Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
October 29, 2015
Published by Maria A May at Oct 29 2015
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For Shahina, a poor woman living in the remote rural district of Noakhali in southern Bangladesh, getting cash used to be a long ordeal. Since she didn’t have a mobile wallet, Shahina used to have to travel three kilometres to visit the local bKash agent to collect remittances sent by her husband and two sons, who were working in the city. Sometimes she was unable to make the trip without someone to watch her children. The roads are often impassable after rains and the market is far away. And often the agent charges informal ‘service fees’ before dispensing her cash.
July 26, 2010
Published by BRAC at Jul 26 2010
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On Monday, I had the opportunity to speak at Star Island’s 2010 International Affairs Conference on the rock shoal of Star Island off the coast of New Hampshire. It was a very moving experience as I got the chance to interact with a unique group of people -- generations of families who have been traveling to Star Island for years, enthusiastically learning new things from leading academics and practitioners working in international development in a relaxing and beautiful natural environment.This year, the Conference focused on “Empowering Women and Children for Global Health” with a focus on the growing perspective that the world’s health care challenges can be met by promoting and empowering women and children. Along with Donna Barry of Partners in Health, Ann Cotton of CAMFED and other experts in the field, I was asked to share my experiences about social entrepreneurship, microfinance and the empowerment of women. While the participants had read Kristof and WuDunn’s Half the Sky and Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea, most of this learned audience had not yet heard of BRAC and its remarkable story and holistic approach to development. They were interested to know about Ian Smillie’s book on BRAC, Freedom From Want, as well as my new book, Social Entrepreneurship, co-authored with David Bornstein (and even carried it in their bookstore on the island!).
June 29, 2010
This post was also featured on The Huffington Post blog. While the UN says that the world is on track to reach the first Millennium Development Goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015, progress toward goal #5, to reduce maternal mortality by 75% by 2015, remains the target for which progress has been most disappointing. While there is progress, as highlighted by the Lancet's recent estimates of falling maternal mortality rate, which is worth celebrating, the sense of urgency has not, and should not, abate.