Guest column in the Rockford Register Star on the 5th Birthday campaign

May 14, 2012
Reflections, Global Health
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Special thanks to Wally Haas, the editor in chief at the Rockford Register Star, for running my guest column on the Every Child Deserves a Fifth Birthday campaign in Sunday’s paper. I think far too often those of us involved in health and development on the coasts are disconnected from people living in the heartland of America (like my dear homestate of Illinois).

Writing the column was a great opportunity to hopefully get more folks involved from in and around Rockford, IL, where I grew up. The more we can connect with people from all 50 states, and greater the chance of policymakers from their respective states will take notice & support our continued efforts to end preventable child deaths.

I’d love to hear thoughts and feelings from others who work in development, or who have a personal interest in the topic but maybe don’t see much on global health and development in their hometown publications. What’s the best way to engage all Americans (not just those living in San Fran, Seattle, LA, NYC, Boston and DC) on campaigns like #5thbday?

Wisdom from Professor Bicknell

May 10, 2012
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A former professor of mine, Dr. Bill Bicknell, gave a special lecture last week back at BUSPH. I was disappointed to not join in person, but the round up of the lecture featured on the BUSPH News Archive captured his spirit and thought on the ethics of public health practice:

“[Bicknell] warned the audience that while medical doctors can make mistakes that can lead to the deaths of handfuls of patients, public health practitioners can ‘make mistakes that kill even more people and with less accountability.’ “

I remember his words from our first day of Global Health Policy, which weren’t terribly far from the sentiments above. He worked to instill an ethical compass in each of us, focused on who our real clients were in the field of global health: the patients, mothers, daughters, sons, fathers, aunts, uncles and other who we would help provide access to affordable medical services through our work, not the donors, funders, or DC-based backstops who oftentimes would determine what we could or could not achieve.

Thank you, Prof. Bicknell. Your words still stick with me today.

Visualizing gay rights in America, state by state

May 10, 2012
US Policy
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Thank you, President Obama, for coming out with your public support of marriage equality.

Thank you for also, in turn, sparking this delightful series of data visualizations of gay rights by state in America. The Guardian Data Blog is one of my favorites for doing things like this.

The original interactive display that sparked the series can be explored here and is pictured below.

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And how do the four states where I’ve lived stack up against each other? Ohio disappoints (not surprising) and the very blue Massachusetts and DC come out ahead of the pack.

State of the World’s Mothers Report released

May 8, 2012
Aid, Women's Health
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The State of the World’s Mothers report has been released by Save the Children. This year, the report focuses on nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life, and includes country rankings for the best and worst places to be a mother, taking into account health, education, and economic indicators for women and children. You can read the interactive report here.

While the rankings aren’t surprising, per say, seeing countries indexed against each other is always curious. How different indicators are weighted in making the composite numbers can have a huge impact on where someone lands. For example, Mali ranks in the bottom 10; it’s also a country with historically complexities in measuring the percent of women who deliver with a skilled attendant, due to the wide use of matrones (traditional trained birth attendants) at delivery. Timing of the data collection and aggregation also plays a role; while the data here are published for 2012, they don’t take into account recent events (like the coup and ensuing civil unrest in Mali).

I’d be interested in comparing these numbers and rankings with the overall UNDP Human Development Index rankings, but that’s a task to undertake sometime other than my early lunch.

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Key findings from the Mobile Africa 2012 report

May 8, 2012
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Recently, the fourth annual Mobile Africa Report (2012) was recently released by Mobile Monday and Extensia.  The report contains an absolute treasure trove of ideas, reflections and quantitative assessments of the continued growth of mobile ownership and use throughout the continent. The research behind the report was led by Dr. Madanmohan Rao, Research Project Director for Mobile Monday.

Instead of focusing on pulling together a laundry list of organizations working in the mobile sphere throughout Africa, the report authors queried select experts (“key informants” for those of you in the research bubble) to provide insights around who the important organizations and thought leaders in mobiles are today, what are the greatest emerging opportunities and where are the greatest challenges.

Across the experts, mPesa was commonly cited as one of the best observed examples of mobile innovation in Africa, and the importance of SMS was referred to repeatedly as a key tool for startups entering the mobile market in Africa today. With SMS technology reaching its 20th birthday this year, it’s amazing that a form of communication that seems so simple can have so much power. Alan Knott-Criag of MXIT lamented, “Many people think that Android is the answer [for application developers], but the biggest opportunity still lies with SMS and J2ME in terms of installed base as well as new monthly sales.”

Mobile penetration in sub-Saharan Africa rests around 60% in 2012, and analysts anticipate growth to 75% penetration by 2016, as noted in Table 5 below.

The number of Africans with access to a mobile is higher than those with access to electricity.  These impressive stats are not new to those who work in mHealth or ICT, but are strong reminders of how interconnected our world has become.

Mobile broadband and growth of mobile money platforms were suggested as key opportunities in the mobile sector by multiple experts. Thinking long term (towards sustainability) and making connections across typically siloed groups were cited as recommendations for market growth.

Finally, the last part of the report has a detailed and interesting exploration of mobile markets in various African countries, and suggestions for the mobile industry (rather than application developers) to support inclusive and sustainable growth moving forward.

Sunday Funday: Volunteering for the Race for Hope.

May 7, 2012
Volunteering
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Sunday morning it was overcast and rainy when James & I headed over to volunteer at the 15th Annual Race for Hope to benefit brain tumor research. If you’ve never volunteered for a race down on the National Mall and live in DC, add it to your summer bucket list. Volunteering for charity races is a great way to give back on the weekends, and a fun place to meet interesting people.

This year’s Race for Hope raised over $2 million, bringing the event total over the past 15 years to over $15 million. Heartening, considering the challenges philanthropic causes have faced during the economic climate. Seeing so many people there, old and young, in yellow shirts was a beautiful sight, as each one was a survivor of a brain tumor themselves – seeing the kids’ bright, smiling faces was the best.

As volunteers, we handed out endless bagels, bananas, and other treats to the runners and walkers, and I got to help with the Kids Fun Run, giving every little one who crossed the finish line their own medal.

For the past few years, staff from John Snow Inc (where I work) have walked or ran the race or volunteered for the event as part of Team Sophie Bear, supporting a colleague whose daughter has courageously fought a brain tumor over the past 2+ years.  Five colleagues walked in the race or volunteered, and also coordinated a massive office bake sale to benefit the team, raising over $1100!  It’s wonderful to work at a place where philanthropic work & support is not only supported, but encouraged!

James & I volunteering at the food tent.

The JSI members of Team Sophie Bear pose with little Sophie and Isabella before the race kicks off.

OHMH DC Spring Social 2012 – have you bought your tickets?

May 7, 2012
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Don’t forget to buy your tickets for the OHMH DC Spring Social at the Lighthorse in Alexandria, VA this Thursday from 6:30-9 pm. Thomas will be there, with his strapping Irish-toned musings on the future and vision for OHMH, Anthony will be with us from Kenya to awe & inspire as always, and our friends from Catoctin Creek will be on hand to provide tastings of their palate-delighting organic, kosher spirits (rye, white whisky, and gin).

Tickets include drinks, apps & liquor tastings, plus a heaping load of inspiration. You’ll be there right? Buy tickets here.

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P.S. In another city (NYC, Boston, London…) and sad to be missing out on the DC fun? No worries – Anthony and Thomas will be sharing at evenings like this around the East Coast. Just check out the website for details.

Thanks for sharing with your 14.5 million followers, Miss Kim Kardashian!

May 2, 2012
Global Health
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While I may not be a celebrity news aficionado like many friends, no one can doubt the reach and influence she has on social media. Which is why I was so excited to see…

Linking back to her birthday wish & fifth birthday photo!

So for all of you who don’t get as excited about photos from Senator Kerry or Administrator Shah as I do, perhaps this little celebrity endorsement will give you the nudge you need to post your own photo!

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