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This project draws on evidence-based models offering a sustainable, community-based, integrated package to PMTCT mothers and babies in rural Swaziland (Lubulini), who are among the most vulnerable populations in Africa. An innovative package will provide the requisite skills and knowledge on Early Childhood Stimulation and Nutrition (ECS), while empowering vulnerable mothers with economic strengthening and access to nutritional supplementation for babies through Income, Savings and Loan Associations and drought-resistant permaculture gardens. Access to ECS trainings and information through Interactive Voice Response-based mobile technology will deliver a menu…

Primary healthcare givers making bi-monthly home visits to patients will be trained to identify and treat epilepsy, a novel approach to compensate the country’s acute shortage of doctors. The workers will be supported by neurologists via mobile phone. This project receives additional funding from Sanofi.

Throughout the world and particularly in less developed nations, feminine hygiene remains poorly understood and menstruation is surrounded by stigma. This leads to a lack of sanitary facilities and limited access to menstrual hygiene management products. Be Girl’s innovation is a line of high-performance, reusable menstrual products. Intentionally designed to be beautiful and fun for girls to wear, Be Girl’s product line includes the PeriodPanty™ (patented two-in-one underwear and reliable period protection), FlexiPad™ (reusable, leak-proof sanitary pad) and the SmartCycle® tool (wearable…

Blue Banyan Consulting will build a youth-led mental health Youth Awareness, Literacy and Self-Care Intervention Program (YALSIP) to reduce self-stigma and improve the mental health literacy and self-care capability of LGBTQIA++ youth in India. Using participatory action research methods, LGBTQIA++ youth from two participating colleges will examine and discuss their mental health concerns in a safe space and collaborate with experts to design needs specific mental health literacy and self-care modules. YALSIP will be housed on a broader multilingual learning and engagement website featuring mental health information and resources, co-developed by LGBTQIA++ youth. The project will also collaborate with media partners and public figures to create a nuanced public narrative on LGBTQIA++ communities and…

In Uganda, the lack of accessible community-based mental health services and high levels of social stigma prevent young people from being able to acknowledge and address their mental health needs. Youth in institutional care are particularly vulnerable given the high levels of neglect and abuse prevalent. Child’s i Foundation will address the gap in integrated mental health and wellbeing support for youth and particularly young people with lived experience of care (YPLEC) by upskilling social workers and social work professionals to address the mental health needs of this…

North Star Alliance is piloting a cross-border Electronic Medical Record designed to improve access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services by facilitating continuity of care for underserved mobile populations (long-distance truck drivers and sex workers) in two North Star Blue Box clinics in Maai Mahiu, Kenya and Malaba, Uganda. This aims to increase…

IssueDiarrhea is the second leading cause of mortality for children under five worldwide, causing nearly 800,000 deaths per year. In Cambodia, child sanitation has not been prioritized as the market does not offer attractive, easy-to-use products to dispose of fecal matter safely. Rural areas face even more barriers to sanitation. Solution The ‘Child Potties’ project introduced a well-known technology to Cambodian markets in an…that the project positively impacted 4,800 – 5,600 children and their mothers. Surveys found many rural communities were not aware of the dangers of mismanaging fecal waste. Promotion and marketing significantly improved awareness of the importance of fecal disposal. The market study found that the team’s child potties were priced lower than competing models, however some customers still…

Unwanted pregnancies among single college women 15-19 years old is increasing in Eldoret, in western Kenya, leading to unsafe abortions and other health problems. Only 36.2 percent of women and 52.9 percent of men aged 20 to 24 report condom use despite nationwide efforts to increase HIV awareness, widespread male condom distribution, and common fears of unplanned pregnancy. Girls have little control over and inadequate power to demand condom use during sex, or are shy about purchasing, obtaining and using condoms. Led by Predon Company, a marketing and communications agency in Kenya, the “Icebreaker” project will promote female condom use and HIV awareness, bundling the product and information into beauty care packages in salons frequented by young females near colleges. Through female condoms, women and…

…million people suffer from trauma-related health problems, particularly Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), caused by violence as well as natural disasters. There currently exists no inexpensive, culturally-appropriate treatment for PTSD. Solution The project was a collaboration between McGill University and the non-governmental Centre for Victims of Torture (Kathmandu, Nepal). A small randomized clinical trial study with Nepalese torture survivors was conducted to assess a treatment that diminishes traumatic memory and its negative effects. The main hypothesis tested the efficacy of reconsolidation blockade (using the beta-blocker propranolol) versus treatment with…health counsellors were trained in administering the treatment, attesting to its simplicity and social acceptability. While initial project results far exceeded the researchers’ most optimistic expectations, six-month follow-up results are being assessed to determine whether improvement is sustained. Treatment adherence and safety are also still being analyzed. Results of the trial were disseminated through conferences and events. The project team would like to further validate the treatment with a larger multi-site sample, as well as transition from a single-blind to a double-blind study design. 

Managing menstrual health in refugee camps is a big problem, as refugees often have no access to sanitary pads, and thousands of adolescent girls and women are forced to improvise with unhygienic alternatives that put them at risk of contracting infections. The project will train and work directly with refugee women and youth to produce sanitary pads, creating opportunities for employment and life skills development, while providing low-cost, washable, and reusable sanitary pads for sale to the refugee community in Uganda.