Author: Sabine Poux

FREETOWN — Following three days of torrential rain, a hillside collapsed in the town of Regent, Sierra Leone on August 14, 2017, triggering mudslides that killed more than 500 people, swept away countless homes and facilitated the spread of waterborne diseases. Among the dead are at least 100 children, and an estimated 600 people are still missing. An additional 3,000 are predicted to be homeless. The Town of Regent Regent, which sits on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital city Freetown, has faced severe flooding since the mudslides commenced. The city is home to one million people, many of whom…

SEATTLE — A startling 214 million women around the world today lack access to contraception. While in some places birth control is simply not available, in many parts of Africa and other continents, fear and contraception myths keep women from employing the birth control methods at their disposal. In sub-Saharan Africa in particular, more than half of all sexually active women ages 15 to 49 who do not want to become pregnant are not using birth control. Contraception Advantages Common misconceptions about birth control and lack of access can cut women off from many life-changing benefits. When women are able…

SEATTLE — Despite a significant internet accessibility gender gap in the developing world, a new study reports that women in sub-Saharan Africa are using mobile internet more frequently than men and are engaging with a wider variety of content. The study, pioneered by nonprofit organization Worldreader and software company Opera last May, studied the internet browsing habits of 1,500 men and women ranging from ages 14-44 in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. It also examined the mobile reading tendencies of 50,000 Worldreader app users from the three countries. The study’s findings elucidate the internet’s potential to reach women and lift…

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. government does not spend a cent without the approval of the House of Representatives and Senate Committees on Appropriations. Committee members must review and amend the President’s budget plans before the beginning of each fiscal year, ultimately crafting a comprehensive plan for the nation’s spending. This year, the committees’ decisions matter more than ever, with the International Affairs Budget hanging in the balance. President Trump has proposed drastic cuts to the budget, threatening vital international agencies such as The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the U.S. African Development Foundation. The proposed cuts additionally jeopardize…

SEATTLE — Today’s global humanitarian ecosystem faces new crises and demands as population growth, climate change and other pressures create a growing need for aid around the world. A new report titled, “The Future of AID – INGOs in 2030,” calls upon international non-governmental organizations to modernize their aid strategies to combat these challenges. At the study’s core is a belief that if INGOs want to remain relevant in the future humanitarian world, they will need to change their modes of operation to address future crises. The Inter-Agency Regional Analysis Network (IARAN), led by the French Institute for International and…

SEATTLE — The U.S. exports over a billion pounds of secondhand clothing to East Africa and other developing regions every year. While cheap and often affordable for poor families, these clothing shipments can actually negatively affect the economies of the countries that import them. Historically, used clothing imports have inhibited the growth of developing communities’ clothing industries and made it difficult for textile manufacturers and vendors to profit off their wares. Long before they end up in Africa, these used garments are brought to secondhand shops in the U.S. like Goodwill and Salvation Army. If they are not sold within…

SEATTLE — The President’s Malaria Initiative began with one objective: cut malaria-related mortality rates in half in 15 at-risk countries. Just 12 years after its founding, the initiative has made tremendous progress toward its goal and has since saved the lives of almost two million children, a new study reports. President George W. Bush founded the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) in 2005. The organization’s funds, which the Bush and Obama administrations increased by $591 million in the last ten years, aid in malaria prevention and treatment in an ever-growing number of countries. What began as an effort to help Angola,…

What do New York City, Boston and South Gujarat, India all have in common? Ask Megha Desai, president of the Desai Foundation. Desai and her team have been pioneering efforts to bring education, healthcare, vocational training and more to people in need in these three regions for 20 years. In the last two decades alone, the organization has touched the lives of more than 331,000 individuals through projects that empower, enrich and support families in countless communities. The Desai Foundation’s main objective is broad: improve the livelihood of women and children in India through public health projects and other initiatives…

MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Soon after the Berlin Wall fell, a handful of Scottish volunteers visited the newly independent Eastern European country of Moldova to renovate tattered orphanages in the remote countryside. The volunteers helped fuel the boilers, install new windows and work on other infrastructure projects, all the while growing closer to the children and occasionally returning to visit them. One year, the volunteers came back to one of the orphanages and found that a young girl named Stella, who they had come to love, had been sent away from the orphanage because she was too old to continue under…

SEATTLE — West Africa’s 2014 Ebola epidemic was the deadliest outbreak of the disease since its discovery in 1976. Liberia was the country hit hardest during the outbreak, reporting between 300 and 400 new cases each week at the epidemic’s peak. The World Health Organization announced in January 2016 that Liberia was Ebola-free, making it the last country to be affected. However, despite the physical absence of the disease, hospitals in Liberia are still dealing with the epidemic’s aftermath. One such hospital is Redemption Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital. Redemption, which is government-run and offers free care to all, was…