Girls today can look up to any number of remarkable women: elected officials, business leaders, athletes and yes, a few celebrities. But if a girl is going to reach her dreams or even change the world, she needs a woman in her corner to help her see her full potential....

It's around 25°F in Davos, Switzerland today. Thousands of world leaders have arrived for the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting. These powerful men and women will spend the next five days setting a course for 2012.

As an ambassador for the global health organization PSI and a...

November 12th is World Pneumonia Day.

Pneumonia is a disease that often flies under the radar of not just the public but even the global health community. It kills more children under 5 years old every year than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined. Yes, read that last line...

I have spent the past 3 years working on global health issues for one simple reason: I don't get it.

I simply cannot fathom that today's technology allows me to tweet to my fans from Cameroon and post blog entries from the Central African Republic, but doesn't help children in...

I recently learned that malaria is the number one cause of death in Cameroon among children under five. Moreover, malaria is now responsible for over 40% of deaths in health care facilities across the country. This means that thousands of children -- as well as adults -- in this West...

June 16 is the International Day of the African Child -- called "Youth Day" in South Africa. Thirty-five years ago today, hundreds of young black children were killed or injured by police as they peacefully marched through the streets of Soweto, South Africa to demand improved education standards...

April 25th is World Malaria Day. Normally, we commemorate these days, in recognition of those suffering worldwide from diseases like malaria. This year, however, I'm part of a group celebrating the day instead and calling on others to do the same.

I'm in New York with my organization PSI (

This weekend I'm joining President Clinton, Sean Penn and a host of other speakers at CGI University, which is essentially the student led version of the Clinton Global Initiative.

I was particularly honored to be invited to speak to more than a thousand young leaders from college...

I'm extremely grateful to be invited to share my voice alongside all these incredible women on International Women's Day. As an ambassador for the global health organization PSI (Population Services International), I've been fortunate to have traveled to places like the Central African Republic and Southern Sudan where I have...

Accidents are the number one cause of deaths for young women. Number two? Cancer deaths. And cervical cancer, in particular. In my role as an "ambassador" for the Stand Up To Cancer initiative, I've learned about the disease, and was stunned by the numbers: every 47 minutes, a...

It's hard to believe that the holiday season is coming up so soon. It's my favorite time of year; when I can stop, put work on hold and celebrate the important people in my life. As usual, I have plenty of gifts to buy for close friends and family. But...

As we drink water straight from the faucet, it's hard to believe that one in six people around the world lack clean drinking water, and every 15 seconds another child dies because of it.

Today, Tuesday, March 23rd, I'm in D.C. representing the global health organization PSI for a series...

The earthquake that struck Haiti last week has left an already fragile nation in turmoil and it has put our lives bluntly in perspective. I've found myself glued to the news, as I'm sure we've all been, watching images of disaster flash across the screen. I'm sickened and heartbroken by...

I love New York in the fall. Normally I'm here for work to promote a film or a record, but this time, I'm here for a very different reason. I'm in town to talk about my visit to Southern Sudan this past April. That visit changed my life. I remember...