More From the Blog

  • February 5, 2018

    Revolutionizing payday: Mobile money’s transformative impact on Liberia’s public workers

    Written by
    Erica Bustinza, Chief of Party, mSTAR/Liberia, FHI 360

    Imagine the following scenario: It’s payday and you want to pick up your salary. But first, you have to navigate a series of deteriorating, hazardous dirt roads to get to the bank. It takes you a few days just to talk to a teller. When you finally do, the teller informs you that the bank is currently out of cash – you’ll have to wait some more. By the time you actually get paid, you’ve had to miss several days of work – and to top it all off, between bank fees (including bribes or unofficial fees to bankers and security guards), the cost of lodging, travel and food, you’ve spent 15 percent of your salary just to pick it up.

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  • January 22, 2018

    Outsmarting TB using research and collaboration

    Written by
    Carol Dukes Hamilton, Director, Scientific Affairs, FHI 360

    A version of this post originally appeared on FHI 360’s R&E Search for Evidence blog.

    Tuberculosis (TB), which in 2016 killed an estimated 1.7 million people, is an ancient disease found in the bones of mummies dug up from Peru. It has evolved with humans, and like other successful organisms, finds ways to avoid death, so it can thrive and spread to the next person. Trying to get ahead of this successful adversary requires pursuing a consistent, aggressive research agenda aided by international collaboration.

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  • January 11, 2018

    New approaches to refugee and migration needs

    Written by
    Patrick Fine, Chief Executive Officer, FHI 360

    It’s a new year. There is a lot to be hopeful about as we look ahead, and we heard a great deal of that optimism during our podcast last year on the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet increasingly, the progress we have seen in human development is threatened by larger, and more devastating, complex emergencies.

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  • December 19, 2017

    R&E Search for Evidence: Quarterly recap of FHI 360’s blog on research and evaluation, October–December 2017

    Written by
    Annette N. Brown, Editor-in-Chief, R&E Search for Evidence blog, and Director, Research and Evaluation Strategic Initiative

    As we close out the year 2017, I want to take a few moments to highlight the 16 posts from our R&E Search for Evidence blog this quarter. We feature posts from FHI 360 thought leaders writing about new and innovative evidence, research and evaluation practice, and analysis of methodologies used to better address global development needs.

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  • December 15, 2017

    The importance of clinical trials in epidemic preparedness: Three FHI 360 experiences

    Written by
    Ted FitzGerald, Director, Global Research Services, FHI 360

    One of the biggest challenges in international development is anticipating when the next pandemic health threat will strike and how we can minimize its damage. Pandemics can be unpredictable, and it is hard to know when and where to focus attention. Having safe, effective drugs ready to use when they are needed saves lives. Clinical trials, which focus on safety and efficacy, are pivotal to the development of these drugs.

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  • November 29, 2017

    It is time for a bold approach to end the HIV epidemic

    Written by
    Otto Chabikuli, Director, Global Health, Population and Nutrition, FHI 360

    Big breakthroughs in HIV science, such as antiretroviral therapy and the “universal test and treat” policy, create hope and galvanize efforts to bring the epidemic to an end. Yet, no matter how promising the strategy, we know from experience that it is not easy to incorporate the latest approaches into poorly resourced, over-stretched health systems. Nor is it reasonable to expect that health systems can absorb the increased volume of patients that seems to go hand in hand with innovations.

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  • November 21, 2017

    My tribute to Peter Lamptey’s lifelong contributions to global health

    Written by
    Corey White, Managing Editor, R&E Search for Evidence blog, and Communications Specialist, Research and Evaluation Strategic Initiative, FHI 360

    A version of this post originally appeared on FHI 360’s R&E Search for Evidence blog.

    Known around the world, Prof. Peter Lamptey is a global health champion in any light. Many of you may know him from his early involvement in the global HIV response or from his fight to raise public awareness of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). I first heard Prof. Lamptey speak about the role of laboratory science in the NCD response at a conference plenary hosted by the African Society for Laboratory Medicine, my former employer. A compelling talk for sure, but notably his plenary was also my first significant introduction to FHI 360’s research.

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  • November 16, 2017

    Why are women less likely to own a phone?

    Written by
    Katie Highet, Technical Advisor, mSTAR, FHI 360
    Jonathan Dolan, Digital Inclusion Team Lead, U.S. Global Development Lab, USAID

    Much has been written about the gender gap in mobile phone usage, specifically on why women are less likely to have access to this technology than men; why women are less likely to be technically literate than men; and why women are less likely to be aware of the many potential benefits of a mobile phone. We recognize that there is a gender gap, as high as 38 percent in South Asia. Within the development community, there is no disagreement that this digital gender divide needs to be addressed in order to drive women’s economic empowerment and ensure a more equitable future. However, there are varying points of view on how to close this gap.

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  • November 15, 2017

    A behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals

    Written by
    Patrick Fine, Chief Executive Officer, FHI 360

    This year, I’ve taken A Deeper Look at the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, in conversations with 10 international development leaders. What better way to conclude this series than by talking with Tony Pipa, who was the U.S. government’s lead representative, or “Sherpa,” in the negotiations of the goals at the United Nations. In this final episode of 2017, we take a behind-the-scenes look at the formation of the goals, progress to date toward meeting them and what the future trajectory looks like as we enter year three of the 15-year race to a more prosperous and equitable world. Are we on track? How universal are these goals in reality? Is ending poverty by 2030 possible?

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  • October 18, 2017

    Philanthropy and the SDGs

    Written by
    Patrick Fine, Chief Executive Officer, FHI 360

    Philanthropy in the United States has traditionally played a vital role as a catalyst of innovation, research and social change in American society. Yet, as the world unites around the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, what role is philanthropy playing to advance the agenda for achieving these global goals by 2030?

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