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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Diverse functions of the INEE Minimum Standards in education in emergencies
An Interview with
Ken Rhodes, Deputy Director for Strategy and Development, Global Learning, FHI 360
The 360° response by FHI 360 offers an integrated approach in addressing challenges to human development. Can you provide some examples of how this philosophy is implemented in your educational initiatives in post-conflict and fragile areas within Africa?
FHI 360 works in multiple sectors, including education, health, civil society, peacebuilding, the environment, economic development and livelihoods. We believe in a context-sensitive and strengths-based approach. Education that is context specific really tries to address the challenges that exist by understanding linguistic, cultural, political, economic and historical factors that have affected the education system. Our 360° approach enables us to address these challenges by bringing together experts across sectors.
In South Sudan, where sadly there has just been a major civil conflict, our education team will work very closely with our peacebuilding team to develop strategies for promoting reconciliation and building peace in the context of our education work. Another example is in northern Nigeria where a major challenge is to provide options to integrate modern education in Koranic schools, which many children attend, and to improve hygiene, water and sanitation in these schools.
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Making a difference on World Asthma Day
Written by
What would you do if someone next to you — on the bus, on the subway, in line at the grocery store or at the gym — suddenly had trouble breathing because of asthma?
You would help.
But what if you could help that person with a few clicks of your mouse before he or she lost a single breath?
This Asthma Awareness Month (May) and World Asthma Day (May 6), you can.
How? By taking the following actions to spread the message that asthma — a chronic lung disease that can be disabling or deadly and affects 1 in 12 people in the United States, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI) — can be controlled with proper treatment.
- Thunderclap: Get Asthma Aware
Join the NHLBI’s Asthma Thunderclap by 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time today (May 6) to increase asthma awareness. Using Thunderclap, you can share your message about asthma through your favorite social media channels in a single stroke. - Twitter chat: Coping with Asthma
U.S. News and the NHLBI will co-host a Twitter chat about coping with asthma on May 14, 2:00–3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Join us and follow the chat by using #AsthmaChat.
- Thunderclap: Get Asthma Aware
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AIDSWatch 2014: Science and advocacy coming together
An Interview with
Cornelius Baker, Technical Advisor, HIV and AIDS and Community Health, FHI 360
What is AIDSWatch?
AIDSWatch is an annual event in DC. Hundreds of people come from across the United States to educate members of Congress and other senior government officials about the impact of HIV in their communities and lives and to discuss strategies for ending the HIV epidemic. Public health officials, policy advocates, leaders from community-based organizations and people living with HIV seek to gain vital support for lifesaving programs and services.
The event includes a briefing on key policy issues and HIV-related programs, scheduled visits with members of Congress and the Positive Leadership awards reception. Participants learn about the budget and appropriations process, critical programs serving people with HIV — such as the Ryan White CARE Act and the Affordable Care Act — and effective HIV prevention strategies. The event includes a “telling your story” session to help participants communicate their experience to policymakers and networking sessions to share resources.
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The future of workforce development
An Interview with
Lara Goldmark, Director, Private Sector Innovations, FHI 360
How has the definition of workforce development changed?Workforce development used to be considered the “poor cousin of education.” It was defined as providing training to produce more and better-prepared workers. Thought leaders have since pushed for a more expansive view. Workforce development is now considered to be more than a single program or initiative. It is an interconnected set of solutions to meet employment needs: It prepares workers with needed skills, emphasizes the value of workplace learning and addresses the hiring demands of employers from the outset. The goal is to place workers in jobs where there are career development opportunities.
Why does workforce development matter globally?
Unemployment is a major issue for countries at various stages of development. A rapid increase in the youth population combined with social and political challenges has exacerbated the unemployment crisis in some of these countries. Workforce development is a logical and important solution to these problems, but only if it is approached in an effective way.
What are key elements of an effective approach to workforce development?
At the national or regional level, there must be an alignment between skills development and public- and private-sector investments to ensure that job creation keeps pace with the preparation of the workforce. Also, program quality — especially demand responsiveness — should be emphasized over scale. Scale is important, but there have been too many large-scale supply-driven efforts in the past.
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As children fare, so do nations. An investment in the well-being, health, and development of children today will be reflected in the health and development of their communities and nations. A smart investment in the future saves lives, saves money, and can be scaled up to reach children, wherever they are.
Breastfeeding is a smart investment.
Nutrition during the 1,000 days of a mother’s pregnancy until her child’s second birthday is a critical window of opportunity to give a child a healthy start at life. And beginning from birth, breastfeeding offers food security for infants and young children everywhere. Evidence shows that improving breastfeeding practices could save the lives of 800,000 children annually, and millions more would benefit from the increased immunity and nutrition breast milk provides.
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Like many countries, cash is an extremely common form of monetary transaction in Bangladesh, including among U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) implementing partners. Paying for something as basic as participant expenses at workshops, for example, often entails a finance person from Dhaka, the capital, traveling to rural communities with a bag of cash to make disbursements directly. This method is costly (in terms of travel and per diem costs for the cash runner) and risky (in terms of potential for theft and graft) and can result in lost productivity.The introduction of mobile money to Bangladesh in 2011 changed this equation by making it possible for implementing partners to send money directly to individual program participants and staff without leaving their desks in Dhaka. Mobile money is an emerging technology that provides convenient and affordable financial services through use of a mobile phone.
Having the option of using mobile money is great, but making the change to any new technology or process is rarely easy. And, unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Finding the right mobile financial service for a project’s needs is crucial but not the end-all. Staff and program participants need to understand the benefits of mobile money and feel comfortable using it.
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A core part of FHI 360’s mission is to improve the overall health of communities around the world. Our scientists work across disciplines to improve outcomes and develop interventions that have the greatest impact. FHI 360 has been at the forefront of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and also provides leadership to address the emerging global health issue of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Given that the needs of NCD and HIV programming often intersect, FHI 360 integrates accessible and affordable clinical care and prevention for NCDs with HIV programs.
On April 15, 2014, FHI 360 and its partners will host a one-day symposium to discuss challenges and opportunities faced by the NCD and HIV global communities. Our co-host in this live-streamed event is the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) Centre for Global Non-Communicable Diseases. Other collaborators are the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the University College London (UCL) Grand Challenge of Global Health. The purpose of the symposium is to bring together policymakers, nongovernmental organizations and researchers to explore how the NCD and HIV communities can collaborate for more common, efficient and cost-effective strategies in the prevention and control of NCDs and HIV.
One of the speakers at the symposium will be Peter R. Lamptey, MD, DrPH, MPH, FHI 360 Distinguished Scientist and President Emeritus. Dr. Lamptey, who leads FHI 360’s NCD initiatives, is a member of the Lancet Commission on the Future Health of Africa. He recently joined a group of leading experts to write The Road to 25×25: How Can the Five-Target Strategy Reach its Goal?, which recently appeared in the journal The Lancet Global Health. The article discusses the emerging global epidemic of NCDs and offers strategies that the World Health Organization (WHO) can use to meet its target of a 25 percent relative reduction in NCD mortality by 2025. It also provides insights as to how WHO and the global community can work together to address WHO’s Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013–2020.Go here to register for an online ticket to the symposium. Tomorrow at 9:00am BST, you can watch a live stream of the event here. A full recording of the event will be made available later in the week. Visit our website to learn more about FHI 360’s work in NCDs, HIV/AIDS and other areas of health.
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Mentors can make a huge difference in the lives of young people. I have learned that firsthand in the last five years as a volunteer mentor for students in the Bridge to Employment (BTE) program in Wilmington, Delaware.
The BTE program, funded by Johnson & Johnson and managed by FHI 360, helps students from disadvantaged communities learn about health careers and what they need to do to enter these fields. Higher education, whether through a four-year college or a two-year technical degree, is often the outcome. A key element of the program is providing one-on-one mentoring to students to ensure college-bound students enroll and succeed.
I usually meet my mentee, Kevin, once a week. We talk about school, homework, BTE activities and how he will achieve his goals. Kevin started out as an average student, doing only what he needed to do to get by in school. After more than two years in BTE, Kevin has learned public speaking skills, confidence and more about careers and the college education he will need to achieve his goals. Now, he is an honor roll student and president of his senior class. Lately, our conversations revolve around which college Kevin will attend and what financial supports he will need.
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The Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance III (FANTA) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and managed by FHI 360, recently released Strengthening Nutrition in Ghana: A Report on FANTA Activities from 2007 to 2013.
The report summarizes FANTA’s work in Ghana over the past six years. This work, which focused on strengthening nutrition programs and services and on integrating nutrition services into the Ghanaian health system, was carried out in collaboration with the Ghana Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service and other stakeholders.
The project had three main objectives:
- Introduce community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) and scale up integrated CMAM services within the existing Ghanaian health system
- Introduce nutrition assessment, counseling and support (NACS) and scale up integrated NACS services within existing HIV and tuberculosis service delivery
- Strengthen maternal and child health and nutrition services through advocacy, coordination and the development of a national nutrition policy
By November 2013, 1,023 facilities were providing community-based management of acute malnutrition services, 15,025 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition and 18,688 people living with HIV received nutrition assessment and counseling — achievements that all resulted from FANTA training and programming.
In addition to describing FANTA’s activities and achievements, the report offers a description of the challenges that the project worked to address, as well as recommendations and lessons learned on improving service nutrition delivery and eliminating malnutrition in Ghana.
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Last week, we hosted a live online discussion about essential community building blocks for breaking the links between poverty and poor health outcomes. The need to think creatively is perhaps strongest in local HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives. Cultural pressures, health myths and access issues can hamper engagement and progress and yet, two campaigns are making strides.The Many “Reasons” to Get Checked Program
Putting a positive spin on HIV testing for young men at high risk for the disease may be a daunting task, but culturally poignant messages may go a long way toward selling the value of getting checked.
Manuel Rodriguez manages the “Reasons” program for the nonprofit human development organization, FHI 360. Reasons is a messaging campaign that aims to get Latino men who have sex with men to undergo testing for the HIV virus. It comprises social media outreach, print, TV and online advertisements, and presence at gay pride events, and currently focuses on cities with many members of the target population, including Miami, Los Angeles and New York.
