Knowledge Generation

Children who receive quality early childhood education and care (“ECCE”) are proven to be healthier, do better and stay longer in school, and have better economic trajectories in adult life. But it is estimated that over 250m children under 5 worldwide - the majority of whom are situated in rural communities in LMIC - do not receive adequate ECCE [The Lancet ECD Series: 2007, 2011 & 1016].

Climate change and poor gender diversity in the green building industry are jointly addressed in this hands-on, scalable project. Buildings account for more than one-quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), according to the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction. Greening our built environment helps fight climate change, while building resilience into communities. A shift to green technologies and “green jobs” requires a dynamic and highly skilled labor force.

Issues surrounding Indigenous seed sovereignty in Canada can be sourced to two key problems: seed health and access, and seed stewardship education. Currently, four corporations control 60% of the world’s seed sales, and 95% of corporate seeds grown are bred with the heavy use of industrial fertilizers and insecticides. This has impacted seeds’ preparedness for climate change as well as their nutritional content, as many crops have lost 30-100% of their vitamin content compared with 60 years ago.

Colonization has impacted Indigenous communities, particularly in the severing of Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing. The problem addressed by this innovation is the continuance and resurrection of Indigenous knowledge, specifically harvesting in a traditional way out of the waters.

Wash services in IDP/refugee camps are often below par. These are further strained by insecurity in these areas, sometimes poor accessible during rainy seasons. Data on the performance of WASH assets in camps is usually very scanty, often times in analogue format and comes from staff doing their regular rounds or from complaints. As a result, there is little data driven decision making going on, no early warning in place on wash assets performance.

Après trois décennies de conflicts, la région du Sud-Kivu en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) où la moitié de la population a moins de 25 ans a subi et subit encore des violences quotidiennes. Celles et ceux qui en échappent gardent de profonds traumatismes psychologiques qui peuvent hypothéquer leur avenir familial, économique et social. La majorité se trouve dans l’incapacité de guérir de ces maux à cause d’un faible accès aux institutions de santé mentale.

There are approximately 1,500 incarcerated teenagers in Mexico. Many exhibit mental health (“MH”) symptoms, including depression and anxiety, which tend to increase whilst incarcerated. Due to a lack of public funding and inefficient policy, most do not have access to evidence based MH services, increasing risk of criminal recidivism.

Children with HIV have higher rates of attempted suicide and self-harm than their peers; anxiety and depression are associated with non-adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART), substance abuse and risky sexual practices (Vreeman et al 2017). In Uganda, perinatally infected children and adolescents on ART show disorder prevalences of 17.4% (psychiatric), 9.6% (behavioral) and 11.5% (emotional) (Kinyanda et al 2015); younger children are more likely to lack coping strategies (Mutumba et al 2015).

India's regionally and economically diverse LGBTQIA++ youth, despite decriminalization, are at high risk of mental health (MH) issues due to dominant heterocentrism, conservative and discriminatory social attitudes. A lack of MH literacy, affirming supportive community networks, and internalized social stigma often results in depression, self-harm, and normalized abuse in social structures. Insufficient awareness of MH, sexuality, and a lack of self-care skills exacerbates this ignored crisis.

An alarming rate of 13% of Rwandans ages 12-17 report suicidal ideation or behavior within the last 6 months; 20% among those have HIV. One in four youth meet the diagnostic criteria for depression. Mental health awareness and literacy are low among Rwandan youth, and there is reported societal shame in seeking help. Our innovation, co-designed with youth, addresses mental health stigma among Rwandan youth and improves knowledge and self-efficacy to access supportive services.