Day 3 Dispatch: In Nepal With Coca-Cola

I was in Nepal with Coca-Cola for a very short period of time earlier this month, but we did and saw a lot in the days we were there including:

  • (Day 1) How the local Coca-Cola bottling company is working with a Nepalese NGO that is rebuilding a community from scratch after the earthquake
  • (Day 2) How Coca-Cola is empowering businesswomen in their supply chain

On Day 3 we visited a PET (plastic) bottle recycling center run by the Himalayan Climate Initiative where we sat down with women waste workers who sort the bottles to be recycled. It was heartening to learn about the innovative ways HCI is providing benefits and dignity to the women waste workers who will remain in Nepal’s lowest caste for the rest of their lives.

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Day 2 Social Media Highlights from India’s Child Survival Summit #C2AIndia

If you missed our piece about Day 1 of India’s Child Survival Summit on the Gates Foundation blog, Impatient Optimists, you can read it at The Most Important Conversation This Week: India on the Survival of its Children. You might recall our coverage of the Child Survival Summit that was held in Washington, DC last year. Convened by the Ministries of Health of Ethiopia and … Continue reading Day 2 Social Media Highlights from India’s Child Survival Summit #C2AIndia

Key Tweets from the Post 2015 High Level Meeting in Monrovia

David Cameron arrives in Monrovia to co-chair the Post-2015 High Level Meeting. Watch the video on The Guardian. Visit monrovia2015hlp.org to learn more about the meeting. This week in Monrovia, Liberia a high level meeting is taking place to look at global development for post 2015 after the expiration of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Co-Chaired by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Indonesia’s … Continue reading Key Tweets from the Post 2015 High Level Meeting in Monrovia

Key Tweets from Global Development Panel at World Economic Forum

Yesterday’s Global Development Outlook panel at the World Economic Forum included William H. Gates III, David Cameron, Ban Ki-moon, Paul Polman, Helene D. Gayle, H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Rwanda President Paul Kagame. You can watch the full panel on the World Economic Forum web site. We tweeted throughout the panel and also kept up with tweets from the #wefdevoutlook hashtag. Here are some that caught … Continue reading Key Tweets from Global Development Panel at World Economic Forum

Under Five Child Survival Under Microscope at Summit

This week child survival is under critical review in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the African Leadership for Child Survival – A Promise Renewed summit. This meeting, held at the African Union headquarters and convened by the Ethiopian government along with UNICEF and USAID brought together African Ministers of Health to enter into discussions about markedly improving child survival rates. The summit ends Friday. Between 1990-2011 … Continue reading Under Five Child Survival Under Microscope at Summit

An Optimistic View of Breastfeeding in Ethiopia

Throughout my travels to health facilities in Ethiopia last week with Save the Children I was heartened to see so many positive messages about breastfeeding on posters and printed materials for mothers to take home.  I also saw several mothers breastfeeding their babies everywhere we went. In Ethiopia 52% of babies are put to the breast within one hour of being born and 52% of … Continue reading An Optimistic View of Breastfeeding in Ethiopia

Mothers in Ethiopia and Newborn Care

No matter where you are babies draw a crowd. It is no different in Ethiopia when we saw babies with their mothers at health posts and centers. One baby (seen below) wore a handmade bracelet her mother told us keeps away hiccups. Despite the mother’s use of cultural practices she still brought her baby into the health center for preventive medicine and a check-up with … Continue reading Mothers in Ethiopia and Newborn Care

Ethiopia’s Health Care Model, Workers

Ethiopia has its health care flaws and challenges, but what it seems to have captured is an appreciation for simplicity. Ethiopia’s health care system is very easy to understand, even though implementation and results are not easily achievable. This week I am in Ethiopia with Save the Children and its new campaign Every Beat Matters to observe frontline health workers and the programs that help … Continue reading Ethiopia’s Health Care Model, Workers

Bishoftu Hospital’s Maternity Ward

In Ethiopia 90% of all expectant mothers deliver their babies at home, but there are some who are referred by frontline health workers with a recommendation to deliver at a hospital. At Bishoftu hospital, a zone hospital that is located about an hour south of Addis Ababa on the sole road towards Djibouti , 200 women annually give birth at its facility.  As an Ethiopian … Continue reading Bishoftu Hospital’s Maternity Ward

Family Planning in Ethiopia

This week I am a guest of Save the Children on an observational trip in Ethiopia. I, along with three distinguished US nurses, are here to learn about Ethiopia’s frontline health workers, the 38,000 women strong health extension workers. The health extension workers were put into place by the Ethiopian government in 2003 and now through the work of Save the Children and other partners, … Continue reading Family Planning in Ethiopia