USAID Impact Photo Credit: USAID and Partners

Archives for 2016

Digital Health: Moving from Silos to Systems

Health officers use mobile phones to input data during a trachoma mapping project in Ethiopia. / Dominique Nahr, Sightsavers

USAID is committed to leveraging digital tools to achieve better health outcomes. A new funding mechanism seeks to harness innovation and expertise to foster systemic change. Here is the vision moving forward.

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Overcoming the Stigma of Gender-Based Violence

Nusrat Bibi, an acid burn survivor, takes photographs during a field trip for a photography workshop. / Diego Sanchez, USAID

USAID has partnered with NGOs, faith-based programs, and host governments in more than 40 countries to increase awareness of the scope and impact of gender-based violence, improve services for survivor, and strengthen prevention efforts. Read on for stories about how survivors fight the stigma.

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When Violence Is Not the Exception

In India, rape is the fastest growing crime. According to the country’s National Crime Records Bureau, every 29 minutes, a woman is raped; and every nine minutes, a case of cruelty at the hands of a husband or relative occurs. Gender-based violence (GBV) is widespread. It threatens the health, freedom and security of victims and yet remains largely hidden by a culture of silence. USAID, however, is working to change these statistics.

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Raising Trans Visibility – On Paper, In Person, Online

Gender DynamiX participants march in the Cape Town Pride in 2013. P​hoto: Gender DynamiX​

On Transgender Day of Remembrance we reflect on the lives lost to transphobia, but we also find hope in the organizations and individuals who are fighting for trans rights. Through the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, USAID is proud to help trans rights defenders through CommsLabs.

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Breaking Down Ethnic Divides in Macedonia

Ethnic Albanian and Macedonian students, teachers and school principal take a break during a joint art project in preparation for the Easter holiday in the primary school “Naum Ohridski” in Skopje, Macedonia. Credit: Kristen Byrne, USAID

In observance of the International Day for Tolerance on November 16, Andrew Plitt, USAID Senior Development Advisor to the United States European Command (USEUCOM), reflects on how USAID and the Department of Defense are helping to build a more unified Macedonia after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. Through his eyes, the USAID-DOD partnership is providing a glimmer of hope for the future of Macedonia, especially among its youth.

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Getting from A to B Gets Easier in Tanzania with New Mapping Open Data

To help the Tanzanian Government optimize its health supply chain transport system, the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT mapped the country. / Photo Courtesy of John Snow, Inc

To help the Tanzanian Government optimize its health supply chain transport system, the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT mapped the country. The data was uploaded by volunteers with Humanitarian Open Street Maps and Ramani Huria, and is now available to the world. For the people of Tanzania, including businesses, having a complete digital road map available means that businesses can better plan and operate, people can more efficiently plan their travel.

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Executive Order Prioritizes Our Shared Global Health Security

A health care worker checks on patients admitted to the Ebola Treatment Unit in the Island Clinic, Monrovia, Liberia, Sept. 22, 2014. /Morgana Wingard

President Obama signed an executive order to advance the ambitious Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) and ensure that this multilateral and multisectoral effort to detect and respond to new infectious disease threats such as yellow fever or highly pathogenic avian influenza is sustained. USAID is actively working with our interagency partners in all 17 Phase I GHSA countries. We are actively supporting all 11 GHSA Action Packages with a special focus on zoonotic diseases, workforce development, disease surveillance, and antimicrobial resistance.
The unifying theme of our work is the so called ‘One Health’ approach, which brings together the sectors of animal health, human health, and the environment to address the burden of disease.

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Harnessing the Power of Innovation to Save Mothers and Children

One year after the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were agreed upon, I am optimistic about the potential to reach many of the health targets, including the goal to end preventable deaths of mothers and children. My optimism is fueled by the commitment of country leaders around the world to “finish the job” and the many […]

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Why Investing in Entrepreneurs Reaps Big Rewards

“The biggest challenge is access to funding—it’s that simple.” I have heard this refrain from entrepreneurs for years. This time, I was listening to Vava Angwenyi—an entrepreneur who started the Kenya-based social enterprise Vava Coffee seven years ago—speak about the most difficult obstacle in growing her business. USAID believes entrepreneurs are critical drivers of inclusive […]

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Lighting the Career Path for Girls in the Energy Sector

Where does a girl dream about working as an engineer and running her country’s power facility? It certainly was not the first career choice for Queen Esther, a Nigerian schoolgirl who had always dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. But after spending a day at her father’s workplace, Nigeria’s main electricity utility, EkoElectricity Distribution Co., […]

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