Esther Duflo speaking at Pop!Tech in 2009. Photo: kk + (flickr)

Ever wonder why some development projects succeed while others fail?

Esther Duflo and her colleagues at MIT’s Poverty Action Lab are working on the answer. Duflo is one of the newest recipients of the MacArthur Genius Grant because of her commitment to investigating what causes poverty to persist in some developing countries and what works to alleviate it.

She does this by setting up controlled field experiments in some of the poorest countries in Africa and South Asia. These experiments set out to prove how social and economic forces fuel the cycle of poverty in these areas. They also test how effective foreign aid projects are at lifting people out of poverty.

Duflo conducts her experiments using a method that mimics how drug companies conduct randomized medical trials. One group participates in a development project while the other does not. The differences between them are then measured to see if the project worked, and exactly how well.

Some of Duflo’s best known work is on HIV prevention in Kenya. Her research shows it’s more effective to teach girls specific ways to reduce their risk — like avoiding sexual relations with older men — than teaching basic medical facts about HIV and emphasizing abstinence as the best method of prevention. As she explains in her recent article for VoxEU.org, girls who were given risk-reduction information now use condoms more often, stay in school longer, and become pregnant less often.

“Economics is about the best way to allocate resources, and finding out what works is important to understanding how to allocate these resources,” Duflo told Philanthropy Action. Too few development strategies are vigorously tested. Proving what works can help.

(For more information on the Poverty Action Lab, check out Sarah Standish’s post "Researching Better Ways to End Poverty.")

Wadango has already distributed around 10,000 solar-powered lanterns. Photo: **Mary** (flickr)

In rural Kenya nearly everyone uses kerosene as their main source of power. For those living on less than $1 a day — as about half the population does — this expense takes away a significant portion of their income. Kerosene costs the average African family almost $100 a year, according to the blog White African. And that's why Evans Wadongo's goal of providing solar-powered lanterns to rural Kenyans is so admirable.

In fact, Evans Wadongo and his work with solar lanterns was featured in a recent "CNN Heroes" video. In the video, Wadongo shows how these simple lanterns can do much good for rural Kenyans.

Families with solar lanterns can now spend the money they used to spend on kerosene on necessities like food and medicine. The lanterns are also much better for studying at night. Kerosene lanterns smother kids in smoke and can be harsh on their eyes because the light they give off is so dim. Solar lanterns provide brighter light without all the pollution — giving both kids and the environment a brighter future.

Thanks to Wadongo and his nonprofit sponsor Sustainable Development for All-Kenya, 10,000 of these lanterns have been distributed to rural Kenyans for free. You can help out by clicking here and donating to Sustainable Development for All-Kenya. A $20 donation provides a solar lantern for a family in need.

Eritrean child receiving a vaccine. Photo: daveblume (flickr)

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $10 billion-commitment over ten years to vaccinate children in developing countries on Friday. The nonprofit is calling on world leaders to join in this effort, aimed at drastically reducing the number of deaths of children under 5 years old.

There are economic benefits to reducing child mortality in developing countries as well. Countries with lower child mortality rates tend to be more economically developed, according to the World Health Organization.

Antiretroviral drugs. Photo: shortie 66 (flickr)

An enormous barrier in the fight against HIV/AIDS in developing nations has started to crumble.

Last month, the international drug purchaser and WHO-partner organization UNITAID announced plans to form a patent pool to lower the cost of some of the most expensive medications used to treat HIV, reports the Guardian. The agreement is a blessing for the estimated 14 million people who do not have access to affordable treatment — most of whom live in developing nations, says UNAIDS, a branch of the UN that deals specifically with HIV/AIDS.

The patent pool will allow generic pharmaceutical companies to develop medications that are still protected under patent laws in exchange for royalties. Consequently, the competition between generic manufacturers lowers the overall price of the drug. By UNITAID's estimate, the cost of some drugs will fall from $1,000 a year to as little as $100.

Not only will more people have access to these new drugs, the drugs themselves will become better. Fixed-dose combination medications (FDCs), formed from different compounds that work well when used together but are often developed by competing pharmaceutical companies, have been hard to create under old patent laws, reports UNITAID. In contrast, the pool gives manufacturers access to a variety of different compounds to make more effective and easier-to-use FDCs.

So far, UNITAID has identified 19 drugs from nine different pharmaceutical companies to bring into the pool. Although there has been resistance by a few of the companies — who are in no way obligated to enter the pool — many like Merck and Gilead have already pledged to put some of their top medications into the pool. “Today is a good day for people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries,” noted one UNITAID official.

A photo of what is believed to be William Kamkwamba's first windmill. Photo: whiteafrican (flickr)

When I was fourteen, I was busy going to drama rehearsals, shopping at the mall and fighting with my brother. But when William Kamkwamba was fourteen, he built a windmill to bring electricity to his rural village in Malawi by studying pictures in a library text book and using whatever materials he could find.

Watch this video, from Yes! Magazine, for his truly inspiring story:

You can follow William's current projects on his blog and and support his work in Malawi by donating here.

Plasmodium falciparum (malaria) parasite taking over red blood cells. Photo: Eric Fortin (Flickr)

A team of engineers at the University of California at Berkeley are pushing the limits of cell phone technology with the development of their newly minted Cellscope.

The device is a six-inch microscope that attaches to a cell phone’s digital camera lens to take high resolution microscopic images of blood and sputum samples. The Cellscope's compact size and durability makes it ideal for use in the field, nearly eliminating the health worker's need for expensive tabletop microscopes.

The Cellscope team, led by Principal Investigator Dan Fletcher, has been able to reliably identify pathogens from two of the most prominent diseases in the underdeveloped world — malaria and tuberculosis. Combined, the World Health Organization estimates that the two diseases kill 2.7 million people each year, although both are treatable if caught early. (The vast majority of malaria and tuberculosis cases are found in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia respectively.) The Cellscope offers healthcare workers in remote areas a valuable diagnostic tool, aiding in reliable early detection of these two diseases.

Right now the Cellscope is still being tested in the field. But the UC Berkeley team hopes that in time, data captured by the Cellscope will be uploaded to a central database, allowing medical workers to track the spread of diseases more efficiently than ever before.

The Mekong River. Photo: tashandsmoked(flickr)

Before it reaches the sea, the Mekong River travels more than 2,500 miles through Tibet, China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is estimated that more than 60 million people depend on the river in some way. But the dams are changing the river and impacting the people who depend on it.

For better or worse, four dams are already in place and 11 are on their way, most of which will be in China.

China is working to reduce their dependence on coal, and get more power from renewable sources like hydroelectricity, according to IRIN, the UN news agency, which reports that "governments downstream claim the hydroelectric dams will cut electricity costs."

The dams currently generate over 3,000 megawatts of electricity, says Radio Free Asia. A Portland General Electric representative told me that's enough electricity to power a city about the size of Portland, Oregon — with a population of 575,000 people — for an entire year.

Besides energy, the dams also help to regulate the rivers flow. As IRIN reports, supporters are saying this is a pretty impressive perk, since the region's unpredictable rains often times cause a flood or drought.

But others, including locals, don't think so highly of the dams.

According to the Foundation for Ecological Recovery, the river's fishing industry alone is worth up to $3 billion annually, and the existing dams are already decreasing that profit. Mekong fisherman Ouy Chai tells Al Jazeera that "before you could catch 10-20 fish in one day and now you can fish all week and not catch anything." His wife says, "I'm scared. What will be left for our children and grandchildren to eat?"

In the same vein, many environmentalists are saying that the dams are harsh on the environment, causing erosion and harming biodiversity. Nguyen Huu Chien, head of the environment and natural resource management program at Can Tho University, tells Radio Free Asia that "it is like a blood vessel in the human body. When we build dams, it is like a blockage in the veins: it will definitely affect other areas."

Despite the protesting and petitioning efforts of those against the dams, IRIN reports that two new ones are currently underway.

A new mobile technology is helping battle HIV in Biwindi, Uganda where most people walked days through the tough terrain to get medical care. Photo: youngrobv (Rob & Ale)

Could you imagine having to walk a full day to get medical care, and then wait weeks to learn your test results? Well, that was the reality for people in Biwindi, Uganda until just a few months ago, the BBC reported earlier this month. Now, new technology is bringing medical testing to people living in the middle of Uganda's forests.

This new technology is called the PointCare NOW machine. It's a portable blood-testing device that analyzes what's wrong with you within 10 minutes. It's also the first portable machine that can diagnose HIV within minutes. Developed by PointCare, a U.S.-based company specializing in diagnostic equipment for developing countries, the machine easily fits in the trunk of most vehicles.

PointCare's founders Petra Krauledat and Peter Hansen came up with the idea for a portable, durable HIV-testing device on a trip to southern Africa a few years ago. Krauledat and Hansen say the battery-powered machine has a 180,000-day lifetime.

PointCare is piloting the technology in rural Uganda, where the need for fast and comprehensive medical care is obvious. One in 20 Ugandans is infected with HIV, according to Avert, an international AIDS charity. One in 12,500 people in Uganda is a doctor. And 70 percent of the population lives in rural areas.

Dr. Williams, a physician from England that opened a small hospital in Uganda, sings the praises of the PointCare NOW machine. He tells the BBC:

"I started a testing centre in the hospital, then the mobile testing services, and then, once we had access to drugs, developed a treatment program. Now our death rates from HIV are very low. We're able to diagnose it early, manage it early and keep people living with HIV fit and well. Over a reasonably short period of time, we've been able to change HIV from being a death sentence into something that people can live with and lead productive lives."

Have you heard of "appropriate technology?" It's a movement that helps the world’s poorest people with affordable, simple and practical inventions that address every day problems.

Some examples include:

• The Q-Drum, a circular drum that allows women and children to transport water by pulling a rope attached to the jug as it rolls on the ground, instead of carrying it on their heads.
• The Lifestraw, a portable, filtered drinking straw that allows water to be safely sipped from rivers, lakes and ponds.
• The Solar Home Lighting System, which allows children to study at night using solar-powered screens instead of electricity.

"We need to see the poor as customers rather than charity recipients," says Paul Polak, one of the notables in the appropriate technology movement. "We need a revolution in how multinationals design, price and market their products. There is a huge virgin market out there!"

Explore photos and videos of more inventions at Design for the Other 90%, the website for an exhibit currently touring U.S. museums.

The Nano. Photo: Rajesh Babu (flickr)

If you have $1,979 dollars and live in India, Tata Motors has a car for you.

After a lot of hype, Tata Motors finally released their revolutionary Nano, a tiny, light-bodied vehicle designed and produced in India.

Tata is expecting millions of orders, so they're planning to raffle off the first 100,000 vehicles.

Many are concerned about the safety and environmental implications of a surge in car ownership in India, and whether the country's road system can handle increased traffic.

Speaking about the impact on air pollution, Vivek Chattopadhyaya of the Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi says,“Even if they claim it will be fuel efficient, the sheer numbers will undermine this." (Tata retorts that the typical Indian scooter has higher emissions.)

But of course there are throngs of Indians, such as chauffeur Gopal Pandurag, looking forward to the arrival of a car they can afford.

"My wife is getting old, and she can't do the things she used to when she was younger like sit on a bike or a crowded bus. I just want to be able to take her out for a drive in a car. My own car."

The information from the soil map could help this Tanzanian woman farm with better fertilzers and increase her harvest. Photo: vredeseilanden (flickr)

We have elevation maps, weather maps, and population maps. So why not soil maps? It may be the key to the food security of an entire continent.

Africa has the most depleted soils on earth. A major problem is a lack of information on how to care and maintain land. What type of fertilizer should be used? How much? With which soil type? When should I rotate my crops? How long should I rest my land? Without the answers to these and other questions, the soil is degrading over time, losing nutrients with every harvest, with every harvest getting smaller and smaller. A soil map can answer these questions and, hopefully, help to reverse the trend.

The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is mapping the soil of all 42 countries of sub-Sahara Africa as the first step to building a global map online. The soil map will be created using soil samples and satellite imagery, which will allow for detailed and precise prescriptions for small farmers and their lands. Outreach workers and farmers associations will be trained on how to use the map and translate the information to farmers on their land.

It’s a four-year, $18-million program paid for by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

This program has the power to revolutionize agriculture in Africa. Nteranya Sanginga, director of CIAT's Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute has said that "[w]ith accurate soil maps, we find farmers can increase their yields by around 60 percent, and sometimes double." Sounds like a plan for success worth mapping.

Biorocks in action. Photo: Rani Morrow-Wuigk

Walking down the beach at Pemuteran Bay provides a glimpse into both the past and future of Indonesia’s coastal communities. One end of the beach serves as the mooring and launching area for the fleet of traditional fishing craft that have so long provided subsistence to the community. At the other is a community-driven reef restoration and conservation project that is changing not only the reef itself, but also the attitudes, livelihoods and economy of the entire region.

At the heart of this transformation is the application of a novel technological innovation known as Biorock for the creation of new coral reefs and fish habitats. The technology, developed by the late Prof. Wolf Hilbertz and his colleague Dr. Thomas Goreau of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, relies on low-voltage electricity to attract minerals through accretion to simple metal rebar structures placed in the water. The structures can be placed in a range of places because they're powered by a range of traditional and renewable electrical sources, including solar and experimental tidal and wave-generators.

There are now 100 Biorocks in use worldwide. Pioneers in eco-tourism such as small dive shop operators and beachfront hotels have been using them for years as unique ways of enhancing snorkeling and diving experiences.

Biorocks were first used to help reefs recover after the devastating coral bleaching caused by El Niño in 1998 and the severe strain on marine resources for income and food generation during the The Asian Financial crisis of the late 1990’s. Use of Biorock technology continues to increase as reef restoration and conservation move to the forefront of global environmental issues.

The first projects were a collaborative effort between community leaders, local businesses and environmental advocates. A local dive shop in Pemuteran, Reef Seen Aquatics, with funding from AusAID, has trained a number of local fishermen to PADI Rescue Diver standards and employed them as “Reef Gardeners”, working from within the community to enhance and protect the local reefs. A champion of the projects has been a local resort operator, Taman Sari Hotel, which has donated facilities and electricity to run the structures, and employed scores of villagers as staff serving the eco-tourists who come to the North Coast.

These relatively small-scale projects have realized immense benefits. A wealth of new economic opportunities have arisen in the case of Pemuteran and surrounding communities as international acclaim and recognition of the projects has ensured a stream of visitors to resorts professing an ethos of sustainability and restoration. The Indonesian government has recognized the project with its highest environmental award, the Kalapataru Adipura Award, while also providing several high-speed boats to be run by a group of community enforcement officers whose duty is to protect the reef from dynamite and cyanide fisherman.

Development pressures, increasing populations and rising demand for seafood have led to the near complete collapse of the health of Indonesian reefs. Indonesia, an archipelago with over 81,000 kilometers of coastline and more than 17,000 islands at the confluence of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, is considered to have some of the richest and most diverse marine ecosystems. Approximately 40 percent of the world’s fish species and 80 percent of the world’s coral reefs are found in its coastal waters. It is also the largest exporter of marine fish and corals in the world. But today only 6 percent of the coastline is considered pristine.

Coastal conditions are vital to Indonesia's economy. Approximately 70 percent of coastal communities depend directly on products from the sea — activities that generate over US $ 1.6 billion a year. A lack of effective management, coupled with the fact that the bulk of Indonesian fishing activity is done by migrant fishermen with limited vested interests in long-term sustainability who utilize destructive fishing techniques such as dynamite fishing and cyanide poisoning to harvest high-value fish species has contributed significantly to the massive losses in diversity and health of remaining reef systems.

But there is hope to be found in the waters of Pemuteran Bay and in the efforts of grass-roots reef conservation and restoration programs that have spread across Indonesia and beyond. Inspired by success and marked improvement in the environmental and economic health of participating villages, and driven by the intense need and internal drive of community leaders in Bali, Lombok and Sulawesi, Biorock installation is now being used not only for small-scale reef restoration and marine protected areas but also for its potential to attract fish for capture from surrounding waters, for use as cultivating platforms for sustainable harvest of marine products (seaweeds, corals, clams, oysters, lobsters etc.), and for erosion prevention.

Increased attention to Indonesia and the Coral Triangle — the 2.3-million-square-mile wedge between the Australia and the Asian mainland — are making a difference. Projects by governments, international academic research programs, and organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy and Mercy Corps have provided a catalyst leading to the formation of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security. The future of the millions of people who depend on the marine environment — for sustainable use of marine resources, environmental restoration, and economic stimulation — is at stake.

Photo: woodleywonderworks (flickr)

Sure, your cell phone can take pictures and send text messages, but can it detect malaria?

UCLA scientists have found a way to bring medical diagnostic tests to resource-poor areas by transforming cell phones into cheap, portable gadgets that can monitor and detect diseases like malaria and HIV.

As Wired explains:

UCLA researcher Dr. Aydogan Ozcan images thousands of blood cells instantly by placing them on an off-the-shelf camera sensor and lighting them with a filtered-light source (coherent light, for you science buffs). The filtered light exposes distinctive qualities of the cells, which are then interpreted by Ozcan's custom software. By analyzing the cell types present in a much larger sample, a more accurate diagnosis can be made in a matter of minutes.

Currently, the software to analyze these images runs on a desktop computer, but Ozcan’s team is working to create software that runs on the cell phone device itself.

This technology is still in developmental stages, and skeptics are already lighting up online discussion boards. But the promise of quick, accurate and low-cost blood testing in the world's most remote areas is definitely exciting. And if this idea does become a widespread reality, here’s hoping that effective treatment for those diagnosed follows quickly on its heels.

Photo: 3arabawy(flickr)

Most people have heard of the concept of a “carbon footprint," which is a measure of how much our personal, daily activities affect the environment in terms of greenhouse gases. For example, a person who bikes to work, uses energy-saving lightbulbs and recycles religiously would have a smaller carbon footprint that a person who drives a Hummer, makes overseas trips once a month and is forgetful about turning off electrical appliances.

It turns out that a carbon footprint is only one way of looking at your environmental impact. As many countries struggle with freshwater shortages, there has been a push to account for just how much water people actually consume in their day-to-day lives – in other words, a “water footprint.” Like a carbon footprint, a water footprint takes into consideration hidden environmental tolls, such as the water needed to grow grain or maintain animals in order to produce just one hamburger. Water footprints can be calculated on the individual, national and global levels.

In March 2008, a University of London scientist was honored with the Stockholm Water Prize for his work on the concept of “virtual water," which is a way of calculating how much water is used to produce a range of different commodities. For example, it takes 140 liters (about 37 gallons) of freshwater to produce one cup of coffee, which takes into account not only the water content of the drink itself, but the freshwater needed to grow, process, package and ship the coffee.

It may seem complicated to have multiple ways to measure just how much our individual actions weigh on the environment. However, in a world where one person in five has no access to freshwater, it’s a step in the right direction any time hyperconsumers in developed countries can to think about exactly how their choices affect other members of the planet.

To find out how your consumption choices add up, use Waterfootprint.org's individual water footprint calculator.

Photo: uncultured(flickr)

Human subjects research has always been rife with ethical concerns, especially when research is being conducted in the developing world. At first glance, demographic and health surveillance (DHS) research can appear to have less potential for harm than direct-intervention drug trials. Not so, says a recent bulletin from the World Health Organization.

DHS research is defined as “long-term monitoring of specifically defined populations, typically residing in a small geographic region.” The authors of the August 2008 bulletin article say that while DHS research has led to many life-saving findings, including vaccine development, the invention of oral rehydration solution, and the link between early cessation of breastfeeding and malnutrition, it comes with a special set of ethical complications.

For example, when a disease surveillance team with the resources to provide comprehensive health care to a community is stationed in a poverty-stricken area, what is their obligation to the community? Do they treat people for only those diseases that they study? Do they only treat study participants? How does project staff go about obtaining informed consent from the community members? If there are monetary gains to be made by study subjects, what consequences might that have? If the DHS group provides health care or other services in a community for a long period of time, what happens to the community when they leave?

Ethical quandaries are certainly not limited to DHS research. As global health and development topics increasingly capture the attention of resource-rich universities and researchers, it is important to remember that the potential for harm rises along with the potential for good.