Discriminatory laws repealed in India

The Nippon Foundation, Japan’s largest private philanthropic foundation, which campaigns for an end to worldwide stigma and discrimination against leprosy-affected people, has offered its support and congratulations to the Orissa State Cabinet on the removal of discriminatory clauses involving people affected by leprosy and tuberculosis in the Orissa State Municipality Act of 1950 and the Gram Panchayat Act.

In a statement given by the Orissa State House on 12 December, the offending clauses which stated that “a person shall not be eligible to stand for election…if he is a deaf-mute or is suffering from leprosy or tuberculosis”, were struck from the statute book.

“This is a landmark development”, commented Mr Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation, “and shows what can be achieved when leprosy-affected people are confronted by discriminatory and unfair legislation.”

Mr Sasakawa is the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and Japanese Government Goodwill Ambassador for the Human Rights of People Affected by Leprosy.

Mr Sasakawa originally wrote to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India in September 2008 concerning a case whereby the elected position of a leprosy-affected person in Orissa State was disqualified. The petition, submitted by representatives of people affected by leprosy and other NGOs, with the support of lobbying by Mr Sasakawa, led to a report from the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) Committee on Petitions which recommended the removal of the discriminatory law. This report, which included action taken by relevant government ministries and recommendations, was released in November 2010.

In January 2013, Mr Sasakawa will announce the launch of an alliance between The Nippon Foundation and the International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, at the 2013 Global Appeal to end stigma and discrimination against people affected by leprosy. The collaboration with the IBA will target the discriminatory laws and regulations against leprosy-affected people still on the statute book of a number of countries.

A major breakthrough was achieved in 2010 when the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their families.

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

MCC Board Selects Countries Eligible for Compacts and Threshold Programs

Washington, D.C. — At its quarterly meeting today, the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of Directors selected Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Morocco, and Tanzania as eligible to develop proposals for new compacts, and Guatemala as eligible for a Threshold Program.

“This year’s selection decisions are a testament to the ‘MCC Effect,’ the ability of MCC to provide incentives for countries to adopt policy reforms and strengthen institutions in order to become eligible for an MCC compact,” said Daniel W. Yohannes, MCC’s Chief Executive Officer. “Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone have worked hard for several years to meet MCC’s rigorous eligibility standards, and the Board is pleased to recognize these efforts by selecting them as eligible to develop compact proposals.” 

 

Examples of the types of reforms pursued by these countries range from new asset-disclosure requirements in an effort to combat corruption in Liberia to the introduction of free access to maternal and child health care in Sierra Leone to a dramatic increase in environmental protection in Niger. 

 

Two current MCC compact countries—Morocco and Tanzania—were selected as eligible to develop second compact proposals. Both Morocco and Tanzania have continued to perform well on the MCC scorecard and have been good development partners during first compact implementation. Second compact eligibility is contingent on successful implementation of the first compact, continued good policy performance and development of proposals that have significant potential to promote economic growth and reduce poverty.

 

“MCC is pleased to have five countries selected as compact eligible this year," Mr. Yohannes stated. “These countries, like others selected as compact eligible, will need to compete for scarce budget resources by maintaining a strong commitment to democratic and economic governance and by developing high-quality, timely compact proposals to promote growth and reduce poverty.”

 

The Board also chose Guatemala as eligible for a new Threshold Program. Guatemala is extremely close to meeting the MCC scorecard criteria, passing 10 indicators, including the Democratic Rights hurdle, and performing exactly on the median for Control of Corruption.

 

In addition to the new selections, the Board re-selected Benin, El Salvador, Georgia, and Ghana as eligible to continue developing compact proposals and Honduras and Nepal as eligible to continue developing Threshold Programs in Fiscal Year 2013. No eligibility determinations were made for countries that already have signed compacts since these countries do not require annual re-selection.

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

Analysis of health R&D pipeline of the last decade

Medical 'breakthroughs' against neglected diseases: Analysis of health R&D pipeline of the last decade

Analysis of health R&D pipeline shows important progress, but significant gaps in innovation remain

New York, NY, December 13, 2012—  Despite important progress in research and development (R&D) for global health over the past decade, only a small fraction of new medicines developed between 2000 and 2011 were for the treatment of neglected diseases, highlighting the ‘fatal imbalance’ between global disease burden and drug development for some of the world most devastating illnesses, said Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), in an analysis to be presented today at an international conference aimed at spurring medical innovations for these diseases. 

DNDi and MSF found that between 2000 and 2011, 3.8 percent of newly approved drugs (excluding vaccines) were for tropical diseases, TB, and other neglected infections, which together account for 10.5 percent of the global disease burden. Much of the progress in the treatment of neglected diseases and important patient benefit during this time came about through drug reformulations and repurposing of existing drugs against these illnesses.  However, only four of the 336 brand-new medicines (new chemical entities) developed between 2000 and 2011 were for the treatment of neglected diseases.

“We have to ask ourselves, how much progress have we really made over the past decade?” said Dr. Unni Karunakara, MSF International President. “People are still dying of archaic diseases. Doctors and nurses are still handcuffed by the shortcomings of available medicines, forced to treat their patients with decades-old, often brutal drugs. As we speak, there are drug-resistant TB patients enduring two years on an absolutely horrific course of treatment—debilitating nausea and pain, depression, social isolation, hearing loss, and even psychosis, are just some of the few side effects they can have while on these medicines. Our patients are still waiting for real scientific breakthroughs.”

The two-day conference, Lives in the Balance: Delivering Medical Innovations for Neglected Patients and Populations, also hosted by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s Global Health Program, will look at the progress and shortcomings of the last decade of medical R&D to fight neglected diseases—a period during which there has been an increase in new neglected disease R&D initiatives and funders— and will focus in particular on the need to accelerate development and delivery of new health technologies to fight Chagas disease and drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). It will also examine the need for field-adapted vaccines to reach the 22.4 million children who are still not receiving even the most basic package of immunizations every year.

According to the DNDi and MSF analysis, three of the four brand-new medicines approved for neglected diseases in the past decade were for malaria, with none for the 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), nor TB. Furthermore, as of December 2011, only 1.4 percent of a total of nearly 150,000 registered clinical trials were focused on neglected diseases.

The conference is taking place 10 years after MSF hosted a major conference in New York to examine the crisis in R&D for neglected diseases and lay the groundwork for the creation of DNDi in 2003. In a 2001 study carried out by MSF and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Working Group, the precursor to DNDi, only 1.1 percent of new drugs approved between 1975 and 1999 were for neglected diseases, including NTDs, malaria, and TB, though they accounted for 12 percent of the global disease burden.

Some individual successes have emerged from the proliferation of global R&D actors over the last decade. For example, product development partnerships (PDPs) were responsible for over 40 percent of neglected disease products registered between 2000 and 2011, including new TB diagnostics and malaria combination treatments. 

“There have been advances, but for many diseases we have yet to see the kind of ‘game-changers’ that are truly needed,” said Dr. Bernard Pécoul, Executive Director of DNDi. “Product development partnerships and ad hoc R&D initiatives cannot be ‘the’ solution to the systemic lack of innovation. We must make patient needs the driving force for R&D.This is the only way to build on the successes we have seen in the past ten years and overcome the fatal imbalance that still exists between drug R&D and global health needs.  Governments must put in place a R&D framework to sustainably coordinate, finance, and stimulate medical innovation for new drugs, diagnostics and vaccines for the people who need them most.”

The conference comes on the heels of a recent decision by governments to further delay a WHO-led, 10-year effort to develop a global framework to strengthen priority-setting, coordination, and financing of R&D for diseases that affect millions worldwide. Today’s system for medical R&D is flawed in that it is predominantly driven by commercial rewards rather than global health priorities. This means that research is steered towards areas that are the most profitable, leaving fundamental medical needs—particularly those that disproportionately affect developing countries like NTDs or TB—unaddressed. 

The conference, which will bring together a broad range of researchers, medical professionals, global health experts, policymakers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology experts, donors, activists, patient advocates, and journalists, will feature a keynote address from Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the US National Institutes of Health, and a video address by World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim.

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

Child Pneumonia Risks in Rural Kenyan Homes Not Significantly Lowered By Use of Ceramic Indoor Cookstoves

DEERFIELD, Il. (December 11, 2012)—Inexpensive, locally-produced ceramic cookstoves may produce less smoke than traditional indoor 3-stone firepits, but they don’t significantly reduce indoor air pollution or the risk of pneumonia in young children, according to results from a small, year-long observational study by researchers working in rural Kenya.

The findings, published online today in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, are the first to examine the health impacts of ceramic cookstoves that do not vent smoke to the outside of the house, said Robert Quick, MD, MPH, a researcher in the Division of Waterborne, Foodborne, and Enteric Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Women who used the ceramic stoves (called “upesi jiko,” which is Swahili for “quick stove”) reported less smoke in their homes, along with fewer stinging eyes and runny noses. However, the study found that even though there were fewer respiratory symptoms, these stoves only reduced air pollution by 13 percent and there was no significant difference in pneumonia among children under 3 years of age in these homes when compared to those in homes with 3-stone firepits.

Women and their young children bear the brunt of health problems caused by cooking indoors, in inadequately vented spaces, over open fires fueled by unprocessed wood, charcoal or other biomass.

“Despite requiring less fuel, these stoves may not be efficient enough,” Quick said. “The belief is that you need much more efficiency, maybe a reduction of 50 percent or more, to really observe the health benefits,” he added.

Pneumonia is the leading cause of death for children under 5 years of age in developing countries, with nearly 70 percent of these 1.2 million deaths occurring in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Research has found household air pollution can increase the risk of pneumonia—a 2008 study found that exposure to this type of pollution from burning solid fuel nearly doubled the risk of pneumonia in young children. Very small particles and toxic gases in indoor smoke can inflame the airways and lungs.

Methodology

For one year, Quick and his colleagues followed the health of children under 3 years of age in 20 villages in the Nyando District of Kenya’s Nyanza Province, which were already participating in a water quality study.

Since 2008, households in the district have been able to purchase locally produced upesi jiko stoves, sold at a cost of about 150–300 Kenya shillings or US $2-3. The researchers looked at how rates of cough, pneumonia, and severe pneumonia differed among the infants, and whether these differences were related to upesi jiko or traditional firepit cooking. The cases of pneumonia were diagnosed by fieldworkers trained to recognize familiar signs of the illness, such as a cough combined with a specific rapid breathing rate, but the cases were not confirmed by x-rays or other objective tests.

The stoves study also was not a randomized controlled trial, Quick noted. The number of homes in the study was relatively small. Also, he and his colleagues found there were lower rates of coughing and pneumonia in households with cell phones, a pattern that is consistent with other studies showing that wealthier households—perhaps due to factors such as better access to health care—have a lower risk of the disease. Future randomized studies that include more households and stoves that burn more cleanly, he said, will help clarify whether improved stoves can really make a difference in children’s respiratory health.

Building a Cleaner Cooking Stove

The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and the World Health Organization are also evaluating six other cookstove technologies in a separate study, to find out which designs produce the least pollution, Quick said. “Even though a stove might appear to be burning efficiently, you don't necessarily remove the key exposures associated with pneumonia.”

The locally-made ceramic cookstoves in the Kenyan study are built into a matrix of mud and sand in the homes and draw air in through a small hole in the side to deliver heat up to a burner surface. The upesi jiko stoves are somewhat more efficient than 3-stone firepits and require less wood or other fuel for cooking.

Better Health Through Home Improvement?

“There is a real demand for upesi jiko stoves and I think that just reflects that the reality of using a three-stone firepit is not very pleasant,” said Quick. “If you've ever been in any of these huts while people are cooking, there’s this choking smoke in the household.”

Along with reducing smoke, the upesi jiko cooked faster and gave women more space for food preparation. Quick said that health researchers and global partnerships should pay more attention to these kinds of details as they strive to find ways to reduce household air pollution. “The more we’re meeting the actual demands of these mothers, the better we’ll do.”

“This research on cookstoves illustrates that the approach to improving children's health must employ strategies that take a holistic view of the child, one that includes the home,” said David H. Walker, MD, the new president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and chair of the department of pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. “Data from this and further studies will help aid programs make evidence-based decisions as they determine where to allocate their increasingly scarce funds.”

In the end, cost may be still a significant factor in adopting cleaner cookstoves. The upesi jiko stoves “are relatively cheap, around $3, but even this small cost is beyond the reach of many people who typically earn US $1-2 per day,” Quick explained. According to the study, despite the active marketing and availability of this stove, most households didn’t have one.

“Based on our findings in Kenya, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves may want to explore various options—including subsidies—for improving access to clean burning, safe cookstoves by the poorest households where children are at greatest risk of pneumonia,” Quick added.

This study was supported by grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Infectious Disease Society of America, Emory University’s Global Health Institute, and the United States Agency for International Development.

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

Working to end discrimination

The International Bar Association (IBA) and The Nippon Foundation, Japan’s largest private philanthropic foundation, have formed an alliance to combat the stigma and discrimination against leprosy-affected people which are still prevalent in the world and sustained in some countries by out-of-date and discriminatory legislation.

The launch of this collaboration will be the occasion of the annual Global Appeal to end stigma and discrimination against people affected by leprosy and their families, organised by The Nippon Foundation, which will be held at the Law Society in London on 24 January next year – three days before the 60th World Leprosy Day. The Global Appeal is led by The Nippon Foundation Chairman, Yohei Sasakawa, who is the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and the Japanese Government Goodwill Ambassador for the Human Rights of People Affected by Leprosy.

Mr Sasakawa describes the fight against leprosy and the discrimination it causes as his life’s work. A major breakthrough was achieved in 2010 when the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members.

Over the years, the Global Appeal has been supported by influential groups to emphasise the anti-discrimination message. These groups have varied from world leaders, faith groups, human rights NGOs and leprosy-affected people themselves.

Endorsing the latest appeal is the IBA, the world’s leading organisation of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Moreover, the Co-Chair of the IBA’S Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, will be giving the keynote address at the Global Appeal event. The IBAHRI works to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law.

The target is the list of discriminatory laws and regulations against leprosy-affected people still on the statute books of a number of countries. These include Singapore, Nepal, Malta, Thailand and India – where discriminatory laws still apply in the areas of contesting elections, marriage and divorce, residential eligibility, and employment.  On immigration, the U.S., China and many other countries still refer to leprosy as a reason for declining entry.

Comments Yohei Sasakawa: “Leprosy is easily curable today by multi-drug therapy. There are no grounds to discriminate against someone with the disease. We now need to ensure that the UN resolution is fully implemented. I would also like to propose, as the 60^th anniversary of World Leprosy Day approaches, that it be made an International Day designated by the UN agencies so that people can more seriously consider this issue.”

Says Akira Kawamura, President of the IBA: “Put simply, as the global voice of the legal profession, the IBA will work to eliminate discriminatory laws, and to ensure that the human rights of people affected by leprosy are upheld in accordance with the principles enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

Turkish Minister of Transport: Road transport is vital for developing trade

International Conference on “Prospects of Trade and International Road Transport Development in the Black Sea, Central Asia and Middle East Regions”stresses importance of implementing key UN multilateral facilitation and security instruments and developing ancillary road infrastructure to develop transport links and transit in the Arab world, BSEC and ECO regions.  

Izmir – The International Conference on Prospects of Trade and International Road Transport Development in the Black Sea, Central Asian and Middle East regions, brought together today some 200 officials from Ministries in charge of Transport, Enforcement, Customs and Trade, as well as representatives from regional, national and international organisations, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Organization, all of which addressed how to effectively promote and further facilitate trade and international road transport.

Opening the conference, the Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of Turkey, H.E. Binali Yildirim, stressed, "Road transport is vital for developing trade in the Black Sea, Central Asia and Middle East regions. It should therefore be further facilitated through collective and coordinated actions of all concerned countries and in partnership with the private sector".

At a parallel meeting, BSEC Ministers of Transport explored and coordinated the appropriate measures to develop trade itineraries along the BSEC and ECO regions and LAS countries, with a view to revitalising the ancient Silk Road through a coordinated, concerted approach. The subsequent Ministerial Declaration notably called for the effective development of the Black Sea Ring Highway trough the implementation of the IRU's MHI, and welcomed regional efforts and projects that facilitate road transport of goods in the region.

IRU Secretary General, Martin Marmy, highlighted that, "40% of total transport time is lost at borders and more than 35% of transport costs result from 'unofficial payments' at borders. In light of the strategic geographical location of the Arab world, BSEC and ECO regions, the top priority is to expand and effectively implement key UN multilateral facilitation and security instruments, such as the ADR, Harmonization and TIR Conventions, as well as MHI, the BSEC Permit and International Vehicle Weight Certificate".

Conference participants adopted a Declaration calling upon governments to facilitate trade by international road transport through the effective implementation of the key UN multilateral facilitation and security instruments. They also called for the implementation of initiatives such as the IRU Model Highway Initiative, TIR-EPD and TIR-EPD Green Lanes, the BSEC Permit and International Vehicle Weight Certificate under Annex 8 of the Harmonization Convention, in order to eliminate barriers, discriminatory measures and difficulties hindering the road transport industry from driving progress, prosperity and ultimately peace.

The Conference was jointly organised by the IRU and the Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), under the patronage of the Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of Turkey, H.E. Binali Yildirim.

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Read the Conference Declaration

See the Conference presentations and speeches

Download high resolution pictures of the Conference

Learn more about:
                        TIR System

                        TIR-EPD Green Lanes                      

IRU Model Highway Initiative

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

Visa and NetHope Partner to Help Modernize Delivery of Humanitarian Aid

New Visa Innovation Grants to help humanitarian and development organizations electronify payments to increase speed, safety and long-term impact of health, food security and poverty-alleviation programs

FOSTER CITY, Calif. & WASHINGTON, D.C., November 26, 2012 — Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), the leading global payments technology company, and NetHope, a consortium of 37 humanitarian organizations, today announced the Visa Innovation Grants program to help modernize humanitarian aid payments. Through this program, Visa is making available $500,000 in grants to humanitarian and development nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to increase the speed, security and long-term impact of aid through the innovation and adoption of electronic payments.

Every year, humanitarian, development and government organizations distribute billions of dollars of cash payments to people in need through benefit stipends, emergency relief payments and other development initiatives. Driven by the need to ensure faster delivery, greater transparency and increased security, these organizations are beginning to shift from distributing physical cash to electronic payments.

However, research by the Cash Learning Partnership has revealed significant obstacles facing organizations trying to make the transition to electronic payments, including technological, operational and attitudinal barriers. While some of these barriers are being overcome through greater knowledge-sharing and an increase in public-private partnerships, the report calls for greater investment in overcoming internal barriers and additional funding for adoption of new technologies.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to use innovation to improve the speed, security and long-term impact of humanitarian and development aid,” said Douglas Sabo, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Visa Inc. “Through the Visa Innovation Grants program, we will support organizations’ efforts to electronify their payments to help improve the lives of those they serve, and we will use the opportunity to bring a more formalized financial service – electronic payments – to the financially underserved.”

An Expert Advisory Committee of distinguished leaders with public and private sector experience will assist in the review of applications. The committee includes:

·         Nabeeha Mujeeb Kazi, Managing Director, Humanitas Global Development

·         Nick Maunder, Humanitarian and Development Consultant

·         Eric Nee, Managing Editor, Stanford Social Innovation Review

·         Sarah Rotman, Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP

“NetHope empowers humanitarian organizations to better serve the developing world through smarter use of technology,” said Dr. William Brindley, NetHope Executive Director and CEO. “The Visa Innovation Grants provide a unique opportunity for NGOs to think creatively and push the technological envelope to explore new approaches to electronify payments and transfers. We are proud to work with a leader like Visa on this effort.”

The deadline for proposals is January 9, 2013. Recipients of the Visa Innovation Grants will be announced by Visa and NetHope in early 2013. To learn more, visit: http://nethope.org/page/visa-innovation-program.

About NetHope

NetHope, Inc., which started in 2001, is a new-generation collaboration of the international community’s leading nongovernmental organizations representing over $40 billion (USD) of emergency relief, human development and conservation programs in more than 180 countries. Through member collaboration and by facilitating public-private partnerships with major technology companies, NetHope enables members to leverage their technology investments to better serve their end beneficiaries. For more information, visit www.nethope.org.

About Visa Inc.

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks – VisaNet – that is capable of handling more than 24,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visitwww.corporate.visa.com.

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

Catapult.org Launches First Crowdfunding Site Focused on Equality for Girls and Women

Catapult.org Launches First Crowdfunding Site Focused on Equality for Girls and Women

New York, NY, October 11, 2012 – Today, on International Day of the Girl Child, global advocacy organization Women Deliver launched Catapult, the first online funding platform dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women worldwide. By partnering with trusted organizations and connecting them with a new online audience, Catapult provides a call to action to help bring an end to gender inequality.

Girls’ and women’s organizations are chronically underfunded, despite their key role in addressing inequality. One-fifth of all women’s organizations report the threat of closure, and only two cents of every development dollar goes toward adolescent girls. Investing in girls and women strengthens families, communities and nations.

Harnessing the power of social networks, Catapult is a digital hub driving donations to organizations working to improve the lives of girls and women.

“Catapult is a connector,” said Founder, Maz Kessler. “It’s a tool for people to take direct, effective action to create change. Catapult unites online supporters with trusted organizations to help fuel the movement to end inequality for girls and women.” 

Organizations can upload their projects to Catapult, and donors can fund the issues that speak to them most, such as agriculture, ending child brides, education, family planning and gender-based violence. 

Donors can also learn about projects by following Catapult Curators - thought-leaders championing specific projects in their areas of focus and passion. Curators include actress and advocate Maria Bello; Man Up Campaign Founder Jimmie Briggs; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Director of Family Health Gary Darmstadt; GirlUp Teen Advisor Co-Chair Annie Gersh; and Women Deliver President Jill Sheffield. 

To ensure transparency, each Catapult project includes a breakdown of how donations will be applied. Project budgets, including administrative costs, GPS coordinates, and video and are all standard features of the platform. Catapult is free for all parties.

Catapult is launching with projects in more than 30 countries around the world, including: a Mobile Literacy Class, using mobile phones and texting to accelerate literacy for Afghan girls and women; Birth Waiting Homes for Women in Sierra Leone, housing pregnant women in homes close to hospitals to avoid long, dangerous journeys while in labor; and Empowering Youth to Challenge Early Marriage, helping young people, particularly boys and men, to challenge the underlying attitudes of child marriage.

“I am always inspired by the commitment of women I meet in the developing world to create a better future for their families. Investing in women can be transformational for entire societies. Today reminds us that we all have a role to play in unlocking the potential of women and girls,” said Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

Catapult was a featured commitment at the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative meeting and has been endorsed by the World Bank and UN Women.

“UN Women is proud to support Catapult,” said Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women. “When more people contribute, change comes faster for girls and women.”

Crowdfunding is rapidly transforming the funding landscape and democratizing philanthropy. As of 2011, in the United States alone, charitable giving through crowdfunding exceeded US$636 million and grew at a rate of 43 percent. Over the next three years, Catapult has committed to raise US$45 million.

Developed at Women Deliver, and funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Catapult is working with a variety of partners both large and small, including the Global Fund for Women, the United Nations Population Fund, IPPF, the Akilah Institute for Women and One-Heart World-Wide.

Learn more about how to launch your change for girls and women at www.catapult.org, and join us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/catapult.org
and Twitter: @wecatapult.

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 This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

AmeriCares Rushes Aid for Syrian Refugees

Stamford, Conn. –Sept. 5, 2012 – An AmeriCares emergency aid shipment from its Stamford, Conn., headquarters arrived in Jordan this week to assist Syrian refugees as they continue to stream into the country. Medicines and medical supplies donated by AmeriCares will help meet the health care needs of refugees at the newly established Za’atri camp, where 24,000 people languish in dismal conditions. The AmeriCares shipment includes enough emergency equipment, chronic disease medicines and wound care supplies to help up to 20,000 people.

Aid organizations are struggling to meet the health needs of people fleeing the civil war in Syria, and more than 214,000 people have now sought refuge in neighboring Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. The population includes vulnerable groups such as children and infants, pregnant women, chronic disease patients and those hurt in the conflict.

“There is a desperate need for medicines and supplies at the refugee camps along the Syrian border. Health care providers are reporting an increased number of war-related injuries among the refugee population,” said Garrett Ingoglia, AmeriCares director of emergency response. “Our medicines and supplies will help vulnerable Syrian refugees fleeing from airstrikes and shelling by government forces.”

A previous shipment including emergency assistance and chronic disease medications arrived in Jordan on August 23. AmeriCares is also supplying medical aid to volunteer doctors providing emergency medical care to refugees throughout the region, including many patients with gunshot wounds and other war injuries.

AmeriCares has been delivering critically needed medicines and relief supplies to the Middle East for more than 25 years in response to civil conflict as well as humanitarian crises.

About AmeriCares

AmeriCares is a nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization that delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in need around the world and across the United States. Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $10 billion in humanitarian aid to 164 countries. For more information, visit americares.org

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

UNICEF launches Innovate for Children website to accelerate progress

COPENHAGEN, 23 August 2012 – With a view to merging inspiration with technical expertise, UNICEF announced today the launch of its Innovate for Children website.
The site draws attention to health and education challenges faced by children in developing countries – and the potential for innovative product design and inventive use of technology to find solutions.
“Innovation and the partnerships around innovation have always been part of UNICEF’s DNA,” said Shanelle Hall, Director of UNICEF’s Supply Division in Copenhagen. “The Innovate for Children website is premised on the idea that we can and must do more. It is one way UNICEF is reaching out to expert individuals, industry, and design and research institutions to get involved.”
“For child survival and development, innovation is critical. Children's lives are being saved thanks to new vaccines, better formulations in paediatric medicines, and more effective health technology, such as longer lasting bed nets,” said Paul Molinaro, who heads UNICEF’s innovation team.
“Newly developed, open-source mobile phone technology is allowing health workers to shorten critical waiting times for patients’ test results and reduce the risk of stock-outs of essential supplies in remote clinics.” said Paul Molinaro, who heads UNICEF’s innovation team.
  
UNICEF collaborations around innovation featured on the website include:

• A new design for water containers, now being field tested in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Haiti and Sudan.  
• Bundling together dosages of oralrehydration salts sachets and zinc tablets so that front-line health workers and caregivers at home can easily combine these to treat diarrhoea – one of the leading killers of young children.
• Development of a respiratory timer that will work well in low-technology settings and better diagnose pneumonia in young children. Pneumonia is the leading cause of preventable deaths among children.
• In Zambia and Malawi, Project Mwana is saving lives of newborns by using mobile phones to communicate HIV test results more quickly to health workers. This means treatment can start much sooner.

The website welcomes comments and ideas, and invites online submissions on projects designed to accelerate reduction of child mortality. UNICEF’s methodology in innovation work emphasises the importance of understanding the needs of users and the geographic, social and economic barriers that limit access to life-saving supplies and services.Innovate for Children also strongly focuses on research and development that maximises opportunities for good ideas to be generated, shared and acted upon. It features UNICEFstories that highlight the work of UNICEF staff in a number of initiatives in technological and product innovation.
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About UNICEF
UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information aboutUNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org
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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

RABIN MARTIN NAMES BILL MARTIN CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Leading Consulting Firm Celebrates 10 Years of Making a Difference in Health

NEW YORK, March 27, 2012 – Rabin Martin, a leading public health consulting firm, announced today that Bill Martin will take the helm as President and Chief Executive Officer of the firm. Martin will continue to build on the firm’s growth and leadership in improving health equity in the US and around the world. Firm founder Steve Rabin assumes the role of Chairman and will focus on client strategy and new initiatives to improve access to health. Rabin Martin is one of the fastest growing public health management consulting firms today with more than 40 professionals and a global and domestic portfolio of clients and projects. The firm has designed more than $1 billion in health programing for leading companies and helped design initiatives to secure billions more in new resources for global public health needs.

“I joined Steve Rabin in 2009 hoping that together with a group of diverse but like-minded people and partners we could help people achieve better health for themselves, their families and communities,” said Bill Martin, President & CEO. “We have put together a great, creative and multi-disciplinary team from business, public health, policy, advocacy and communications backgrounds who have helped Rabin Martin become one of the fastest growing health consultancies today.”

“This is an exciting time for Rabin Martin,” said Steve Rabin, Chairman. “The firm has enjoyed tremendous growth since Bill joined, allowing us to deliver value to a growing set of clients. The projects we work on help deliver healthier lives for people everywhere. I have every confidence in Bill’s ability to chart the future success of the organization. ”

Rabin Martin Celebrates 10 Years

This year the firm celebrates its tenth anniversary of making a difference in health for leading organizations including the United Nations, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Columbia University and many others.

Steve Rabin founded Rabin Strategic Partners, now Rabin Martin, in 2002. For more than a decade, the firm’s strategies and programs have been a major catalyst for change in health for top global companies and institutions. In its first 10 years it:

· Designed more than $700 million in private sector initiatives to reduce maternal mortality and increase child survival

· Created a US network of community treatment advocates in under-served communities

· Convened hundreds of NGOs, foundations, businesses and academic institutions to raise commitments to meet the Millennium Development Goals

· Designed programs and partnerships that have screened more than 1,000,000 teens for depression

· Designed programs to provide access to low-priced HIV drugs in more than 100 countries

· Created an online community for front-line healthcare workers in the US

About Rabin Martin

Rabin Martin is one of the fastest growing public health management consulting firms today with a multi-disciplinary team of more than 40 professionals serving a global and domestic portfolio of clients and projects. The firm has been a driving force behind numerous high profile global health initiatives. Rabin Martin offers strategy consulting, access to health initiatives, program implementation, partnership management, policy, advocacy, reputation and communications services for leading companies, NGOs, foundations, multilaterals and universities in several countries.

Steve Rabin is a leader in public health and strategic consulting. His counsel draws on a background in law, public health and public affairs. Rabin established Rabin Strategic Partners, now Rabin Martin, in 2002. Prior to that, he served as President of Ogilvy Public Affairs, head of the Washington, DC office of Porter Novelli and served as the Senior Vice President for Public Affairs at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Steve served on the faculty of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and was a visiting fellow at the Harvard University School of Public Health.

Bill Martin is recognized as a leading healthcare strategist and communicator. Most recently, he helped develop and implement Merck for Mothers, a $500 million, 10‐year effort to confront maternal mortality. Previously, he supported the launch of Every Woman, Every Child, a global campaign spearheaded by the United Nations and hundreds of partners that identified more than $40 billion in new resources for women’s and children’s health. Bill served as President of Global Health at Cohn & Wolfe and GCI Health and was the senior communications and investor relations officer at two biotech companies. Bill is a graduate of the School of International Service at the American University.

For more information, please visit www.rabinmartin.com.

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

International Social Justice Funder Releases New Evaluation and Learning Report

International Social Justice Funder Releases New Evaluation and Learning Report

(San Francisco, CA) – Celebrating more than 25 years of global grantmaking, San Francisco-based International Development Exchange (IDEX) is pleased to announce its new Evaluation and Learning Report, documenting the effectiveness and impact of its unique grantmaking model that puts resources directly in the hands of local leaders and organizations in the world’s most under-resourced communities.

IDEX is a nonprofit grantmaking organization that provides long-term flexible funding for initiatives in marginalized communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America to empower women, build local economies and care for the environment. The core purpose of the Evaluation and Learning report is to examine the effectiveness of IDEX’s partnership-based grantmaking model from the perspective of its grant partners. The report can be viewed or downloaded here: http://bit.ly/IDEXreport.

“We commissioned this report because we wanted to hear directly from our partners whether our approach works and what we could do better,” said Rajasvini Bhansali, IDEX’s Executive Director. “We are pleased to hear from our grant partners that we walk our talk. We also wanted to share any critical lessons learned with the international grantmaking community. With these findings and recommendations, we look forward to building on IDEX’s legacy of a transformative, human rights grantmaking model that stops short of nothing but fundamental social change.”

Key findings from the report indicate that, since receiving a grant from IDEX, a majority of its partners:

• Have met all, or more than half, of their goals to address local needs
• Have been able to develop local, community-based solutions either totally or to a great extent
• Can measure a significant and substantive positive change in community members’ leadership and behavior
• Have developed stronger links with social change movements internationally
• Have greatly increased their geographic scope and the number of people interested in participating in their programs

In the report, partners emphasized IDEX’s lack of ego and agenda, support of locally driven solutions and long-term, dependable support as elements that differentiate IDEX from other grant providers. The evaluation also identifies ways IDEX can improve, including growing its base of donors and endowment to increase the amount of grants it provides. In addition, partners recommend that IDEX make a focused effort in helping partners develop deeper relationships with other funders.

IDEX’s partnership-based grantmaking approach relies on the wisdom and strength of local people who are fighting for a better quality of life in their communities. IDEX augments its long-term, annual grants of $5,000 to $20,000 with its work to scale grant partners’ successes by: building their capacity and leadership; linking them to broader social change movements; brokering additional resources; and amplifying their voices and victories. Grant partners receive support for a minimum of three years, with some receiving funding for 10 or more years, providing a consistent revenue source to be used at their discretion.

“IDEX is a a grant maker that gives support in the fullest sense of the word,” said Rose Williams, Director of IDEX grant partner Biowatch in South Africa. “The financial support is important and is provided in such a way that the partner organization can use it in the most critical areas, but our partnership always has been more than financial. They help us scale up our work, link us to other partners with common struggles and with potential donors, and facilitate our participation at an international level. They are true partners with us on behalf of the struggles and achievements of the communities with which we work.”

About International Development Exchange (IDEX):

IDEX identifies, evaluates, and grows the best ideas from local leaders and organizations to alleviate poverty and injustice around the world. IDEX connects a passionate and engaged network of supporters to the visionary leaders and organizations creating lasting solutions to their communities’ most pressing challenges. Since its founding, IDEX has supported more than 500 grassroots, community-led projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Annually, IDEX’s partners serve approximately 1.2 million people in impoverished communities, including marginalized women, small farmers, indigenous communities, low-income urban residents, sexual and ethnic minorities, and youth. For more information, idex.org.



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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.