Improving maternal health and encouraging expectant women to deliver at a health facility is a priority for the Millennium Villages Project (MVP). Several interventions are being implemented to boost institutional delivery. In Ruhiira, Uganda, only 8% of pregnant women delivered in a facility when the project first started. This number has gone up to 89%. Still, the team wanted . . . [more]
Storm clouds had been gathering all afternoon that Sunday. But no one in Mindhine expected the heavy downpour and strong winds that hit this Millennium Village last August. The roof of the health facility, covering six rooms that offer out-patient services, was blown off. The electricity line, kitchen and a pit latrine nearby were not spared either. At the time, the dispensary was being refurbished and expanded, and so construction materials like timber were damaged by water. Drugs and paper work were destroyed, iron sheets were blown away. Property worth approximately Ksh 450,000 ($5,600) was damaged. The only surviving building . . . [more]
It was a proud moment: out of nearly one hundred entries, the Community Health Workers (CHW) program of the Millennium Villages Project (MVP) was singled out by the World Health Organization (WHO) for an award of excellence.
Here we were, the participants at WHO's second Global forum on human resources for health in Thailand, at the end . . . [more]
I'm writing today from Des Moines, Iowa, where I have just arrived for the annual World Food Prize. As the Outreach Coordinator for Millennium Promise, I'm here to share our stories of impact and to be inspired by the great work of so many dedicated individuals and organizations around the world. On a more personal note, I'm also here to support and congratulate my good friend Jo Luck, the president of Heifer International and the co-recipient of this year's World Food Prize.
The World Food Prize is a very big deal, and for many, it's the equivalent of . . . [more]
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The discussion around evaluating large-scale development projects is an important one. Michael Clemens and Gabriel Demombynes offer a critique of the Millennium Village Project (MVP) and its research methods. Their paper misunderstands the MVP's aims and evaluation methods. We respond briefly here, to clarify some of those basic misunderstandings about the project's goals and approaches to evaluation.
1. Goals of the Millennium Villages Project
The MVP is a ten-year project running through 2015, the deadline year for the Millennium Development . . . [more]
'Welcome visitors, welcome today, we've all been waiting so long!' Coming over the crest of the hill into the Millennium Village of Ruhiira, Uganda, children's singing voices gradually become louder, intermingled with bursts of clapping and laughter. The long-awaited visitor, Jeffrey Sachs, is due to arrive at any moment, and the anticipation is palpable. Sachs, Head . . . [more]
When is a text message more than just “hello?” When a community health worker can text symptoms of an illness and receive an instant diagnosis without leaving a patient’s home. When a farmer can report a broken water pump and instantly activate delivery of replacement parts. And when a herder can learn the day’s commodity prices without traveling to . . . [more]
Initiative 166 Council Day, a special event organized by Mali’s Commission for Food Security and its partners, was celebrated on 14-16 April 2010 in Bamako and Segou. This event was part of the celebration of the National Association of Malian Municipalities and was chaired by Mr. Boubacar Sow, Secretary General of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Local Government.
The . . . [more]
Yesterday, May 30, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the Millennium Villages project (MVP) in Mwandama, Malawi. While there he had the opportunity to meet with local community members first hand and to see and hear about how they are pursuing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a very practical day-to-day reality. On the occasion of his visit, Mr. Ban was also presented with the first major scientific report on progress after three years of MVP activity, in a publication entitled . . . [more]
"The Millennium Development Goals: How to step up the efforts?" was the central theme of the 3rd "States General", which took place in Brussels on May 4, 2010. The opening session was presided by Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde, who highlighted the importance of the achievement of the MDGs, Belgium's commitment to the Goals and her own experiences in the developing world. Belgium is expected to play an active role in the MDG summit in September this year, as it will be under Belgium’s rotating presidency of the European Union.
In his introductory remarks, Mr. Charles Michel, Minister for Development . . . [more]
Health • Millennium Villages Project • Ruhiira, Uganda
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