A Note From Our CEO, Kanika Bahl
I am excited to share that – for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic – Deworm the World is supporting government partners across all our geographies with deworming, targeting a total of over 229 million children. In Pakistan, deworming is now achieving scale, with the government recently launching its first national deworming awareness campaign, followed by a huge push to target over 10 million children across 4 out of the 7 at-risk territories and provinces.
Meanwhile, our Accelerator teams are working closely with the Liberian government to scale up maternal syphilis testing and treatment nationwide, targeting 800,000 women screened, and 16,000 women treated over the next 5 years. Maternal syphilis is an entirely preventable tragedy, but currently results globally in millions of neonatal deaths, stillbirths, and children born each year with lifelong disabilities. Most pregnant women are left untested and untreated. The solution to this is simple and cheap – many of these women are already tested for HIV during their prenatal care. We are supporting adoption of a new HIV/syphilis dual test that costs an additional US$0.35. Once identified, a simple penicillin shot costing US$0.50 averts most adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Our work on scaling testing and treatment in Liberia is moving rapidly – over 60 health facilities now have the necessary drugs, diagnostics, and training to deliver syphilis screening and treatment. We aim to help the government to train all facilities offering prenatal care in Liberia by mid-2022, quickly scaling a solution to this neglected issue and helping save the lives of babies across Liberia.
Finally organization-wide, Evidence Action has just this week received a perfect score from Charity Navigator, the largest non-profit evaluator in the world, across all four rated categories – Impact and Results, Finance and Accountability, Leadership and Adaptability, and Culture and Community. We also recently obtained a 2021 Platinum Seal of Transparency by GuideStar, the highest recognition awarded by the organization. We are pleased to have our impact and transparency recognized, in addition to the cost-effectiveness of our programs.
Best,
A teacher administers medication as part of the deworming rounds in the Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, August 2021.
ArticlesDeworm the World: Real world application of cost per child data for decision making To assess our ability to support cost-effective programming, we estimate the cost per child treated across our deworming geographies. This key metric helps us continuously improve our understanding of program costs and guide our programmatic decision-making processes. Rapidly Training Over One Million Frontline Workers for Deworming During COVID-19 in India With school closures due to COVID-19, the Government of India temporarily changed their delivery of deworming – reaching children at home instead. We helped the government leverage technology to enable rapid, safe training of over one million frontline health workers. How investing in our people helped us adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic Charity Navigator invited us to share our experiences in adapting our operations in the midst of disruptions caused by the pandemic. We were able to rapidly adapt through the strong leadership and efforts of our staff based in the countries where our impact is focused. |
Newsworthy 2019 Nobel laureate Michael Kremer emphasizes WASH and deworming benefits (World Health Organization News) In a visit to WHO headquarters in Geneva, Professor Michael Kremer presented on the correlation between water quality, access to water, and child survival in low and middle income countries as well as the long-term economic benefits of deworming children regularly. Deworming exercise improves school attendance (Kenya News Agency) This article reports the kickoff of the nationwide deworming exercise in Kenya and highlights the role of Evidence Action in helping increase the number of children dewormed since 2009. Collaborating with Kenyan government on development innovations is key to fighting poverty, says Nobel laureate (UChicago News) A feature on the work of Nobel laureate Michael Kremer and his ongoing advocacy for strengthening partnerships with governments for deworming and safe water – as exemplified by programs such as our Deworm the World Initiative and Dispensers for Safe Water. This editorial details the importance of deworming for children and the political commitment behind the new Pakistan Deworming Initiative, naming Evidence Action as a technical assistance partner supporting program scale up across the country. |
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Staff SpotlightMaryann Edeh, Manager, Deworm the World Initiative, Southwest Zone, Nigeria
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