On Christmas day in 2012, a four-month-old girl in Nairobi Hospital’s intensive care unit received a desperately needed dose of the antiretroviral medication Kaletra, despite the fact that the hospital was out of stock. From her doctor’s hands to her parents’ hands was the “last mile” of a long and sometimes convoluted system that delivers…
“In the development world, the term ‘middlemen’ comes with somewhat negative connotations. They have been called ‘coyotes,’ ‘hyenas,’ and ‘predatory rent-seekers,’” said Stephen McCarthy, a Chemonics value chain expert with 35 years of experience. Mr. McCarthy was a director in Chemonics’ Agriculture and Food Security practice and the former chief of party on the Feed…
What do you do when you are in danger of losing half of your land to an influential businessman? Gulbahor Rajabova, a farmer from Tajikistan, found herself in this precarious situation more than four years ago. She had to act fast to make sure she didn’t lose her land, and subsequently, her livelihood. Such scenarios…
In July 2012, some 60,000 Sudanese refugees, fleeing conflict in their home country, crowded the Yida camp across the border in South Sudan. Hundreds more arrived each day, exhausted and weak. Each day a handful of refugees died, and the daily death toll was increasing. As the rainy season began, threatening to worsen sanitation, hygiene,…
Maimuna Abdullahi was accustomed to cultivating rice only during the wet season, when frequent rains and low temperatures create an ideal climate for the crop. Like most Nigerian rice farmers, this mother and rice farmer of seven years thought that tending her paddies in the dry season, under the rainless harmattan (a dry, dusty air…
On a sunny spring day in May 2013, thousands of Georgians converged in Zugdidi, a city in western Georgia, for a landmark event. They came from all over the country to taste strawberries in every form imaginable — as juice, cake, cookies, and by the basketful. In addition to indulging in delicious food, the 5,000…
When 7-year-old Haward Kachula finished Grade 1 in 2012, he was one of the first students to benefit from Zambia’s national reading initiative. As visiting administrators looked on, Haward carefully wrote his name on the board and showed off his reading skills. His school, in Mwinilunga District of North-Western Province, embraced a new approach to…
In 2012, the $550-million USAID Kenya Pharma project became the first USAID project to be ISO 9001 certified, applying an internationally recognized standard for effective supply chain management to help deliver life-saving antiretroviral therapy to more than 349,000 patients throughout Kenya. A model of supply chain quality management, the Pharma example has caught the attention of…
Indonesia is the world’s third largest democracy and an emerging regional economic leader. Unfortunately, this does not guarantee equal access to justice and prosperity. Women make up only 38 percent of the labor force, a rate that has been steadily decreasing while the percentage of female-headed households remains steady. Because strong civil society organizations play…
Tropical deforestation, driven mostly by domestic and global demand for timber, palm oil, and other commodities, as well as the need to fulfill basic agricultural needs in developing countries, is a major contributor to global climate change. Globally, the conversion of forests to other land uses contributes 15 to 20 percent of CO2 emissions, exceeding…
Boasting almost 20 percent of the world’s coral reefs, the Indonesian archipelago is the largest repository of marine biological resources. Coral reefs provide habitats for 90 percent of the fish caught by coastal fishers and support millions of jobs and subsistence livelihoods in Indonesia. Unsustainable and destructive fishing practices are reducing the productivity and resilience…
Like many countries in West Africa, Nigeria faces the dual challenges of poverty and food insecurity. Not content to let their families fall into these traps, women in Nigeria are taking charge to pull their families out of poverty and are investing in their family’s health through best nutrition practices. Before her husband’s death, Hajia…