Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance

Anna Casalme of Novelly in the U.S. will develop a mobile phone application that combines young adult fiction about social issues with learning tasks and international discussion forums to encourage young people to become global citizens and spark their interest in issues such as gender equality and health. Building on their existing program, they will design and develop the application with specific features, add one novel, and pilot test it, before refining the design and opening it to the public.

The primary purpose of the innovation is to build social and healthcare capacities for improving reproductive health outcomes for young women in two states. It takes to scale a pilot that is implemented and tested by IDF in two blocks of Jharkhand, India. Using a youth-focused communication strategy, designed and implemented by young women from the community, the innovation will build upon IDF’s efforts in the public health system of two states to increase availability of SRH services, including abortion and contraception.

Lack of financial empowerment & inadequate personal health knowledge amongst women in Nigerian IDP camps accentuates barriers to access & utilization of Health Care. Financial emasculation blunts decision making process of women and potentiates problem of gender inequality & marginalization that directly leads to early forced marriage, prolonged childbearing with higher risk of maternal mortality & morbidity. We will tackle the inadequate personal health knowledge & financial emasculation

Eighteen million women and men living with HIV want to have a child. Condomless sex between HIV-serodifferent (one HIV-positive, one HIV-negative) couples who want children contributes to 1.5 million HIV infections and 150,000 perinatal transmissions annually. Safer conception interventions promoting antiretroviral (ARV)-mediated viral suppression, pre-exposure prophylaxis, and/or condomless sex timed to peak fertility can eliminate HIV transmission, keeping sexual partners and babies HIV-free.

Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) deficiency in rural Nepal due to lack of knowledge and local/religious traditions, girls/women are exposed during their menstruation to non-hygienic and unhealthy conditions (not allowed to stay at home, no access to proper toilet, water nor hygienic pads/products) and subject to social exclusion (not allowed to attend social events and missing school).MHM affects women/girls health, dignity and confidence, sustains gender inequality and challenges women rights

Discussing sexuality is still considered a taboo in Indian Society. Sex education to school children and adolescents is a challenge for teachers and is seldom taught in a way to create medically appropriate, affirmative outlook towards sexuality. The problem is much more compounded by myths associated with sex information resulting in poor sexual behavior, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections & sexual crimes. The problem is much higher in Rajasthan leading to sex discrimination.

Managing menstrual health in refugee camps/settlements is a big problem, as refugees often have no access to sanitary pads. Thousands of adolescent girls and women are forced to improvise with unhygienic alternatives that put their lives at risk of contracting infections. Furthermore, lack of proper menstrual health management resources make women vulnerable as they continue to miss school days and also are forced to engage in unwanted sex for money to get pads.

Despite progress on gender equity, rates of violence against women/girls are alarming (1,2). 43% of Zambian women of reproductive age experienced GBV (3). Pregnancy is a major risk factor (2, 3). Safe Motherhood efforts increased antenatal (ANC) visits/supervised births, but 4 barriers to health/safety remain: 1. No practice of GBV screening or assessment of risk. 2. No standard tool or practice. 3. No link with community support resources. 4. No evidence for policy decisions/planning or supports.

This initiative promotes early development and improves the physical, emotional and socio-economic wellbeing of at risk infants and children under 5 and members of their households through education and local solutions in the war-torn City of Goma, in the DRCongo (DRC). At risk infants and children are those under 5 with parent/s victims of traumatic events living below US$1 per person/day. They include: rape victims, torture victims and post-traumatic stress disorders caused by violence, etc.

Household air pollution (HAP) from cooking smoke causes 4.3 million deaths per year (WHO). In Ethiopia, over 3 million children suffer from pneumonia annually (UNICEF, 2013), resulting in ~13,000 child deaths (IHME, 2013). Non-communicable diseases from exposure to HAP account for ~5% of all deaths in Ethiopia and are associated with negative birth outcomes (Fullerton et al., 2008). The situation is especially dire in refugee camps.