Paula Donovan
Encyclopedia
Paula Donovan is an American AIDS
and women's rights
activist. She is the co-executive director with Stephen Lewis
of AIDS-Free World, an international advocacy organization that works to promote more urgent and effective global responses to HIV
/AIDS. In recognition of her work in HIV/AIDS advocacy, Donovan received the The Salem Award for Human Right and Social Justice in 2005 and an Alumni Humanitarian Award from Fairfield University
in 2007.
Donavan is also an advocate for women's rights
. She called for the United Nations
to create a UN agency for women with financial and political clout. Her efforts resulted in the UN General Assembly passing a resolution which supported a new consolidated body – to be headed by an under-secretary-general – to deal with issues concerning women. The resolution merged the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women, the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women
(UN-INSTRAW).
Donovan previously served as a Senior Advisor in the office of the United Nations
Secretary General's Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa and is a 20-year veteran of international development, women's rights and HIV/AIDS. In the early '90s, she worked at UNICEF and ran the global advocacy campaign for breastfeeding. Later, she became chief aide to UNICEF's deputy executive director, and spent four years in Kenya as East and Southern Africa's Regional AIDS advisor for UNICEF.
.
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
and women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
activist. She is the co-executive director with Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Henry Lewis, is a Canadian politician, broadcaster and diplomat. He was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party for most of the 1970s. During many of the those years as leader, his father David Lewis was simultaneously the leader of the Federal New Democratic Party...
of AIDS-Free World, an international advocacy organization that works to promote more urgent and effective global responses to HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS. In recognition of her work in HIV/AIDS advocacy, Donovan received the The Salem Award for Human Right and Social Justice in 2005 and an Alumni Humanitarian Award from Fairfield University
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...
in 2007.
Donavan is also an advocate for women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
. She called for the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to create a UN agency for women with financial and political clout. Her efforts resulted in the UN General Assembly passing a resolution which supported a new consolidated body – to be headed by an under-secretary-general – to deal with issues concerning women. The resolution merged the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women, the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women
United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women
Since 1979, the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women has been the leading UN Institute devoted to research, capacity-development and knowledge management with the goal of achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment...
(UN-INSTRAW).
Donovan previously served as a Senior Advisor in the office of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Secretary General's Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa and is a 20-year veteran of international development, women's rights and HIV/AIDS. In the early '90s, she worked at UNICEF and ran the global advocacy campaign for breastfeeding. Later, she became chief aide to UNICEF's deputy executive director, and spent four years in Kenya as East and Southern Africa's Regional AIDS advisor for UNICEF.
Education
Donovan earned both her Bachelor of Arts in English in 1977 and Masters in Corporate and Political Communications in 1988 from Fairfield UniversityFairfield University
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...
.