Pass the Mic: Reinvigorating Global Efforts to Reduce Maternal and Child Mortality
By Paula Rudnicka, Sr. Manager for Public Affairs at Global Communities In 2012, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Governments of India and Ethiopia to convene the Child Survival Call to Action, which galvanized unprecedented commitments from governments and civil society around the…
Read MoreEbola Response in Liberia
Global Communities took a comprehensive approach to Ebola programming by coupling infrastructure development, community mobilization and behavior change communications to improve sanitation and hygiene practices. Global Communities’ close relationship with Community Health Workers, Environmental Health Technicians, USAID, and the communities we work with allowed us to quickly respond and refocus USAID-funded WASH activities in March…
Read MoreWASH Capacity in Humanitarian Emergencies in Liberia
Global Communities, as a partner to IRC, implemented the $6.5 million USAID-funded program Partnership for Advancing Community-based Services (PACS) program from 2015-2019 with the goal of improved health-seeking behavior and practices and improved access to safe WASH services. GC was responsible for organizing community engagement meetings to help communities move up the sanitation ladder, encouraging…
Read MoreCollaborating, Learning & Adapting Case Analysis: Deep Dive
Collaborating, Learning & Adapting Case Analysis: Deep Dive Global Communities’ Ebola Response in Liberia Read the full report. Read the summary. From 2014–2015, Ebola devastated communities in Liberia, overwhelming their fragile health care systems with at least 10,675 cases and 4,809 disease-related deaths (CDC, 2016). Global Communities, working with hundreds of communities in Lofa, Nimba and…
Read MoreHow Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting Led to More Effective Prevention During Liberia’s Ebola Outbreak
How Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting Led to More Effective Prevention During Liberia’s Ebola Outbreak By Ilana Shapiro and Kristin Lindell | This article originally appeared on USAID Learning Lab “Why do you only come when someone has died? Why do you not come to help when someone is sick?” This question posed by rural Liberians…
Read MoreQuiet Heroes in the Fight against Ebola
Quiet Heroes in the Fight against Ebola WASH entrepreneurs provided a vital service during the peak of the Ebola crisis, fixing hand pumps and restoring water systems so clinics and communities could continue safe hygiene practices. While the Ebola crisis was at its peak, a small group of WASH entrepreneurs helped in a significant way…
Read MoreImproving Community Sanitation and Preventing the Spread of Ebola in Liberia
Improving Community Sanitation and Preventing the Spread of Ebola in Liberia Report highlights the link between improved sanitation practices and the spread of Ebola Read the full report online | Download the full pdf report An assessment demonstrating the correlation between Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) and Ebola prevention in Liberia was published in the Journal of…
Read MoreHow to Combat Ebola, HIV, Zika for a Few Dollars: Understanding Unintended Outcomes
How to Combat Ebola, HIV, Zika for a Few Dollars: Understanding Unintended Outcomes By David A. Weiss, President and CEO, Global Communities | This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post. In my last blog, I focused on the importance of measurement and evidence in designing and implementing the most effective global development programs. But one…
Read MoreThe Evidence that Global Development Works: Measuring Impact
The Evidence that Global Development Works: Measuring Impact By David A. Weiss, President and CEO, Global Communities | This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post. At Global Communities, we believe that accountability, transparency and evidence-based design of projects are vital ingredients to effective partnerships. We have to be able to demonstrate to the communities…
Read MoreDr. Rajiv Shah on Global Communities’ Impact on Ebola Response in Liberia
Dr. Rajiv Shah on Global Communities’ Impact on Ebola Response in Liberia Former Administrator of USAID, Dr. Rajiv Shah, speaks about Global Communites’ role in the response to Ebola in Liberia at an event led by CSIS called “Enriching the Policy Ecosystem: Broadening the Talent Base.”
Read MoreGlobal Communities Liberia Receives Golden Image Award
Global Communities Liberia Receives Golden Image Award This article first appeared on Reuters Alertnet On July 21st, the Global Communities Liberia team was honored by the Government of Liberia to be a recipient of the Golden Image Award (GIA). First envisioned in 2010 and endorsed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the GIA is premised on…
Read MoreA Community Approach to Better Public Health in Rural Liberia
A Community Approach to Better Public Health in Rural Liberia By Russell Sticklor This artilce originally appeared in USAID’s Global Waters. Residents of Lofa County’s Vahun district in Liberia gather to discuss strategy for sustaining recent local sanitation improvements. Photo Credit: Global Communities Liberia is no stranger to difficult times, having weathered a devastating Ebola…
Read MoreGlobal Waters Radio: Sanitation Behavior Change in Liberia
Global Waters Radio: Sanitation Behavior Change in Liberia This interview originally appeared on Global Waters Radio. “When you’re looking at behavior change projects, it is very important to have it locally contextualized.” —Piet deVries, Senior WASH Specialist Piet deVries is Senior WASH Specialist and Liberia Country Director for Global Communities, a Maryland-based NGO with programs in more…
Read MoreGlobal Communities Celebrates World Water Day in Liberia
Global Communities Celebrates World Water Day in Liberia Bong County WASH entrepreneurs and PACS staff. By Alex Keimbe, Global Communities Liberia World Water Day offers a global reminder of how critical freshwater is for life, as well as how limited our supplies are. This special day was started 19 years ago as a way to…
Read MoreGlobal Communities Hands Over Disco Hill Safe Burial Site to Government of Liberia
Global Communities Hands Over Disco Hill Safe Burial Site to Government of Liberia By Stephen Farshing, Global Communities MARGIBI COUNTY, LIBERIA – After more than one year and nearly 3,000 burials conducted, Global Communities formally transferred the management and operations of Disco Hill to the Liberian Ministry of Health on January 19th in a ceremony…
Read MoreLiberia’s First District Reaches “Open Defecation Free” Status with Support from Global Communities
Liberia’s First District Reaches “Open Defecation Free” Status with Support from Global Communities By Stephen Farshing, Global Communities VAHUN TOWN, LOFA COUNTY, LIBERIA – Vahun Town, Liberia, a remote district with 34 communities in the northwest bordering Sierra Leone, recently became the first district to be declared entirely open defecation-free (ODF) by the government of…
Read MoreGlobal Communities’ Staff Featured in the Guardian’s “Your NGO Heroes of 2015”
Global Communities’ Staff Featured in the Guardian’s “Your NGO Heroes of 2015” The Guardian asked development professionals to nominate the people and projects who inspired them most in 2015. From more than 100 nominations, the Guardian selected a few of their favorites including Global Communities’ Selline Korir and George Woryonwon who are featured for their work in…
Read MoreStopping Ebola in its Tracks: a Community-Led Response
The public view of the Ebola response was dominated by images and stories of medical workers and Ebola treatment units. But there is also the less-known story of the many thousands of Liberian health workers, government staff, traditional leaders and volunteers who played the most significant role in building resilience to Ebola and reducing transmission…
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