Boston is a mess of a city. People will talk about its great history, but it is a logistical headache to navigate on a regular basis. Highly populated areas lack proper access to the T and a GPS phone does not prevent one from getting lost.

Plus, it is home...

A recent WHO assessment of Rwanda's capacity to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs) found that country failed on every measure. Except for having a branch in the Ministry of Health that addresses NCDs. In between the lines of the assessment, and captured within the Ministry of Health, is a major...

As the world nears eradicating polio, Nigeria stands as one of the few countries that remain polio endemic. The first three-quarters of 2012 saw three times more cases as opposed to the same period last year. While efforts focus on ridding the country of polio, a series of obstacles still...

One of the most effective ways to advocate for foreign aid when it comes to the American electorate is by couching it in terms of American interests. Specifically, it means talking about national security. Such definitions lean towards examples like nation building in Afghanistan and ensuring stability in important allies like...

Celebrity and social activism are often closely linked. For some, music is one way to make this connection. Woody Guthrie's protest songs were punctuated by a guitar bearing the words "This machine kills fascists."

Current musicians use concert time to promote their organization or foundation of choice. Bono stresses...

The Sahel crisis continues and it seems like little good news makes its way out of the region. Sectarian violence continues in northern Nigeria, Islamist rebels in northern Mali have assumed control of the region and people are pouring into Chad and Mauritania as the result of fighting and the...

Stories of change within Africa often include a foreigner doing heroic and good work to address a given problem. New York Times journalist Nick Kristof explained in 2010 that such story models connect better with the audience. He said that when he writes stories without a bridge character the...

One of the biggest misconceptions about President Obama's health care overhaul isn't who the law will cover, but rather who it won't.

If it survives Supreme court scrutiny, the landmark overhaul will expand coverage to about 30 million uninsured people, according to government figures. But an estimated 26 million U.S....

I had the chance to speak with Lara Crampe, Development Officer for IIRR. She has proposed to give the talk titled "Sex, Slacktivism, and How Not to Change the World" at TEDxUChicago. The proposal is one of the many entries participating in the GOODmaker challenge to speak at the...

What do Americans think about the role of the US in global health? A Kaiser Family Foundation survey released today sought to answer that question.

As you may already know, Americans are terrible at guessing how much of the US budget is spent on foreign assistance. Previous surveys put the estimates...

Nigeria is home to one out of every eight child deaths worldwide. Routine vaccinations save lives and money. The Decade of Vaccines Economics projects 90 percent vaccine coverage against Hib, pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, measles and pertussis can save 600,000 lives and $17 billion in Nigeria over the next 10 years.

An instructive e-book on global health by TED Senior Fellow and health care expert Alanna Shaikh debuted a...

The timing of the Kony 2012 campaign is quite apt in light of the recent release of Dr Samantha Nutt's memoir-cum-aid commentary Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies & Aid. Dr Nutt, a physician and the founder and Executive Director of War Child Canada, shares her experiences as an aid...

Mumbai -- A unique public-private partnership involving private sector giants like Unilever and Heinz is improving the health of Indian children. Two hours outside India's tech hub Bangalore is Krishnagiri the Integrated Village Development Project (IVDP) is using interest-free microfinance loans to increase access to products people could not...

The present political climate in the United States has led to a full assault on social programs, demeaned as "entitlements" by opponents. The race for the Republican nominee has become a place to beat up on social programs. Newt Gingrich has gone on to call President Obama "the best food-stamp...

Reuters is stepping up to provide more comprehensive coverage of humanitarian aid. Recently, they launched the 'Future of Aid' section that is filled with graphics, stories and videos about humanitarian aid. The present focus of the section is centered around aid spending.

In a survey of...

Countries in the global south, like India and Ghana, are still seen by many as charity recipients. It is due to the fact that 'developing' countries like them receive a sizeable amount of aid from international donors. This long-held view is beginning to shift as nations move to middle income...

Resiliency has become the word of choice and de facto mantra chanted by USAID administrator Raj Shah. This reflects an organizational shift of focus in its programming in response to the 5-month-old famine in the Horn of Africa (HoA).

The word "resilient" carries two definitions, both of which are applicable...

mHealth (or mobile health) has become one of the latest super models walking down the runway. The ideas are sexy and potential high as innovators develop the latest app to analyze if a person has malaria on a smart phone. However, like fashion, the excitement for what could...