Discussion of climate change typically involves natural phenomena: raging wildfires, record flooding, ruinous drought. Less frequently examined, but equally important, is the effect of our warming planet on a child’s right to education.
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The last decades have seen an impressive growth in school participation in developing countries. As countries have made remarkable progress toward universal primary school completion, the focus in the development community has shifted to reaching the most disadvantaged children and improving the quality of education. It has been recognized that even though universal primary completion is a major milestone for many countries, the quality of an education system cannot be assessed only by its ability to enroll and retain students. Most importantly, school should teach valuable skills that will help children achieve their full potential in life.
FHI 360’s Education Policy and Data Center (EPDC) has released a research brief, “Long Path to Achieving Education for All: School Access, Retention, and Learning in 20 countries,” which uses learning pyramids as a visual tool to show cumulative achievement of education systems and demonstrate how many children enroll in school, whether they remain enrolled until they reach a certain grade, and what percentage of them learn how to read. The report finds that although access to education is close to universal in most countries, not all of the students who enter school reach upper primary grades. Grade repetition is a common experience for many primary students, creating inefficiencies in education systems. Finally, a large number of those who reach the upper primary grades never gain basic literacy skills, defined as the lowest benchmark of a standardized learning assessment.
Pyramids: starting from access, through retention, to learning
The pyramids provide a snapshot of a country’s progress in providing universal school entry (access), keeping students in school (survival), and finally, teaching them at least minimum reading skills (learning). To measure school access, EPDC uses the percentage of 14-year-olds who have ever entered school. Retention is described by school survival rates — the percentage of enrolled students expected to reach a given grade. The level of learning is determined by using data from standardized learning assessments, including SACMEQ, PIRLS, SERCE, and PASEC. -
I am a native of Kaski District, near the Annapurna mountain range in Nepal. I grew up in a large family with my parents and six siblings. I got married at the early age of 14 when I was still studying in grade five. I had four happy years with my husband until he began drinking heavily. His drunken rages were accompanied by physical abuse. I tried to withstand the abuse, hoping it would subside. Unfortunately, it did not. As the abuse increased, I left him and moved back in with my parents.
My family was not well-off. Adding another mouth to feed was a burden for them. Because I was young and could take care of myself, I moved to the lakeside city of Pokhara, where I started working as a dishwasher for a local restaurant. After some time, I noticed that co-workers with the same pay as me had significantly better lifestyles. They wore expensive clothes and had extra money to spend, while I was barely making ends meet. When I asked them how they were able to live so well, they said they were all involved in sex work. Enticed by the glamour of extra money, I soon got involved in sex work too.
A few months later, my husband returned, wanting to mend our relationship and start fresh. He said he had given up his old ways, and I accepted his request. We moved in together and started working as daily wage laborers. I stopped the sex work.
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A version of this post originally appeared on SEEP Network Blog. Reposted with permission.
Why should economic strengthening (ES) projects monitor and measure how they affect children? Until recently, the development community has largely assumed that greater household economic welfare also leads to improved well-being for children. While evidence indicates that there is a correlation between increased household economic welfare and child well-being , studies have also shown that in the short-term, household economic activities may have no or even negative impacts on children’s well-being , such as risks of decreased school attendance or increased child labor.
For the past six years, the Supporting Transformation by Reducing Insecurity and Vulnerability with Economic Strengthening (STRIVE) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by FHI 360, and the Child Protection in Crisis (CPC) Network’s Task Force on Livelihoods and Economic Strengthening have sought to increase our understanding of the link between households’ economic situation and children’s well-being. STRIVE and the CPC Network’s new technical brief Why Measuring Child-Level Impacts Can Help Achieve Lasting Economic Change is based in their experience and research, and shares emerging lessons and relevant recommendations for both practitioners and donors seeking to maximize the benefits of economic strengthening projects and support sustainable growth.
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AVAC, a global advocacy organization for HIV prevention, recently released AVAC Report 2013: Research and Reality. The report urges the biomedical HIV prevention field to address gaps between the promising data from recent clinical trials and the complicated reality of implementing new options. The need for a renewed focus on the research agenda for women’s HIV prevention is also emphasized.The report calls on funders and researchers to learn from the lessons offered by recent HIV prevention trials with better problem solving, more critical thinking and coordinated action around large-scale human trials; faster rollout of proven options; and ongoing research for new advances in HIV prevention methods that women and men will want to use.
FHI 360 plays a pivotal role in HIV prevention research. Data from FHI 360 research informed some of the report’s findings, such as those on treatment as prevention, male circumcision and microbicides. Ward Cates, MD, MPH, President Emeritus and Distinguished Scientist with FHI 360 along with other leaders in the field, was recognized for the contributions he made to the report.
Research and Reality offers four key recommendations:
- Launch complex trials to answer complex questions
- Map rollout beyond pilot projects
- Invest in innovative approaches to virologic suppression
- Align programs, models and funding to stay on track to end AIDS
Learn more about the AVAC Report 2013: Research and Reality.
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New strategies reach men who have sex with men with HIV prevention and care services in Ghana
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In Ghana, men who have sex with men often fail to access critical HIV information and services due to deep-rooted fear of social stigma. The Ghana Men’s Study, conducted in 2011,1 revealed a high level of HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men in five sites in Ghana (17.5 percent), with the highest rates in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions: 34.4 percent and 13.6 percent respectively. This study also found that less than half of the men who have sex with men population surveyed had been reached with HIV prevention services.
Since 2010 year, the Strengthening HIV/AIDS Response Partnership with Evidenced-Based Results (SHARPER) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by FHI 360, has worked to reduce HIV transmission among men who have sex with men and other most-at-risk groups. The project operates in 30 districts with high HIV prevalence, with the goal of reaching 178,000 individuals with health behavior messages and improved access to health services by June 2014.
Before 2012, SHARPER relied on peer education alone to reach this key population. We found, however, that less than 10 percent of the men in this group referred by peer educators for HIV testing were positive. Clearly, new strategies were needed to identify those most at risk of HIV and link them with prevention and care services.
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The need for better HIV prevention options for women has driven the search for a microbicide, a product that could be used to reduce the risk of HIV infection. Microbicides hold promise as a new method that women can control — or at least initiate —to protect themselves from HIV.
Progress in clinical trials suggests that an effective microbicide, which could be inserted in the vagina or rectum, may be within reach. But as we prepare for the eventual introduction of a microbicide, we must recognize that women will still face gender-related barriers to its use.
With support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, FHI 360 conducted two gender analyses — one in Kenya and another one with Sonke Gender Justice in South Africa — to identify these barriers and ways to address them. We reviewed microbicide studies, analyzed HIV and gender policies and population-level data, and interviewed key stakeholders. Results of the analysis were presented today at the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa. Notably, many of the barriers identified are not exclusive to microbicide use; they also apply to other areas of women’s sexual and reproductive health and can be addressed now.
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Fighting HIV/AIDS while strengthening the national health system: A winning combination in Zambia
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What will it take to get to zero? The search for answers to this question will be a major focus of this week’s International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa, the largest gathering of its kind on the continent. In Zambia, while we are still a long way off from zero, we have made monumental progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Since May 2009, the Zambia Prevention, Care and Treatment Partnership (ZPCT II) project, with support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has both strengthened and expanded access to quality HIV/AIDS services in Zambia. In close partnership with the Government of Zambia, the project operates in six provinces (Central, Copperbelt, Northwestern, Luapula, Northern and Muchinga), supporting services in 60 percent of the nation’s districts and nearly 50 percent of the government health centers in the supported provinces.
ZPCT II provides a comprehensive package of HIV/AIDS services that is improving the health and well-being of millions of people living in Zambia. Services include HIV testing and counseling, prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, clinical care, male circumcision and antiretroviral therapy, which are supported by strengthened laboratory and pharmaceutical systems. Nearly 40 percent of Zambians receiving antiretroviral therapy access these services at ZPCT II-supported sites. Over 2.9 million people have received counseling and testing services, and 70,000 men have been circumcised through the project. Over 870,000 pregnant women have received PMTCT services in ZPCT II-supported health facilities, which has greatly assisted the Government’s push to eliminate mother-to-child transmission.
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Toward an AIDS-Free Generation
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Today’s generation of young people has never known a world without HIV. Yet, according to a new report released by UNICEF, Children and AIDS: Sixth Stocktaking Report 2013, the promise is in reach of a world where no child is born with HIV and all children remain uninfected through adolescence. In the 33 years since the first HIV diagnosis, we have both seen the devastating impact of the disease and made impressive progress in HIV prevention and care.
The introduction of lifesaving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs has reduced mother-to-child transmission of HIV and increased life expectancy among perinatally infected infants. The rate of HIV infection among children is rapidly decreasing; since 2009, new HIV infections among children younger than 15 years of age have declined by 35 percent. Despite the enormous progress, much more must be done, especially for adolescents, before we are able to achieve an AIDS-free generation.According to the report, an estimated 2.1 million adolescents were living with HIV at the end of 2012. Although the overall number of global AIDS-related deaths for all ages declined by 30 percent between 2005 and 2012, AIDS-related deaths among adolescents increased by 50 percent during the same time period. Girls are disproportionately affected. In 2012, an estimated two-thirds of all new HIV infections among adolescents ages 15–19 occurred among girls. In Gabon, Sierra Leone and South Africa, girls accounted for more than 80 percent of all new infections among adolescents. Adolescent key affected populations — injecting drug users, men who have sex with men and individuals who trade or sell sex — are also extremely vulnerable. In Asia and the Pacific, more than 95 percent of new HIV infections occur among this population. This group of adolescents faces particular barriers to accessing services because of social stigma, violence and laws that criminalize risky behaviors.
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Center on Technology and Disability: Leveling the field for all learners
An Interview with
Jacqueline Hess, Director, Center on Technology and Disability, FHI 360
What is the Center on Technology and Disability and how is it unique?FHI 360’s Center on Technology and Disability is a collaborative effort with American Institutes for Research, PACER Center and an experienced team of researchers and practitioners. Together, these partners strengthen the ability of individuals and institutions to understand and embrace evidence-based technology, tools and strategies that level the playing field for children and youth with disabilities in the United States.
The scope of FHI 360’s collaboration is unique in terms of audience reach and the breadth and depth of professional and personal development activities. Individually, each organization has made major contributions to technology and education. Combined, the CTD team will make available to the field the most influential and knowledgeable thought leaders in assistive and instructional technology. CTD will provide accessible information resources and universal and targeted technical assistance to children and youth with disabilities, families and service providers, state and local education and health agencies, teachers, teacher preparation programs, researchers, parent training and information centers, and family advocacy organizations.
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Why adolescents?While care and treatment programs for people living with HIV (PLHIV) can be found in every country, there is a gap in provision of ongoing, supportive counseling for adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV). Adolescence is often when young people begin having sex, which increases chances that adolescents living with HIV might pass the infection to partners who are HIV negative. Another concern is that girls living with HIV may become pregnant; if they do not know about or have access to services for preventing mother-to-child transmission, they can pass the infection to their babies. Given that adolescents are a large sub-group of those living with HIV, there is a need for tailored interventions and support systems that address adolescents’ unique vulnerabilities.
