Digital Archive....

Has Africa outgrown Aid? Africa Can... - End Poverty Africa's emergence is the new consensus. For the second time in a just few months, a major international journal has run a cover illustrating newfound optimism about the continent. After The  Economist's mea culpa (correcting its previous assessment of a "hopeless continent"), TIME magazine just re-ran an earlier title: "Africa rising". This is no fluke: Africa's economies are growing and the continent is much wealthier today than it ever was – even though, collectively, it remains the poorest on the planet. Many African nations (22 to be precise) have already reached Middle Income Country (so called "MIC") status and more will do so by 2025 . Today, Africa includes a diverse "mix" of countries, ranging from the poorest in the world to the fastest growing; from war-torn countries to vibrant democracies; from oil-rich economies to ICT champions, and t...

Scaling Mobile Health Solutions the Hard Way SSIR Opinion & Analysis By Chuck Slaughter mHealth has the potential to transform healthcare, particularly for the hardest-to-reach women and children around the world. The debate about exactly how, when, and in what form is alive and well. Successful pilots are in abundance, but most of the sector has been slow to reach scale. In short, the sector has a case of mHealth Pilotitis. In the first debate of a series on mobile health, the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship partnered with Johnson & Johnson and Stanford Social Innovation Review to surface important lessons and learning from some of the world's leading organizations who have taken mHealth services to scale. This debate will also set the stage for a larger discussion on mobile for development at this year's Skoll World Forum in Oxford, UK. "If you build it, they will come," may make for good Hollywood dr...

Toenemende repressie werpt schaduw over succes van mobiele telefoon in Afrika. Vice Versa Het succesverhaal van mobiele telefonie in Afrika leek jarenlang geen grenzen te kennen, maar langzaam maar zeker lijkt het succes ook een keerzijde te hebben door toenemende politieke controle en repressie. Om de huidige stand van zaken omtrent mobiele telefoons in Afrika te onderzoeken, organiseerde het Afrika Studie Centrum in Leiden vorige week de conferentie Mobile Africa Revisited Mobiel bellen. Een goede vijftien jaar geleden was het ondenkbaar in Afrika, dat zelfs grotendeels verstoken is geweest van landlijnen. Sinds de introductie van de mobiele telefoon is de markt echter geëxplodeerd en vind je in elk uithoek van het continent iemand met een mobieltje op zak. Zelfs in de meest onherbergzame gebieden is het tegenwoordig mogelijk om een telefoontje te plegen. Families die eerder niet in staat waren om in contact met elkaar te staan, kunnen elkaar nu op...

15 ways to improve your communications strategy Global development news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk A roundup of advice from our panel of experts on the importance of communication in aid work and how to get it right Matthew Sherrington, strategy director, The Good Agency , London, UK People engage best with people, not abstract issues : Single case-study stories done properly can illustrate wider issue in a real, accessible and relevant way. But most information gathering is NOT geared to this. Most programmes gather information to populate their log frame KPIs in a very static and lifeless way. Communicate the difference people can make : As a fundraiser, what motivates supporters is communicating the difference people can make to a problem. That means showing the need with the opportunity for improvement. The spirit and dignity of people is part of that. Be honest about your own agenda : Charities choose who to show solidarity towards ...