Most of my mornings follow a consistent pattern. I wake up early, hop on my stationary bike, and watch the news while my leg muscles scream for mercy. As I pedal away each morning, I can’t help but notice that the stories on the news all seem to tell a story of despair. Hurricanes, mass murders, suicides, famine, and heat waves.

Is the human race doomed? 

With a constant feed of news highlighting everything that is wrong with the world, it is easy to feel like our voices and our actions don't really make a difference. Can I, Judith Rowland living in New York, really do anything to make the world a better place? 

What the media often misses out on is the story of cooperation and how partnerships between NGOs, governments, and the private sector have helped to lift people out of desperate situations like extreme poverty. I know that the word 'cooperation' conjures up images of those lame posters in primary school that advertised that there is "No I In Team" but, truly, partnerships have been an absolutely essential piece of the movement to end extreme poverty. 

Back in 2000, countries came together to put in place the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight goals that the world would use as a roadmap to work toward ending extreme poverty. These goals have been wildly successful. Don't believe me? Here are some examples: 

- From 1990 to 2010 the world contributed to a 22% decline in the number of people living in extreme poverty

- Between 2000 and 2013 4.3 million deaths were averted from malaria

- By 2012 2.3 billion had access to an improved drinking water source

- By 2012 all developing regions were close to or have achieved gender parity in primary education

Yeah, pretty rad. 

On May 28 I attended a forum at the United Nations that discussed the important role that partnerships will play in the Sustainable Development Goals (also known as the Global Goals, these goals will pick up where the MDGs left off). Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, explained that, "no single entity, no organization, and no nation can solve today's problems alone." 

Just after, President Bill Clinton took the stage and highlighted the important work that he is doing with Clinton Global Initiative to build health systems in developing countries. Clinton just got back from a trip to Liberia where he met with leaders like President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to discuss her country's ongoing efforts to transition from responding to outbreaks to building strong and resilient health systems. Clinton concluded that, "a lot of good things are happening, but they don’t make the headlines because they aren't about war and conflict, they're about cooperation." 

I couldn't agree more with President Clinton's statement, that the "modern world will be built or brought down based on whether we choose inclusive partnerships." 

One of the issues of extreme poverty on which partnerships are incredibly essential is sanitation. The global community has made incredible progress in giving all children access to improved sanitation thanks to contributions from donor governments like the United States, demonstrations of political will in countries like India, and investments from corporations like Unilever who are dedicated to enhancing the livelihood of millions. This is just the beginning.

Do you agree that all children should have access to improved sanitation? Sign the petition now in the ‘Take Action Box’!