The post Healthy Start Pregnancy & Postpartum Education Guide appeared first on Global Communities.

When wildfires rage, power grids fail or heat waves strike, most families worry about staying safe, but for pregnant individuals and new parents, the stakes are even higher. Disaster preparedness and response efforts often overlook the distinct and critical needs of these perinatal populations, leaving them especially vulnerable during emergencies. The consequences can be severe and long-lasting, affecting both maternal and infant health.

Environmental hazards such as extreme heat, wildfire smoke, and poor air quality — now common in many parts of Southern California — are directly linked to increased rates of preterm birth, stillbirth and hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. At the same time, the chaos of a disaster can disrupt access to prenatal and postpartum care, exacerbate mental health challenges and create barriers to breastfeeding and parent-infant bonding.

Despite these risks, perinatal health is rarely integrated into emergency planning frameworks. This gap leaves families without the resources or support they need to stay safe and healthy during crises. Project 360 was created with this in mind.

Led by Global Communities through its Healthy Start programs, the initiative brings together emergency response professionals, perinatal health experts and community members to ensure that pregnant and postpartum individuals and their families are not only included in disaster preparedness efforts but prioritized. By combining hands-on training, essential emergency supplies and policy advocacy, Project 360 is building a more inclusive and resilient approach to emergency readiness.

What We’re Doing

Project 360 is a community-driven effort to help families feel more prepared and supported when emergencies happen. Through a series of in-person workshops across Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, families are learning practical skills and gaining confidence. These trainings are co-led by emergency response professionals and perinatal health experts who understand the realities families face and can speak directly to their needs.

Each participating family also receives a thoughtfully curated “Go Bag” filled with essential emergency supplies. These kits include first aid items, infant care products, flashlights, radios, masks and a list of local resources — tools that can make a real difference in a crisis.

To extend our reach, we’re also building an online resource hub that will offer printable guides, interactive tools and real-time emergency updates tailored to the needs of pregnant and postpartum individuals. Beyond direct services, we’re also working with local agencies to ensure that perinatal health is included in emergency response plans. This fall, we’ll be sharing our work at the National Healthy Start Grantee Meeting in Virginia, helping to elevate this issue on a national stage.

Why It Matters 

In many of the communities we serve, families are already navigating economic hardship, limited access to care and environmental risks. Project 360 meets them where they are — with practical tools, trusted guidance and a commitment to equity. 

“Preparedness isn’t just about supplies. We’re empowering parents with the tools and knowledge they need to protect their children and support one another when it matters most. Project 360 is about making sure no family is left behind when disaster hits.” 

— Yuli Smith, Consortium Manager, Healthy Start San Diego-Riverside 

Looking Ahead 

We’re also investing in the future. While we’re currently partnering with CERT trainers to deliver standard emergency content, we’re also educating them on the specific needs of perinatal populations, such as safe sleep requirements, lactation accommodations and support. Our goal is to develop Global Communities-branded materials that can be used by other organizations nationwide — helping to raise the bar for inclusive preparedness. 

What You Can Do Today
Donate: When you give to Healthy Start, you’re giving moms and babies the healthiest start to life.
Learn more: See how our Healthy Start programs are supporting families in Southern California.

The post Project 360: Supporting Families Before, During and After Disaster appeared first on Global Communities.

Through this award, Global Communities will deliver and expand Project ROOTS programming across three key sites: San Diego High School, Rise Up Leadership Academy (RULA) at the City Heights Recreation Center and the Youth Transition Campus, a local replacement of the former Juvenile Detention Facility aimed at providing a more rehabilitative and therapeutic environment for young people in custody. The program will also grow its community-based outreach through partners including SAY San Diego, the BIPOC Support Foundation, and San Diego Public Libraries.

“At a time when youth in our community are facing mounting risks — from online exploitation and gang involvement to gender-based harassment and domestic violence — Project ROOTS is helping to build protective factors that last a lifetime,” said Marissa Cardwell, Project Roots Program Manager and Technical Advisor for Positive Youth Development at Global Communities. “This grant allows us to deepen our reach, invest in community education and training, and equip more youth with the tools they need to thrive.”

Project ROOTS serves youth ages 8 to 18 to cultivate safe spaces, through evidence-informed group mentorship sessions that build resilience, promote mental health and empower youth to navigate risks safely and confidently. Rooted in social-emotional learning, the curriculum addresses topics such as self-esteem, healthy relationships, online safety, financial literacy, leadership skills and trauma-informed coping strategies.

Over the next 12 months, the program will directly serve 100 youth across three core implementation sites and reach an additional 50 youth through community partner organizations. Each youth cohort will receive 10 to 20 hours of mentorship-based support, with sessions tailored to their unique developmental needs. Through the support of this grant, Project ROOTS will also expand delivery of public trainings on topics like Human Trafficking 101, trauma-informed strategies, and positive youth development to educators, local organizations serving youth, parents and communities.

San Diego is consistently ranked as a high-intensity area for child sex trafficking. Project ROOTS was developed in direct response to these challenges through a partnership with the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, youth advisors, mental health professionals, and community stakeholders. It remains a locally grounded, collaborative approach to youth empowerment and exploitation prevention.

“Prevention is one of the most powerful tools we have in protecting our youth from exploitation and violence,” said San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan. “Programs like Project ROOTS give young people the knowledge, mentorship and community support they need to make positive choices and avoid dangerous pathways. We are proud to support Global Communities in expanding this critical, life-changing work.”

With this new funding, Global Communities will continue to train community partners and facilitators in the Project ROOTS curriculum, expanding its footprint in schools, libraries, and youth-serving organizations citywide. Whether through a summer leadership workshop for elementary students or a reentry support session for justice-involved youth, the goal is the same: help young people recognize their worth, make informed decisions and build a future free from violence and exploitation.

About Global Communities

Global Communities connects local ingenuity and global insights to save lives, advance equity and secure strong futures. We achieve this mission in collaboration with a wide range of public and private sector partners, driven by the belief that no one should go hungry, face crisis alone or be denied the chance to build a better life. Since 1952, we have delivered high-impact programs across more than 50 countries.

In San Diego, Global Communities supports families and youth through initiatives like Healthy Start, which promotes maternal and child health, and Project ROOTS, which empowers young people through mentorship, leadership development, and community engagement. These local programs reflect the organization’s global commitment to equity, resilience and opportunity. Explore our work in San Diego by visiting our website.

If you would like to support Project ROOTS and its efforts to empower vulnerable youth in San Diego, donate today.

The post Global Communities Awarded $50,000 Grant to Expand Trafficking Prevention Program and Protect Vulnerable Youth in San Diego appeared first on Global Communities.

If you ask Radhika “Rad” Bhavsar, innovation is meant to be uncomfortable. Valuable breakthroughs and insights rarely come packaged without this necessary rite of passage; the key is trusting the process.

“I think my life has always been trial and error, and through trial and error, you learn faster,” says Rad, who serves as the Senior Technical Specialist, Innovation at Global Communities. “Nobody likes to be uncomfortable, but you have to find those people who are willing to just dance it out with you, experiment fearlessly, see what sticks and make a mark.”

For over 15 years, Rad has made her mark — or several — using human-centered design and process improvement to tackle complex challenges in public health and global development. In 2024, the San Diego Business Journal recognized her as one of the “40 Under 40” Next Top Business Leaders for her work pursuing innovative solutions for community issues worldwide. 

I recently chatted with Rad about how our Innovation Works team is helping Global Communities accelerate positive impact for people and the planet. The interview was edited for length and clarity.

Maureen: You’ve described your team, Innovation Works (IW), as a startup within the organization. What does that look like in practice and what do you see as your goal posts?

Rad: Since it’s just myself and Chris Bessenecker, our Senior Director of Innovation, operating as a startup means embracing agility, experimentation and a collaborative mindset. As a small team of two with limited resources, we work at a fast pace, maintaining a high tolerance for risk and failure.

In practice, this involves creating a strong sense of teamwork and co-creating solutions with our technical and program teams. Our main structure for success revolves around these five steps:

Our goal for this year is to continue building our innovation ecosystem by expanding our portfolio of product, process and business model innovations. We’re also working hard to embed creativity — one of Global Communities’ five core values — by encouraging our staff members to embrace curiosity, experiment and think outside the box. 

Maureen: How would you explain the role of innovation in international development?

Rad: Every 15 years, the United Nations sets ambitious goals, like the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to address global challenges such as ending poverty, achieving gender equality and ensuring universal health care. Only 15% of the 169 targets that make up the 17 SDGs are on track to be achieved by 2030. If there was ever a moment to innovate, it is now. 

Each SDG represents a challenge that requires innovation, and our process is rooted in designing solutions that contribute to these overarching global goals. So, innovation in international development means creatively tackling these challenges, understanding their root causes, and building solutions that have lasting impact, with velocity.  

It’s important to do this fast because real progress often comes from bold, unconventional approaches. It’s about radical but structured shifts that rapidly create change. 

Maureen: Can you share about a project where you’ve guided one of our teams through an innovation design sprint?

Rad: In July 2024, Chris and I guided the Healthy Start Enhanced – San Bernardino Team through an innovation design sprint to tackle disparities in infant mortality rates in San Bernardino County, where the mortality rate among non-Hispanic Black infants is nearly 2.5 times higher than that of white infants. 

One of the key contributors to this disparity is low breastfeeding uptake and continued breastfeeding rates among Black women, alongside higher rates of low birth weight due to high stress and anemia rates. Traditional pregnancy support services, such as in-home doulas and lactation consultants, have been proven to improve birth outcomes, but they remain inaccessible to many due to high costs ranging from $2,000 to $6,500 per birth. 

During the innovation design sprint, the Healthy Start team developed “My Beautiful Bump Boxes,” a trimester-based, cost-effective solution aimed at improving birth outcomes by providing accessible and low-cost pregnancy support products that complement existing resources. The boxes are intended to be delivered directly to our participants’ homes and include products designed to address breastfeeding uptake and reduction in stress and iron deficiency. Featured items include the Lucky Iron Fish for iron infusion in meals; LactApp, a breastfeeding education mobile application tool for early adoption of breastfeeding practices; the Willow wearable breast pump; iron-rich nutritious meal recipes; and QR-coded user-friendly cooking tutorials. 

Since October, the team has been working to identify local health clinics and other community partners in San Bernardino County to collaborate with on the My Beautiful Bump Boxes. Validating our proof-of-concept will allow us to assess whether the box improves breastfeeding rates, increases iron intake and reduces stress — while ensuring affordability, simplicity and scalability at under $200 per pregnancy.

This innovation is a meaningful step toward exploring cost-effective ways to close the gap in infant survival rates by enhancing breastfeeding support and decreasing stress and iron deficiency. We want to ensure that the vital resources and assistance needed for success reach those who need it most.

Maureen: What is key to the innovation process and what is a hindrance? Are there certain conditions that need to be in place for innovation to ‘happen’?

Rad: Innovation thrives when people feel empowered to experiment, take chances and learn fast from failure. An enabling environment — one that values curiosity and allows room for testing and iteration — is essential for innovation to truly flourish. 

However, bureaucracy can be a major barrier. Rigid structures, excessive layers of approval and a focus on minimizing risk often stifle creativity and slow down progress. When there’s too much red tape and fear, it discourages quick decision-making and limits the freedom to try new approaches. 

Lack of funding and limited team incentives are also hindrances. Philanthropic funding rarely supports experimental or high-risk projects, making it challenging to find donors willing to invest in innovation, especially when failure is part of the process. Without clear incentives, team members may lack motivation to pursue innovative projects. 

To support innovation, we need to create flexible systems that prioritize agility over strict processes. This means streamlining approvals, promoting safe and open communication, and fostering a culture where taking calculated risks is supported. With these conditions in place, innovation can move forward with the momentum it needs to create real impact.  

Maureen: What do you think people get wrong when it comes to the idea of innovation?

Rad: Many people think innovation is just about technology, but it’s really a mindset and an approach to problem-solving. Innovation isn’t limited to technological breakthroughs; it’s about seeing challenges differently, identifying the root of the problem and co-creating solutions as a team.   

Another misconception is that people think they “can’t” innovate. The truth is, with the right frameworks — like our Innovation Design Sprint methodology — anyone can tap into their creativity. Our teams are often surprised at the creativity they unleash within themselves during these sessions. Innovation is accessible to everyone; it just needs the right environment and a safe space to thrive.  

Maureen: You’ve said that in innovation, you have to fail to understand what you’re doing; if you’re not failing, then you’re not learning. Can you share an example of when you reframed failure as a lesson, turned this lesson into an opportunity, and took the opportunity to innovate and solve a specific problem?

Rad: As a Global Health Corps Fellow in 2016, I worked with the Ministry of Health in Rwanda to implement and refine a new version of an electronic medical record (EMR) system for rural districts in the Northern Province. The original system had failed because it was too complex for healthcare workers to easily understand, use and adapt to; they just weren’t using it. While my role was to redesign the system to be more human-centered, I quickly learned that solutions must be simple to adopt and built for the resources people actually have — not what we assume they have, like reliable Wi-Fi or advanced technology. 

With trusted partners and flexible funding, we redesigned the system by replicating key EMR features into a simple, app-based digital tool that functioned offline and synced data to the cloud whenever an internet connection was available.  

While it might seem like the innovation was simply creating a new “app,” the real innovation was building a team and fostering collaboration. We brought together MoH staff, healthcare workers and community members to co-create and reimagine what the new system should look like. It was about getting the right people in the room, creating a trusted environment, and using targeted funding to build a refreshed, practical and scalable solution.

Maureen: Is there anything else you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?  

Rad: Innovation is ultimately about people, problem-solving and partnerships. The most successful innovations are built on trust, respect and collaboration with the communities we aim to support. Empowering local voices in the innovation process not only leads to richer, more impactful solutions but also ensures sustainability and alignment with real needs.

Now is the time for bold innovation in our sector. We must be scrappy, agile and decisive — using discernment to make quick, informed decisions, failing fast and learning even faster. It takes strength and courage to embrace uncertainty, but that discomfort fuels the momentum needed to build mission-driven solutions that create real impact.

Let’s adopt a product-driven mindset, break free from rigid frameworks and harness the power of teamwork to generate groundbreaking ideas. The toughest challenges of our time demand fearless creativity — let’s rise to meet them.

Radhika Bhavsar is the Senior Technical Specialist, Innovation at Global Communities. Her career began at Deloitte Consulting, working with the U.S. Department of Defense – Navy Medicine. She has since worked at leading healthcare institutions in the U.S. such as Dignity Health, Scripps Health and the University of Michigan Health System. Her NGO work spans designing pandemic response frameworks for Partners in Health during the COVID-19 crisis, driving product and business model innovation at the March of Dimes, and digitizing healthcare delivery in northern Rwanda during her Global Health Corps Fellowship in 2016. She is currently a WomenLift Health Leadership Fellow through the Gates Foundation. In addition, she serves as a lecturer in global health at the University of California, San Diego.

The post Innovation in Action: A Q&A with Radhika Bhavsar on Driving Positive Impact appeared first on Global Communities.

This year, Global Communities will honor several individuals and organizations for their outstanding contributions to humanity:

• K. Andrew Achterkirchen will receive the Philanthropic Leadership Award for his long-standing dedication to philanthropy and community engagement. A retired engineer, Achterkirchen devotes his time to tutoring students at the Preuss School and Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI), helping them prepare for college. Andy serves as a board member BLCI, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest and Fronteras, among others, showcasing his commitment to health, education and equity initiatives across the community.
• Maria Decker will be honored with the Community Ambassador Award in recognition of her tireless volunteer work helping Global Communities and other San Diego organizations forge vital connections with local community partners and raise mission-critical funding.
• Ileana Nataly Larios Guillen will receive the Global Hero Award for her exceptional leadership in Global Communities’ Women Empowered (WE) program in Guatemala. Over the past decade, Nataly has supported thousands of women to develop financial literacy, accumulate savings and make loans to one another, invest in income-generating activities, and become leaders in their families and communities.
• Gap Inc. will receive the Corporate Leadership Award for their outstanding commitment to bridging the equity gap by empowering women globally. Around the world, Gap Inc. has reached more than 1.4M women through their Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.) program, a practical education curriculum designed to advance gender equality by providing foundational life skills for women and adolescent girls. Global Communities has partnered with Gap Inc. to strengthen its Women Empowered (WE) program by integrating the P.A.C.E. curriculum.

“Our honorees this year exemplify the spirit of compassion, leadership, and global citizenship that we strive to foster at Global Communities,” said Carrie Hessler-Radelet, President & CEO of Global Communities.” Their work has had a profound impact on the lives of countless individuals, and we are thrilled to celebrate their contributions at this year’s Hands Across Borders gala.”

A special highlight of the evening will be a performance by Voices of Our City, a San Diego-based choir that amplifies the voices of people impacted by homelessness through the power of music and the arts. Their performance will add a unique and moving element to the gala, aligning with Global Communities’ mission of empowering vulnerable populations.

In San Diego, Global Communities drives initiatives that empower young people, enhancing their resilience against human trafficking and exploitation and that support pregnant mothers to ensure they have healthy pregnancies, safe births and resources in place to ensure their newborns have a healthy start to life.

More than 350 local businesses and community leaders are expected to attend this year’s Hands Across Borders gala, chaired by San Diego philanthropists Sushma Patel and Mary Lynn Weitzen, with support from honorary chairs Haida Mojdehi, Molly Eldredge, Julie Tafel Klaus and Elizabeth Roemer Wyckoff. The evening will feature a dinner, silent auction with an international marketplace, live performances, and entertainment, creating an unforgettable experience for all attendees.

More details, tickets and sponsorships are available at globalcommunities.org/handsacrossborders.

About Global Communities
Working across the humanitarian assistance, sustainable development, and financial inclusion sectors, Global Communities brings together local ingenuity and global insights to save lives, advance equity, and secure strong futures. We support communities in more than 30 countries to advance their own development, partnering with local leaders, governments, civil society, and the private sector to achieve a shared vision of a more just, prosperous, and equitable world.

The post Global Communities to Honor Humanitarian Leaders at 2024 Hands Across Borders Gala appeared first on Global Communities.

The post Promoting Positive Youth Development & the Advancement of Adolescent Girls and Young Women appeared first on 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 world to end preventable maternal and child deaths. Three years later, UN Member States adopted the Agenda for Sustainable Development with ambitious targets to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030 and end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, also by 2030. Yet every two minutes a woman dies due to pregnancy or childbirth, and most of these deaths are entirely preventable.

New data released this February by several UN agencies shows significant progress in reducing maternal deaths between 2000 and 2015, but also reveals alarming setbacks for maternal health over recent years. According to the report, “The world must significantly accelerate progress to meet global targets for reducing maternal deaths, or else risk the lives of over 1 million more women by 2030.”

I recently chatted with Cara Endyke Doran, our Senior Director of Health, WASH and Nutrition, about these trends and about ways in which Global Communities is saving mothers’ and children’s lives.

This is the first conversation in our new series “Pass the Mic,” where staff from Global Communities share innovative ideas and in-depth insights on timely topics spanning the development, humanitarian and peace nexus. The interview was edited for length and clarity.

Paula: You recently traveled from Boston to Washington, D.C., to attend the global event Maternal and Child Survival: A Decade of Progress and Action for the Future, co-convened by USAID, UNICEF and the Governments of India, Senegal and the United Kingdom. A Hill Reception organized by the Global Health Council and co-sponsored by Global Communities followed. Why were these convenings important to you and what was your key takeaway?

Cara: These events were important because they provided an opportunity for global leaders, health experts, advocates and practitioners to come together to review progress made in maternal and child health since 2012 and to chart a course for future action. Despite significant improvements toward reducing maternal, newborn and child deaths since 2012, many populations around the globe do not have equitable access to high-quality care. Even when care is available and of quality, women and children still do not have access to and control over resources to attain a high standard of health and well-being. Furthermore, many health systems lack the ability to adapt to changing epidemiologic and demographic trends. During the event, USAID addressed these continued challenges and released a new strategic framework for preventing maternal and child deaths by 2030. The framework laid out a plan for improving maternal, newborn and child health outcomes through a renewed focus on coverage, quality and equity. 

Paula: While there were calls for a celebration, most experts acknowledged dramatic setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts and natural disasters. For example, Dr. Atul Gawande, Assistant Administrator at USAID, pointed out the first drop in life expectancy since World War II. What is needed to rebuild the momentum and get back on track for achieving related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030?        

Cara: Lessons from Ebola and other emergencies have taught us that women and children are often the first to suffer in a crisis. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and children is no different. Widespread disruptions in health services have impacted women’s access to lifesaving maternal health services, such as treatment for postpartum hemorrhage, infection and high blood pressure. These disruptions have also impacted children. For example, we saw major backsliding in childhood immunizations, leaving millions of children at increased risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases. Children have also been at risk of malnutrition due to disrupted food systems and decreased access to essential nutrition services.

At Global Communities, we understand the critical need to advocate for and maintain essential services in an emergency to avoid preventable mortality as well as improve data access and quality to support timely decision-making. We aim to reinforce stronger, more resilient and adaptable health systems that put the needs of women, children and other vulnerable people at the center of programming. This includes holistic, locally led programs that support sustained political will, adequate investment and financing of health systems. We also believe in the power of equitable partnerships and multisectoral approaches to address health and well-being. Ensuring meaningful participation of women and overlooked groups in the design and implantation of programs is of key importance. So is accountability to the people we serve.  

Paula: The speakers consistently mentioned the need to invest in primary healthcare and integrated services for moms and babies. In fact, some talked about a radical reorientation of health systems towards primary health. What is your perspective on this issue? Is Global Communities well-positioned to support this effort? 

Cara: Global Communities advances opportunity, well-being and resilience among vulnerable groups and across all ages. We believe that maternal and child health services are most effective when they are integrated across the continuum of care for mothers, newborns and children. We work with local health structures to bundle services within existing platforms, especially primary healthcare, to improve access, address multiple health needs at once and increase cost-efficiency. Our approaches are locally driven and grounded in systems-thinking, gender equality, social inclusion, evidence and ingenuity.

With our community-driven systems approaches, we are optimally placed to strengthen primary healthcare systems to improve maternal and child health. By involving community members in the planning, implementation and evaluation of primary healthcare projects, we can ensure that the healthcare services are tailored to the specific needs of the community. By leveraging the local knowledge and tapping into the existing networks and resources within the community, we can increase the effectiveness and sustainability of primary healthcare projects. And by making an effort to understand local contexts and include community members in the decision-making process, we can build trust and relationships between healthcare providers and community members. Through our partnerships with communities, we can ensure that the delivery of high-quality healthcare services can continue even after external funding ends.

Paula: I very much appreciated the focus on equity during the event. Dr. Omar Abdi from UNICEF remarked that 10 years ago equity was an ‘innovation’ in the maternal and child health space, but now everyone is talking about it. The speakers emphasized the importance of using equity data to understand who is left behind and then ensuring that health interventions reach the poorest and most marginalized populations. Advancing equity is one of the cornerstones of Global Communities’ mission. What tools and approaches do we use to promote equitable and gender-responsive access to health services?  

Cara: Global Communities uses a multipronged approach to ensure equitable and gender-responsive programs. Where appropriate, we start our programs with gender analyses that examine how gender roles, norms and relations affect access to health services and health outcomes. These analyses help us identify barriers and opportunities for addressing gender disparities and improving women’s and children’s access to care. We also embed metrics to assess health equity in our data systems. This involves tracking health outcomes and health service utilization by gender and other social determinants of health to identify gaps and monitor progress toward health equity.

Paula: At the event USAID Administrator Samantha Power launched a new strategy, Preventing Child and Maternal Deaths: A Framework for Action in a Changing World. The strategy lays out an action plan to improve health outcomes for women and children by 2030. What is your vision for Global Communities’ maternal and child health programming in the next 5-10 years?

Cara: Over the next five years, I hope to strengthen and expand our ability to support primary health systems to be able to protect women, children and adolescents in a world affected by climate change. The goal is to ensure that people we serve have access to quality health services and can achieve the highest possible level of health and well-being. That children not only survive but thrive, and that we transform systems to meet their needs. And that health systems are well-managed with the ability to adapt and respond to changing needs of the community, including in times of crisis.

Paula: Climate change and its impact on maternal and child health were also mentioned by multiple speakers. Youare representing Global Communities as a co-chair of the USAID-funded Child Health Task Force, which is exploring this issue. Can you share a few thoughts on this subject?

Cara: Through the Child Health Task Force we are unpacking the effects that changing climate has on children and exploring system-level approaches that health systems can take to adapt to changing conditions. According to the Children’s Climate Risk Index, climate change is already significantly affecting children globally, with approximately 1 billion children at ‘extremely high risk’ of experiencing the negative impacts of climate change. While research and literature linking climate change and environmental degradation to ecological and social outcomes have been rapidly proliferating, there is a noticeable lack of data on the intersection of climate, environment and health. We seek to address this information gap through a webinar series “Adapting Health Systems to Protect Children from the Impact of Climate Change.” These events foster greater discussion on under-represented but important child health themes. Please join the series here. We also promote collaboration across sectors and organizations to advocate for greater global investment in adapting child health systems to become more resilient in the face of climate change going forward.

Paula: Global Communities has worked to save mothers’ and children’s lives and improve their health and well-being for six decades. What is, in your opinion, our greatest contribution or achievement thus far? What are you most proud of?

Cara: One of the hallmarks of Global Communities’ approach is training and mentoring community health workers (CHW) to deliver high-quality maternal and child health services. We work to ensure that these frontline health workers are motivated and equipped with knowledge and skills to employ global best practices, such as kangaroo mother care, community-based management of acute malnutrition and emergency obstetric and newborn care. It is very exciting and rewarding work. My colleagues and I recently published a paper in the Journal of Social Science and Medicine titled “Effects of Engaging Fathers and Bundling Nutrition and Parenting Interventions on Household Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Tanzania.” EFFECTS was a cluster-randomized controlled trial co-designed and implemented by Global Communities. The study generated novel evidence that, with the right approach and resources, CHWs can deliver gender-transformative nutrition and parenting interventions to couples in low-resource community settings with potentially synergistic positive effects on household gender relations and maternal and child well-being.

Paula: Very exciting, congratulations! Empowering CHWs is so important. This was also a recurring theme of the events we talked about. One speaker, Millicent Miruka — a CHW Supervisor from Kenya — made an impassioned plea to recognize CHWs’ contributions, listen to their voices and ensure they are well-trained and supervised. I am also proud we are doing this work.

Thank you for your time! How can our readers reach you to learn more?

Cara: To learn more about Global Communities’ work in promoting maternal and child health please visit our website and read our most recent technical factsheet. If you have questions about our programs, please email us at hello@globalcommunities.org. You can also find me on LinkedIn.

Cara Endyke-Doran

Senior Director, Health, Nutrition & WASH

Cara Endyke-Doran, MPH, MSN, RN, is an advanced practice nurse with nearly 25 years of experience leading large international health programs focused on women’s, children’s, and adolescent’s health. Her technical areas of expertise include maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, gender, and HIV prevention, care, and treatment. She is a thought leader who sits on global task forces and advisory groups. Cara is an innovative and effective problem-solver who adapts and responds to evolving program needs. She has held long-term assignments in Mozambique, Zambia, and Nicaragua and provided technical support to programs in Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa. She has her master’s degrees in Public Health and Nursing from Johns Hopkins University. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

The post Pass the Mic: Reinvigorating Global Efforts to Reduce Maternal and Child Mortality appeared first on Global Communities.

Fast forward more than two years and what began as a community-centered contact tracing program turned into a thriving partnership with the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA).

From the outset, COVID-19 exposed discrepancies in health equity across the United States. In San Diego County, for example, 44.3 percent of all cases¹ and 43.8 percent of deaths² due to COVID-19 were among Hispanics or Latinos, even though only 30.1 percent³ of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino. To improve COVID-19 prevention among vulnerable, hard-to-reach populations, HHSA engaged Global Communities as a trusted local partner to provide contact tracing, vaccine education and outreach services in 15 languages (including English).

A COMMUNITY-CENTERED APPROACH TO CONTACT TRACING

By hiring staff members directly from the communities being served, who also had experience with technology, epidemiology and customer service, Global Communities was able to build trust and provide culturally adapted information about COVID-19 to clients in their preferred languages. This also allowed our team to tailor public health messaging in ways that helped overcome barriers particular to certain populations.

“I think understanding the cross-border culture and the nuances of that dynamic has been really important,” said Victor Ruiz, a binational contact tracer on Global Communities’ COVID-19 Response team from the U.S.-Mexico border region. “Being able to talk to contacts in their language, they feel more comfortable sharing information. They feel understood, because someone like them is speaking to them.”

From August 2020 through June 2021, Global Communities traced 6,880 COVID-19 contacts. Of those successfully reached, we were able to talk with 97.8 percent of people within 24 hours from when we received their information from the County of San Diego, ensuring that we promptly notified them of their COVID-19 exposure. We helped households navigate how to best quarantine or isolate given their individual situations and assisted people with getting support from employers to not work when exposed to or sick with COVID-19.

“We called an older woman in her 80s who was living with both of her sons, one of whom has a disability. She was a contact, and one of her sons was the case. They were really struggling,” said Arwa Alkhawaja, a COVID-19 Outreach Specialist. “When I spoke to her son, he did not have health insurance. He wanted to get tested, but at the same time, he did not want to leave home. He didn’t want to potentially expose others. We found the closest testing locations for him and gave him all the information he needed. … He was so appreciative. It was as if the family was sinking and not knowing what to do, and they were waiting for someone else to come and show them that they are not alone.”

BRIDGING THE GAPS IN COVID-19 VACCINE EDUCATION & ACCESS

Once the COVID-19 vaccine became available, Global Communities again partnered with the County HHSA in May 2021 to provide vaccine information and services to communities with low vaccination rates. We focused on reaching people who were not accessing vaccine resources in the North and North Central regions of San Diego due to supply-related barriers (e.g., appointment deficits and vaccine stock-outs), demand-related barriers (e.g., mistrust and misinformation) or socioeconomic factors.

Our team partnered with key community organizations such as Champions for Health and Meals on Wheels to get vaccines to people who otherwise could not access vaccine sites, including homebound elderly residents and other underserved populations. In particular, Global Communities developed a strong relationship with Muslim communities through organizations such as the Afghan Community Islamic Center and Muslim Leadership Council, which allowed us to work closely with refugees and recent arrivals to the United States.

By collaborating with faith communities, schools and community centers, our team was able to meet people where they naturally gather to share accurate and timely COVID-19 information. For example, Global Communities scheduled education activities and vaccine events at schools to take place before the holidays and at times when more socializing (and thus surges in COVID-19 cases) were expected. We also conducted webinars, town halls and presentations at parent-teacher association (PTA) meetings to increase understanding of the COVID-19 vaccine in communities. By June 2022, we had organized over 175 outreach and 32 vaccine events to reach more than 4,000 people across two regions of San Diego.

While COVID-19 continues to have a presence in our communities, we are proud to be closing our efforts knowing we have built capacity among community partners now better-equipped to respond to health emergencies. Over the past two years, we have formed an incredible team of diverse and talented staff who are trained and eager to tackle health disparities among their home communities and beyond. Through the challenge of this unprecedented emergency response, Global Communities developed new business models for working with donors, strengthened local partnerships and designed technological platforms that will be invaluable for future programming.

For a complete overview of Global Communities’ COVID-19 Response Program in San Diego, including key lessons learned, download the following brief.

Written by Alina Shaw and Stephanie Yoon, Directors of the COVID-19 Response Program

[1] https://www/sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/Epidemiology/COVID-19%20Race%20and%20Ethnicity%20Summary.pdf

[2] https://www/sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/Epidemiology/COVID-19%20Deaths%20by%20Demographics.pdf

[3] https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sandiegocitycalifornia/PST045221

The post Reflecting on the COVID-19 Response Program’s Impact in San Diego appeared first on Global Communities.

The post COVID-19 Response Program Summary Approach appeared first on Global Communities.