Going to a health care facility to pick up antiretrovirals (ARVs) became a precarious task for the approximately 38 million people across the globe living with HIV during COVID-19. The risk of exposure while accessing essential services and counseling suddenly became too high for immunocompromised patients. As the situation unfolded, the global health community grappled…
In Haiti, obtaining judicial records is a daunting task. In one jurisdiction, a prosecutor may need a case file essential for a trial but be unable to find the documents due to inconsistent filing systems. Elsewhere, a clerk may charge illegal fees to retrieve otherwise “lost” case files, thereby reducing trust in the legal process.…
Awaiting test results for a medical diagnosis can be stressful for anyone. But in some cases, a delay may mean the difference between life or death. Nigeria’s Ministry of Health established the National Integrated Specimen Referral Network (NiSRN) to improve coordinated clinical sample referral practices between health facilities and laboratories so that patients can get their results…
Calton Abudo Muagito starts his home visits early to avoid the heat. He visits five households a day. In a month, he visits 60. Community leaders select the households, while Calton and other volunteers are responsible for the outreach. He works in Memba, a coastal community of 320,000 people in Nampula Province, the most populous…
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…
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…
Ten years ago, a chance encounter sparked a partnership that would create lasting ripple effects on the well-being of a small community in the Philippines. At the time, Marie Rose Victoriano was unaware that organizing a workshop would reunite her with her college classmate turned local midwife, Jacinto Managbanag. She had no way of knowing…
Pictured: Yusufjon and Oisha read together. Yusufjon Nazarov was scared to read aloud for his peers because he read very slowly. The third grader in Kulob, Tajikistan isn’t alone. Many children in the country read below the national standard, often due to a lack of high-quality, age-appropriate reading materials and a lack of engaging teaching…
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…
A pregnant smallholder farmer in rural Mozambique has enough on her mind. Harvesting, getting wood, finding water, cooking, and feeding ― the list goes on. She also needs access to a clinic for an antenatal visit, where she should also receive long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) to protect her and her young children during the upcoming…
For 18-year-old Marco* and his peers, adolescence in Colombia has been a precarious time. For more than 50 years, the nation experienced conflict involving its government’s military, paramilitary groups, and guerilla groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). There have been more than 8 million civilian victims as a result of the…
Imagine you are the sole female provider for a family in Khatlon, Tajikistan, a province in which food insecurity is an everyday reality, and the agricultural sector dominates the market. Your livelihood might rely on your ability to sell your apricots, to feed your children uncontaminated milk from one of your cows, or to churn…