Give2Asia Giving Forum

Healthcare through Texting

A new program in Bangladesh successfully transmits medical information and health care to remote areas
By Seema Khan, Give2Asia Finance Associate

In the past few years, mobile phones have been taking on a new purpose in the developing world. Being a relatively cheap tool for communication and increasingly accessible, mobile phones are being used to transmit medical information and deliver health care in remote areas. There are several organizations currently exploring the potential for mobile phones to expand the current reaches of health care.

One organization, FrontlineSMS:Medic, uses three major components to create a network of communication between clinics and people far from medical care. The heart of the network is a software program, FrontlineSMS, which creates a large-scale two-way text messaging network through a laptop. This software, used with a GSM (global system for mobile communication) modem and cell phones, completes the platform for communication. With the laptop and modem based at a central clinic and mobile phones distributed to community health workers (CHWs) stationed at remote villages, the system enables fast, real-time communication between remote areas and clinics.

Water Security and Arsenic Contamination in Bangladesh

by Seema Khan, Give2Asia

The toxic effects of arsenic contamination have been affecting the health of millions of people around the world, including in India, Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and even the United States. In Bangladesh, where roughly half the population drinks contaminated water, this issue is a particularly heavy concern. The problem arose in the 1970s during efforts to provide an alternative to surface water, which is often highly contaminated with bacteria. Millions of tube wells were built in hopes to bypass the bacteria-contaminated surface water and access what was thought to be clean water. Unfortunately for the millions of Bangladeshis relying on tube wells for their water supply, many of the wells were found to have unearthed water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic. This discovery was recognized by the Bangladesh government in 1993 upon the emergence of several health complaints suggesting exposure to arsenic.

While new tube well projects are going deeper to access clean water found underneath the arsenic and other pollutants, the mass exposure to arsenic contamination over several years, and now decades, in the Bangladesh population has lead to a number of different health problems, most commonly skin lesions, fatigue, and cancer of the skin, bladder, and other organs. These effects are magnified by several factors that are common to the lifestyles of many Bangladeshis, including poor nutrition and the consumption of high volumes of water and of rice that has been both irrigated and boiled in contaminated water.

Education in Bangladesh: A Work in Progress

By Seema Khan

The lives of children in Bangladesh are different from the lives of children in the developed world on many levels.  In America, the standard amount of education tends to include kindergarten, 12 years of grade school, and often some amount of higher education.  During school hours, the sight of a teenage or younger child out and about is cause for curiosity or even concern.  In Bangladesh, where the compulsory amount of education is a mere 5 years and school life expectancy only 8 years, this same such sighting is quite the norm.

Transformational Social Entrepreneurs

By Betsy Merzenich, Give2Asia

Across the globe, social entrepreneurship is on the rise. In Asia and elsewhere, entrepreneurial individuals are directing their efforts at complex social issues, finding new solutions to meet difficult problems. These social entrepreneurs are characterized by an ability to identify new opportunities and a willingness to bear the inherent risks. Just as entrepreneurs transform business, social entrepreneurs have the potential to revolutionize society by seizing opportunities, inventing new approaches, improving systems, and transforming the status quo. Given the exciting and promising nature of the work of social entrepreneurs, we are interested in bringing visibility to their efforts, and have done so a number of times on this blog. This week we are profiling a collection of social entrepreneurs whose successful innovations are positively impacting millions of people throughout Asia.

Diaspora Responding in Times of Disaster

The following is a continuation of the June 2 post on Diaspora Philanthropy- A Beginning Conversation

By Dien Yuen, Give2Asia

In the past several months, Asia has had more than its share of natural disasters. Coverage on the disasters by the media and informal blog sites have provided on the ground details and cries for assistance. Foundations, organizations, associations, corporations, and even for-profit philanthropic advisory groups have created greater awareness on how to support relief and reconstruction efforts. In particular, I am amazed at the response from the diaspora community in the U.S. and the growing movement to collaboratively raise funds for relief and reconstruction efforts or to exchange information and share best practices. From these successes, I wonder how we can encourage and support more collaborative networks and research on this new role of community philanthropy, especially if we can respond to crisis situations more efficiently and effectively.