The power of being non-partisan

 Jim Grant, former Executive Director of UNICEF, visits a classroom in Bangladesh. photo: UNICEF

by Gina Olivieri, RESULTS Australia's Grassroots Engagement Manager

"Why do you provide condoms to sex workers? Why do you provide lube to men who have sex with men? Why do you exchange needles for drug users?”

These are questions often posed to our advocate friends in Kenya who are working to eliminate HIV in their communities.

The underlying assumption of questions like this, particularly in conservative settings, seems to be ‘these people are dirty, they are not worthy of your help.’

The answer given by the Kenyan advocate, incidentally, was love. They show love to all people who need their help to protect themselves and the community from a killer virus; by simply helping them without judgment.

This comment and others throughout the day got me thinking of another story. They got me thinking of the late Jim Grant, hugely influential former Executive Director of UNICEF who led the ‘child survival revolution’ throughout the 80s and 90s. Grant was often criticised for being photographed shaking hands with dictators; before or after having just met with them to discuss some sort of child survival intervention such as vaccination or oral rehydration salts.

He ‘shook hands that were stained with blood, hands that had turned the keys on political prisoners, hands that had signed away human rights, hands that were deep in the country’s till.’
This was not taken well, as many thought he shouldn’t be tainting UNICEF’s name by associating with such corrupt and even evil regimes.

Grant’s answer was as pragmatic as you would expect – “We don’t like the President so the kids don’t get immunized? You want to wait to launch the campaign until all governments are respectable?”
Grant recognised that as advocates, we don’t always get to choose who has the key to unlock interventions that can save lives. We could probably individually find a reason to avoid engaging with every single political leader or person of influence; for reasons trivially annoying to morally reprehensible.

But if we avoid engaging with them, what do we gain? And more importantly, what do we lose?
We lose the opportunity to influence somebody to be a champion for child health. Despite their evil reputations and deeds, Jim Grant was able to convince some notorious dictators that child health was important and deserving of resources. Had he not done that, those children would have been in exactly the same state as before – dying of preventable diseases or dehydration for a lack of simple, inexpensive interventions.

Our power is in our non-partisan stance. If we eliminate individuals, or even whole sides of politics from the dialogue, we miss the opportunity to build champions, who we have seen from experience, can come from surprising places. They may not be the ones we would have chosen, but they are in a place of influence. It’s our job to ensure that influence is used well.

Reference: http://www.unicef.org/about/history/files/Jim_Grant_unicef_visionary.pdf

Greater Impact through Partnership: 8 reasons to invest in the Global Partnership for Education

On June 26, 2014, leaders from around the world will convene at the Global Partnership for Education Pledging Conference to decide the future of education for children in the most poverty-stricken and conflict-affected countries on the planet. This brief explores 8 critical reasons why now, more than ever, donors and development actors must ambitiously support GPE’s work over the 2015-2018 period. Written with RESULTS Education for All campaign affiliates in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US, "Greater Impact Through Partnership: 8 reasons to invest in the Global Partnership for Education now more than ever" provides the critical information and data we need to move the Australian government to pledge AU$500 million over four years to the Global Partnership for Education.

Over the 8 weeks following the release of the brief, RESULTS and its affiliates developed an 8-part blog series covering each of the 8 reasons. Click on the image to read the relevant blog post.

 

 

Joining us in our campaign are world leaders and 98 Civil Society Organisations from around the world calling for generous support to the Global Partnership for Educatio.

And have you told the world what you have achieved #BecauseOfSchool?

Undernutrition is a smart development investment: Why delay?

By Tiruni Yasaratne, Global Health  Researcher Volunteer

In 2013, the Lancet published an ‘eyebrow raising’ statistic: undernutrition contributes to 45% of all child mortality worldwide. Of the seven million children around the world who die before their fifth birthday, nearly half of these die from undernutrition. Undernutrition, is in fact, a major global public health problem, with almost one in four children under-five stunted and 52 million children wasted.

The World Bank “At a glance” nutrition series shows that the economic costs of undernutrition include direct costs such as increased burden on health care systems, and indirect costs of lost productivity. Childhood anemia alone is associated with 5% drop in future adult wages!

Donor nations, countries and agencies came together in June 2013 at the Nutrition for Growth Summit in London, and made pledges for increased spending on nutrition interventions. Australia committed $40 million over four years for nutrition activities in the region.

A recent report, "Undernutrition in the Land of Rice", by RESULTS UK and RESULTS Australia on undernutrition in Cambodia reveals some distressing facts:

• On average undernourished children enroll in school later and complete fewer years of school
• Only a third of undernourished children go on to secondary school with completion rates very low 
• Undernourished children have weakened immune systems and are more likely to contract communicable diseases (TB for example)  – Studies in India show that a patient who is diagnosed with TB and also undernourished is two times more likely to die than a non-malnourished TB patient!
• Maternal undernutrition is high – Anaemia caused by low consumption of iron rich foods is very high in women of reproductive age and is a leading cause of maternal deaths and linked to adverse birth outcomes such as low weight babies. It also leads to reduced ability to concentrate, and ability to do manual labour.

Cambodia has an average economic growth rate of 7% per annum; yet 40% of its children under five are too short for their age. Where did Cambodia go wrong in relation to nutrition related investment?

A common understanding in the development community is that economic growth will improve nutrition. The Cambodian case proves otherwise.  Sadly, Cambodia is far from unique in struggling with this issue –14 countries have a child stunting rate of over 30% in the Asia Pacific region. 

Economic growth needs to be funneled in a targeted way to have an improvement on nutrition. Too often nutrition has been neglected, as there’s no easy single solution to implement. Our Cambodian report advocates for a stand alone indicator on nutrition and food security to be incorporated into the post-2015 development goals, to ensure nutrition is prioritised.

In a nutshell, Cambodia needs to invest more in nutrition interventions. But in a country with already competing development priorities, is it a cost effective option?

In 2013, the Lancet brought together the worlds nutrition experts, who found that a combination of ten interventions can make significant improvements in nutritional status at a relatively low cost.

Areas worthy of scale up include:

• Infant feeding practices - Support early start of breastfeeding (within the hour), continued exclusive breastfeeding until age six months, and timely introduction of complementary foods;
• Access to a diverse range of food through crop diversification;
• Nutrition education, in schools and primary health care centres, and by community health workers;
• Micronutrient fortification - According to the Micronutrient Initiative, “specifically providing vitamin A and zinc, provides the most beneficial return on investment of any development intervention”. Fortification is also most successful when it is mandated by law. 
• Conditional Cash Transfers- These provide a small income to families, with a conditional element that encourages them to engage with social programmes, including health and primary education. Evidence from major programmes (e.g. in Mexico and Brazil) shows that the interventions are most effective when they reach children during their first two years of life.
• Access to water and sanitation to combat disease - WHO estimates that 50% of undernutrition is associated with intestinal worm infections or repeated diarrhoeal episodes due to insufficient access to clean water and sanitation.

Overall, annually, Cambodia loses over US$134 million in GDP to vitamin and mineral deficiencies according to UNICEF and World Bank database sources. This holds back the country’s growth and ambition to reach upper middle income country status.

Amazingly, scaling up core micronutrient interventions would cost less than US$6 million per year. Addressing undernutrition is cost effective: Costs of core micronutrient interventions are as low as US$0.05–3.60 per person annually. Returns on investment areas high as 8–30 times the costs!

The World Bank states the returns on investment for addressing malnutrition include:

Source: The World Bank – Nutrition at a glance/Cambodia

Donor agencies, including Australia should publicise examples of their spending on nutrition interventions. Australia initiated the development of a holistic nutrition strategy soon after the London summit. However, due to changes in the aid programme in late 2013, there are no visible developments on it.

It is obvious that investing in nutrition programmes is tremendous value for money. With more bang for your buck, it is essentially an investment and not a cost. Keeping in line with new changes in Australian foreign aid whereby the Federal Government will soon introduce a performance evaluation system for foreign aid, with an emphasis on value for money, moving forward on the undernutrition strategy and developing comprehensive aid solutions to undernutrition is crucial for effective Australian aid.

Read the full report "Undernutrition in the Land of Rice"

"Inspirational. Enriching. Regenerative." - Your experience at AIDS2014

Angie (far right) with RESULTS and ACTION friends at the AIDS march

AIDS2014 is the 20th International AIDS Conference and will be held in Melbourne from the 20th – 25th of July 2014. For the first time it will feature a dedicated hub for discussing the deadly duo of TB-HIV. Despite TB's status as the leading killer of people with HIV, responses to these two diseases are often disconnected, and collaboration on HIV and TB programs is weak in many places.
      
The TB/HIV Networking Zone at AIDS 2014 will provide a space for HIV and TB communities – researchers, affected communities, advocates, policy makers, donors, and more – to come together and chart a way forward for addressing these deadly diseases together.

We interviewed RESULTS Hobart Group Leader Angie about her experience at AIDS2012 and encourage all RESULTS advocates to consider joining in the activities at AIDS2014's Global Village following our National Conference.

1. What did you enjoy most about AIDS2012?
Being in Washington for AIDS2012 was an incredible experience. The Global Village was amazing and listening to such a variety of plenary speakers streamed live from the conference was a huge privilege. My favourite part was the AIDS march where thousands of people marched from the four corners of Washington to meet for a massive rally outside the White House! Incredible. And RESULTS marched with ACTION right up the front from our corner. Unbelievable!!

2. Describe your experience in 3 words.
Inspirational. Enriching. Regenerative.

3. Why do you think RESULTS advocates should join in with AIDS2014?
We need to learn from past mistakes with Malaria and TB that just because we 'cure' or 'eradicate' these diseases in our own country, it doesn't mean they are gone forever. We need to continue the fight for all three of these diseases, to get the best possible drugs and equipment to the wealthy and impoverished alike in all countries, and to eradicate AIDS, TB and Malaria across the world. WE ARE THAT GENERATION!! And if that fact ignites some passion in you to help fight this cause, AIDS2014 will inspire you beyond measure. Don't just think about it. DO IT!!!

4. What made your AIDS2012 experience unique? What did you get out of it that you couldn't get anywhere else?
I feel incredibly privileged that as a member of RESULTS working with the amazing advocates from ACTION, I was part of a movement that brought awareness to people from all over the world about TB and its relationship to HIV. There were so many people at the conference who wandered through the Global Village and almost fell over backwards when ACTION advocates would share this knowledge. The educative experience on a personal level was huge and bringing that awareness to others both in Washington and back home to Australia was life changing.

Don't forget to register for the RESULTS National Conference - and if you're keen to stay on and join in the activities at the TB-HIV Networking Zone at the AIDS2014 Global Village, please contact info@results.org.au

Australia recommits to eradicating ancient disease

Photo credit: GAVI Alliance

RESULTS Australia media release

RESULTS International (Australia) applauds the commitment re-iterated by the Australian government on Sunday to eradicate polio from the entire world. 

Australia will be investing $100 million into the campaign, with the aim of eradicating polio completely by 2018. This investment not only honours an aid commitment made by the previous Labor government, but also shows the Abbott government's dedication to eradicating the disease by extending and increasing our commitment.

This investment will be hosted by the Global Polio Eradication initiative (GPEI), which is the coordinating body for all international agencies working to eliminate and eradicate polio.

Polio is a viral disease that is transmitted through contaminated food and water, and multiplies in the intestine. It can affect the central nervous system, and causes paralysis in one in every 200 infections.
Since its establishment in 1988, GPEI has successfully reduced polio cases by more than 99%, from more than 300,000 per year to just 417 cases in 2013.

The announcement by the Foreign Minister came with the opening of Rotary's 105th International Convention on Sunday. Hosted in Sydney this week, Rotary's annual convention was opened Sunday by the NSW Premier Mike Baird and Prime Minister Tony Abbott and expects to see more than 18,000 international Rotarians. 

"Eradicating polio around the world has been an Australian project," said Samantha Chivers, Global Health Campaign Manager at RESULTS Australia. 

"It was a Queensland Rotarian, Sir Clem Renouf, who lived through the eradication of smallpox and had the vision that polio could be eradicated in the same way," Samantha continued. 

"Australian aid and community support has been vital in supporting GPEI and keeping the issue high on the agenda. Now we have to up the ante, as that last 1% will be the hardest."

India, a country of over one billion people, saw its last case of polio in 2010, and was certified polio-free by the World Health Organisation in March this year. India joins the Pacific, Southeast Asian, European and American regions in being completely polio free.

Polio now remains endemic in only three countries: Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, cases are beginning to re-emerge in countries including Ethiopia, Iraq, and Israel. War-torn Syria, whose health system has collapsed, was polio-free for 14 years, and was re-infected with the virus from Pakistan.

At the beginning of May, the World Health Organisation declared that the spread of polio is an international public health emergency.

Endemic polio is preventable by vaccination, with oral vaccination of three drops being the preferred method so far.

"The public health community has seen great success with the oral vaccine. However, in order to completely eradicate polio and not just prevent infection in an individual, an injectable vaccine is needed, and this complicates the logistics and increases the price substantially" Samantha said.

The GAVI Alliance is the leading partnership providing vaccines to the developing world at low prices. GAVI announced earlier this year that it will begin supporting injectable polio vaccine (IPV) to 73 of the poorest countries in the world by the end of the year.

"We are very encouraged by the commitment made yesterday," Samantha said, "Increasing vaccination is a very effective use of our aid money. Now we need to see more support made to GAVI as well, so we can completely destroy this ancient disease forever."