White Ribbon Alliance launched the global What Women Want campaign in 2018. The alliance asked 1.2 million women and girls from 114 countries, “What is your one request for quality reproductive and maternal healthcare services?” Their answers surprised many. Second only to respectful and dignified care, women asked for improved access to water, sanitation, and…
To reach 50,000 farmers — 70 percent of them women — in 4.5 years, USAID’s Feed the Future Tajikistan Agriculture and Water Activity (TAWA) developed the nutrition-sensitive Farm to Fork capacity building program. The program, based in the Khatlon province of Tajikistan, particularly targeted women farmers of reproductive age or those with children under age…
On a recent visit to a rural village in Dioila district, part of the Koulikoro region in Mali, I met with the local women’s group to discuss how to promote family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) and how to increase access to these services in their community. There, surrounded by more than 100 volunteers who…
When the government of Bangladesh, a country with high rates of maternal mortality, invested in midwifery training programs in 2015, many of the newly minted midwives from the first cohort headed to Cox’s Bazar to provide services to thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing deadly violence in Myanmar. Though female community health workers (FCHWs) operate in…
Ariana Szepesi-Colmenares, a citizen security and governance specialist with 13 years of international development experience, serves as Chemonics’ Director for New Business Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, overseeing business development across a wide array of technical sectors, including rule of law, citizen security, environmental conservation, economic growth, youth and women empowerment. Previously, Ariana…
Salomat Chorieva Breaks the Mold At age 16, Salomat Chorieva started her first job on a farm in Tajikistan. She endured harsh working conditions, growing cotton and wheat on 700 square meters of farmland. She handed over all her harvests to the head of the farm, who undercompensated her for her labor. Working within a…
The Moldova Competitiveness Project (MCP), funded by USAID and Sweden, invests in targeted design, technology, and business-knowledge training for workers in the fashion industry. The project addresses education gaps and equips workers with creative and technical skills to increase the competitiveness of businesses. Through MCP, OldCom, a Moldovan shoe company, not only employs but improves…
In the wake of protests and the removal of its president in 2014, Ukraine faces many divisive social, economic, and political pressures that challenge national unity. Eastern Ukraine particularly feels the weight of these pressures. Although the new government established a plan for key reform initiatives, these reforms have not occurred as quickly as citizens…
Somalia has suffered decades of conflict and weak transitional governments, triggered by the collapse of its central government in 1991. These conditions undermine government accountability and hinder trust in state authorities. Since 2012, Somalia has made some progress toward overcoming these challenges, but without local accountability and strong legislative processes, stability remains a distant reality.…
Shauna Caria is the global practice lead for Chemonics’ Gender Equality and Social Inclusion practice. With over 10 years of international development experience in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, South Africa, and Eastern Europe, Shauna is an expert on disability inclusion, women’s empowerment, mainstreaming gender and social inclusion, combatting gender-based…
Bangladesh made remarkable improvement in population health outcomes, reducing maternal, infant, and under-five mortality rates. Despite these achievements, however, the health system in Bangladesh struggles to provide quality, affordable health services to its population, particularly the poor. Since 1997, Smiling Sun Clinics — the world’s largest NGO network of maternal and child health clinics —…
Deforestation in Haiti is driven by a variety of factors — demand for wood-based fuels, high population density, lack of resources in rural areas, and weak enforcement of natural resource regulations. For communities in Northern Haiti, economic and environmental vulnerabilities have escalated deforestation and reduced forest cover in the region’s watersheds. USAID’s Reforestation Project is…