More From the Blog

  • How ICT is helping farmers and combating climate change

    Greenhouse gases from agriculture account for over ten percent of total emissions globally, roughly equivalent to the entire global transport sector. Meanwhile, it is estimated that agricultural production will need to increase by about 70% by 2050 to keep pace with global population growth. What’s more, the real impacts of climate change on the agricultural sector are likely going to be hardest felt in many of those countries whose people rely on agriculture most for their livelihoods. In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, for example, some estimates show a reduction in the productivity of most major food crops as a result of changes to the climate over the next forty years.

    While this may sound like a doom and gloom scenario, this Earth Day I want to focus on an area of promise: the increasing availability of affordable technologies that have the potential to reduce greenhouse gases and increase productivity in agriculture. I am referring here not to agricultural technologies—although those certainly play a role—but rather to information and communications technologies, like the mobile phone, video, and even radio. If you are wondering how a mobile phone, a video camera, and a radio might relate at all to climate change, allow me to explain.

    For starters, so-called “climate-smart” methods of agriculture, such as conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and others already exist. The challenge is that not all farmers know about them, there is no single prescription, and traditional practices can often die hard, particularly when you are working with very small margins and taking risks could spell utter ruin for yourself and your family. So how do ICTs change this? In short, they make it easier to share locally relevant information on improved techniques and to provide time-specific information and recommendations (such as weather forecasts, and when to do what).

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    Reflections on week one with FHI 360

    As I reflect back on my first week as Chief Operating Officer with FHI 360, the first thought that comes to mind is that the people at FHI 360 know how to make a newcomer feel welcome. During my first week, I heard some of the ways that FHI 360 staff characterized the organization, its people and their work: exciting, amazing, creative, thoughtful, a place filled with talented and resilient people. Based on my interactions and experience, I would add committed, driven and serious to the list. If you care about effective human development, this is a place you want to be.

    Many people sent me welcome messages that described their groundbreaking work in health research, HIV/AIDS, education, family planning, livelihood and job creation, environment, finding innovative solutions to real-world problems through technology, social marketing and behavior change, and strengthening institutional capacity. The scope and depth of the work is overwhelming, and one quickly understands why “360” is in the name.

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  • In the beautiful and remote Cambodian province of Pailin, FHI 360 is working with rural communities to reduce malaria transmission and save lives.

    With support from the Global Fund through the Village Malaria Workers program, FHI 360 has trained people in 28 villages across this region to provide malaria education, diagnosis and treatment. Village workers have provided malaria testing to more than 15,000 fever patients in these remote areas and have treated over 3,600 patients for malaria.

    This World Malaria Day, visit Pailin by video. Your guide is an FHI 360 malaria program coordinator who shares how the program works.

    Village workers fight malaria in Pailin, Cambodia, from FHI 360 on Vimeo.

    This post also appeared on GBCHealth’s website as part of their World Malaria Day coverage here.

  • Bold new plan aims to end deaths from preventable diseases

    Last week a consortium of health organizations, led by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the U.S. Agency for International Development, launched the Global Action Plan on Pneumonia and Diarrhea. The overall goal of the plan is to end preventable deaths by working with national governments, funders, multilateral institutions, the private sector and other partners. FHI 360 has signed a statement of support for the new plan.

    Hundreds of thousands of children under the age of 5 die every year from preventable diseases. Pneumonia claims 1.3 million and diarrhea claims 700,000 children, mostly in their first two years of life. But, research that was released last week in the Lancet shows that if we aggressively scale up 15 presently available interventions, we can eliminate 95 percent of diarrheal and 67 percent of pneumonia deaths in children under 5 by the year 2025. These interventions include improved water, sanitation and hygiene; exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life; community case management; and the use of oral rehydration salts (ORS) to treat diarrhea.

    FHI 360’s Diarrhea Alleviation through Zinc and ORS Therapy (DAZT) project has been working in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat in India to dramatically increase the use of ORS and zinc to treat diarrhea. FHI 360 pioneered a new partnership model involving pharmaceutical companies and nongovernmental organizations to reach health providers in the rural areas where diarrhea causes the most deaths. Our focus is on ensuring demand and a continuous supply of these treatments where they are most needed.

    To learn more about the Global Action Plan on Pneumonia and Diarrhea consortium’s statement of support, visit: defeatdd.org/take-action/global-action-plan/ngo-statement-support.

  • Award-winning publication helps students with asthma keep active

    Regular physical activity is important for health and well-being. But for the estimated one in 10 students in the United States who have asthma, their condition may be viewed as a barrier to physical activity, particularly if their asthma is not well controlled.

    Thankfully, teachers, coaches, and school administrators now have an award-winning tool to guide them in supporting students who have asthma, so those students can participate fully and safely in physical activity — whether in the gym, on the playground or during a class field trip.

    The tool, Asthma & Physical Activity in the School: Making a Difference, was developed by FHI 360 and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The publication received a 2013 ClearMark Award from the Center for Plain Language, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that advocates for and supports the use of plain language in government, business and academic institutions. Its annual ClearMark Awards celebrate the best in plain language among public- and private-sector print and online communications.

    An update of the 1995 publication of the same name, this 32-page booklet provides school personnel with essential information in an easy-to-digest format that they can use to help students with asthma remain healthy and active. It explains technical asthma terms in simple language, calls out actions for school staff and includes helpful reproducible tools, such as asthma action plans and instructions on using asthma inhalers and other devices. The update reflects changes in asthma care guidelines, issued in 2007 by the NHLBI, and clarifies key points about asthma control.

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    Questions and Answers: An interview with Patrick Fine, Chief Operating Officer, FHI 360

    What excites you about joining FHI 360 and what are you most looking forward to?

    The most exciting thing for me is the opportunity to work with such an accomplished and committed group of people who know how to deliver results. There are not many organizations that bring together the breadth and depth of expertise and experience that make FHI 360 what it is. But it is not just technical expertise and good practice. FHI 360 is an organization with heart, filled with people who genuinely care. I love that.

    Tell us about your background before joining FHI 360.

    I’ve always had a love of people, language and culture. So when I graduated from university, Peace Corps was a natural step for me. That started me on the path that has brought me to FHI 360.

    Why did you choose a career in human development?

    I think that human development chose me. My early travels had a powerful influence on me. I was drawn to places rich in history and culture, but not necessarily rich in material wealth. Probably the most life-changing experience I had was in Pakistan’s Hindu Kush mountains, where a group of Kuchi nomads found me seriously ill in a remote mountain hut and spent several days nursing me back to health.

    The kindness and hospitality I have encountered from strangers in many places taught me the value of caring about each other and that the things that separate us pale in comparison to our basic humanity. This belief in humanity is at the core of what motivates me. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that it is not just important from a moral or human perspective, but that it is also essential to build a world that is worth living in: one where our nation — and other nations — are safe and prosperous. Perhaps drawing from my rural Missouri roots, I tend to look at the world as a community and believe that it is important to be a good neighbor. That means helping your neighbor in need.

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  • Trends in technology for development unveiled at conference

    Recently, representatives from development organizations, government agencies, private technology companies and the media gathered to share and learn at the 5th Annual Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D) Conference held by Catholic Relief Services in Accra, Ghana. The conference — which was co-sponsored by FHI 360 through the Fostering Agriculture Competitiveness Employing Information Communication Technologies (FACET) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) — focused on “Mobile Services that Empower Vulnerable Communities.” While mobile services have been used for a while in the development world, the meeting showcased some exciting new ideas and provided those in attendance with the opportunity to learn about what other organizations are doing and where ICT4D is headed. Below are some of the noteworthy presentations.

    Knowledge+ App: Agricultural information through mobile phones

    The Knowledge+ App, a new agricultural information application scheduled for release this summer from the Ghanaian firm Esoko, will enable farmers and extension workers to receive agricultural tips and watch extension videos over their mobile phones. Until recently, development organizations had to send staff and computers to communities to share multimedia content. Now, they can share content directly, greatly increasing reach and lowering costs. The Knowledge+ App takes advantage of the proliferation of smartphones and better mobile access to target rural populations.

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  • Getting to zero: National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day

    More than half of the world’s population is under the age of 30 and has never lived in a time without AIDS. Despite the steady progress of our collective scientific and community efforts to end the HIV epidemic, the lives of young people continue to be especially vulnerable. To bring attention to this ongoing crisis and to commit ourselves to achieving an AIDS-free generation, today marks the first National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day.

    According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 50,000 people in the United States are infected with HIV each year. Of those, one in four is between 13 and 24 years old. Further, CDC reports that nearly 60 percent of new infections in youth occur in African Americans, 20 percent in Latinos and about 20 percent in whites. In 2010, CDC estimates that 87 percent of the 12,000 annual infections in youth occurred among gay and bisexual young men. Nearly half of all new infections among American youth occur in African American males.

    In a CDC Vital Signs report released for World AIDS Day 2012, the agency noted that “about 60 percent of youth do not know they are infected and so don’t receive treatment, putting them at risk for sickness and early death. These youth can also unknowingly pass HIV to others.”

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  • Celebrating World Health Day

    Each year on April 7th, the World Health Organization celebrates the anniversary of its founding with World Health Day. The theme for this year’s celebration is high blood pressure — an unappreciated, yet significant global public health epidemic. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, contributes to nine million deaths every year. It is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease such as heart disease and stroke, which is the number one cause of death globally: more people die annually from cardiovascular disease than from any other cause. (data: World Health Organization)

    Most people would be surprised to learn that one in three adults worldwide has high blood pressure. Moreover, it is not a condition relegated to the wealthy. Prevalence of high blood pressure is highest in some low-income countries in Africa, with over 40 percent of adults estimated to be hypertensive in many African countries.

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  • Every child has the right to be safe from harm. Still, millions of children around the world are abused, neglected and exploited every year. Because children who experience violence and abuse can become adults who are less able to contribute to their societies, protecting children from harm is a vital aspect of development programs. To that end, FHI 360 developed a three-part child protection toolkit to help our programs and local implementing partners protect the children they serve.

    The first manual, Child Protection Basics, presents the fundamental aspects of child protection. It describes different types of maltreatment and factors that contribute to child maltreatment. It also describes how to create a protective environment using a systems approach. The systems approach examines and addresses all the circumstances that challenge children’s well-being as a whole, rather than addressing each of them individually or in a fragmented way.

    The second manual, Guidelines and Programming Options for Protecting Vulnerable Children in Community-Based Care and Support Programs, can be used as a reference document for integrating child protection into the design of programs, strengthening existing programs and tailoring training. The manual shows the importance of conducting a child-protection analysis, which looks at risk factors, and outlines strategies and interventions that can be implemented at the child, family, community and government levels to protect children in accordance with global principles and best practices. The authors also discuss the importance of protecting children in emergencies and the need and challenges of ongoing monitoring and evaluation activities.

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