Estimated read time: 4 minutes World Health Worker Week celebrates and acknowledges the invaluable contributions made by frontline health workers worldwide. Who are these unsung heroes? Frontline health workers are made up of all types of health workers, including nurses, midwives, community health workers, and doctors. Together, they provide care to their communities and form the backbone of healthcare systems. In developing countries, healthcare workers often go unpaid to ensure communities can access the essential medical services they need, especially during times of crises.   Empower ..read more

Estimated read time: 4 minutes Water is seemingly simple yet essential and too often taken for granted. This World Water Day is our chance to pause and reflect on the impact this life-giving and sustaining resource in our own lives.   Globally, 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water. But clean water is so much more than just water to drink. Clean water is a ripple effect that can change everything for a child!  Clean water is health. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is the cornerstone of human health and well-being. Adequate sanitation facilities an ..read more

Estimated read time: 4 minutes 1 in 5 girls globally are married before they turn 18 – that is approximately 640 million women and girls alive today who were married as children. When a girl is married as a child, the impacts are far reaching, not only hurting the girl, but her entire community. This International Women’s Day let’s work to put an end to child marriage in all places it occurs. Here are 3 ways in which child marriage impacts a girl, her community, and the world. 1. Child marriage keeps girls from school. Currently, nearly 130 million girls are out of school. When a girl gets mar ..read more

Estimated read time: Three minutes  The Bible calls Christians to pray for their government leaders. And at this year’s Advocacy Summit, four high school students from Texas had the opportunity to fulfill that call in person with their member of Congress! Igniting a passion for service and action The Advocacy Summit brought hundreds of World Vision supporters togethers on Capitol Hill to speak up about growing child hunger. Attendees came from 32 states and all walks of life, including pastors, teachers, farmers, and military service members. But this year, a new group of Advocates joined ..read more

Estimated read time: Three minutes Twenty years ago, it was almost inevitable that if you were pregnant and HIV positive, your baby would be born HIV positive with a slim chance of living to age 5. And if they didn’t contract the disease at birth, they would likely contract it during breastfeeding. Thankfully, this is no longer the case. In 2003, Republican president George W. Bush, worked with Congress to create the most successful, life-saving global-health program in history, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR’s innovative, target-driven, and science-based preve ..read more

Estimated read time: Four minutes José was only 14 when the Bright Futures project came to his coffee farming community in La Florida, Marcala, in the western part of Honduras. Families in La Florida have been growing and harvesting coffee for generations. It was common to see children going to work in the fields, wielding machetes or carrying heavy loads, often at the expense of going to school. Bright Futures had a different vision for the community. The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and run by World Vision in Honduras, partners with communities to reduce child labor and pr ..read more

Estimated read time: Two minutes “He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.” — Psalm 72:14 Violence against children, in all its forms, takes a disastrous toll on the physical, mental, and social development of the more than 1 billion children around the world who are affected. They deserve a real childhood free of violence. Globally, half of the world’s children are exposed to violence every year. This violence includes abuse, neglect, exploitation, and physical, sexual, and emotional violence — including commercial sexual exploitation ..read more

Estimated read time: Five minutes Sumaiya, a 17-year-old girl from a marginalized family from Jamalpur, Bangladesh, is determined not to become a child bride. In Jamalpur, more than 52% of girls are married before the age of 18. Despite pressure from her relatives, who believe marrying her off would lessen their burden, Sumaiya sought help from the South Katherbil Adolescent Club of World Vision Bangladesh.   This group fights for social justice in their community and acts as agents of change. The club teaches life skills and rights-based awareness to build confidence and leadership withi ..read more

Story contributed by Vicki Bentley, a World Vision Advocate in New York. Estimated read time: Seven minutes “Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want. (Amos 5:21-24 MSG).  What can I possibly do to help? The question had been quietly stalking me for months. As every day brought more news of war, natural disasters, famine, and disease across the globe, I felt increasingly helpless. The scale of it all was overwhelming and reached far beyond my own meager resources and influence. It seemed futile to even try ..read more

Estimated read time: Two minutes World Vision welcomes today’s introduction of the Mental Health in International Development and Humanitarian Settings (MINDS) Act into the House and Senate. For more than two years, World Vision Advocates have supported the child-friendly bill that will modernize emotional support and mental health services for children and their caretakers across foreign assistance programs.   Thank you to our congressional partners Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), and Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) whose bipartisan leadership made this moment possible.  ..read more