the lives of women and girls, including efforts by UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, ONE’s Poverty is Sexist campaign, PEPFAR’s DREAMS partnership, the U.K. Department for International Development’s Girl Effect, and the Stop TB Partnership’s new gender assessment tool (3/8).

Global Health Technologies Coalition’s “Breakthroughs”: Innovative health tools put the power of protection in women’s hands
In recognition of International Women’s Day, Kat Kelley, GHTC’s senior program assistant, discusses “two novel, female-initiated health technologies [– the woman’s condom and dapivirine ring –] that have the potential to give women and girls greater control over their sexual and reproductive health, empowering them to make informed decisions about whether and when to have children and to protect themselves and their families from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs)” (3/8).