Colloquially named “the breadbasket of Africa,” Zimbabwe is endowed with agricultural lands hospitable to a wide range of crops and livestock. However, counterproductive agricultural policies and practices, a lack of access to affordable resources — such as fertilizer and feed — and water scarcity have hindered agricultural productivity. Food insecurity is now high, and Zimbabweans in…
As with many citizens in the Philippines, Jesson Galvez’s job was affected by COVID-19. A resident of Trece Martires, he and his common law partner Divine Grace Penaflor sold used clothes but could not go out due to nationwide community quarantine. “We had great difficulty,” Jesson said. “We have no other jobs, and we ended…
Recently, Chemonics partnered with the University of Notre Dame (one of the partners in the creation of USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Evidence Gap Map) to conduct an in-depth survey of our development programs. The goal was to better understand how our projects are working with the private sector to achieve development impact — and, more…
Dany Khy is an accomplished international development leader with over 24 years of experience in private sector engagement, blended finance, impact investing, and innovative public-private partnerships. She established the Private Sector Engagement Practice at Chemonics to serve as a leading innovator and center of excellence in incubating and scaling initiatives that mobilizes the private sector…
This post originally appeared on the USGLC blog on July 8, 2020. Despite the multiple mechanisms that exist to respond to infectious disease threats, including the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations and the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), only 11 percent of countries have plans to dispense medical countermeasures during health emergencies and 27 percent have an updated…
Science shows that honey, rich in antioxidants, can lower a person’s cholesterol and promote healing. As a commodity, it can also transform entire communities. Just ask Zoraida Silgado Escobar, legal representative for the Carbebias Honey Producer Association (Asocabebias), in Northern Colombia. Before beekeeping helped to change her community, her father and neighbors earned their livelihood…
This post originally appeared on Devex. Donor agencies, such as the United States Agency for International Development and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, have made private sector engagement, or PSE, a key element of their development strategies. Being more intentional about including the private sector in development is good news. Over the years,…
On Tuesday, November 12, Chemonics awarded two teams of young problem-solvers with funding and ongoing support to continue development of their innovative solutions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Presented by Chemonics’ Executive Vice President Jamey Butcher, the award was part of the company’s commitment as Lead Scale Partner of the UNLEASH global innovation…
In isolated areas of Pakistan, women face a variety of challenges to improving their health and livelihoods. Habiba, a mother of four daughters, treks the mountains of Mansehra to visit the nearest doctor, 10 miles away; she’s in her second trimester of pregnancy. Many young people lack access to quality secondary education due to their…
On Monday, October 7, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted a panel discussion on private sector engagement, titled More than a Wallet: The Role of the Private Sector in Development. The panel explored the role of the private sector in development. The event featured Chemonics’ Middle East and North Africa Senior Vice…
Aflatoxin is a poison produced by a soil fungus that can infect crops, threatening food security, health, and trade in many developing countries; contaminating the food value chain; and costing hundreds of millions of dollars each year in export opportunities. In Africa specifically, aflatoxin causes stunting in children and an estimated 30 percent of all…