The household economy approach (HEA) is a method for assessing the vulnerability of rural populations to economic shocks and changes, based on their livelihood patterns and market information. It is now widely used as a method of famine early warning by many governments and humanitarian agencies, and also has important applications for managing the impacts of climate change on poverty and food security in developing countries.
Useful Resources
New Household Economy Approach software developed by Evidence for Development
Seaman J: Evidence for Development, July 2015
Providing guidance to empower LMIC health teams
British Medical Journal; University of Cape Town Lung Institute's Knowledge Translation Unit: BMJ, UK, 2015
BMJ has partnered with the University of Cape Town Lung Institute's Knowledge Translation Unit (UCTLI KTU), to develop and distribute the Practical Approach to Care Kit (PACK) programme to healthcare workers in low to middle income countries. The PACK programme is a comprehensive clinical practice aid that enables healthcare practitioners to diagnose and manage common conditions. It covers 40 common symptoms and 20 conditions including cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, women’s health, and end-of-life care. PACK is updated annually to comply with local clinical policy, regulations and essential drug lists, and is translated where necessary. It incorporates regular evidence updates from BMJ and other credible sources including WHO, to ensure that it is relevant and provides the latest best practice guidance. The programme has been implemented in Botswana and in the Zomba district of Malawi. Extensive interest in PACK has been received from other middle to low income countries.
Urbanisation: where, why, when?
SciDevNet: UK, 2015
This series of infographics and a video show urbanization by region and separate countries. It identifies factors which are driving urbanization and shows through graphics how birth rates, fertility and migration are drivers of urban growth. It compares through bar charts the differences between urban and rural housing and explores whether the rural – urban gap may be shrinking. Finally, it shows some projections for the future of urbanization.
"How AIDS changed everything” Fact Sheet
UNAIDS: August 2015
The UNAIDS 2014 Global HIV/AIDS Statistics contains key data from the recent publication "How AIDS changed everything”. Global statistics include: 15 million people accessing antiretroviral therapy as of March 2015. 36.9 million [34.3 million– 41.4 million] people globally were living with HIV and 2 million [1.9 million – 2.2 million] people became newly infected with HIV. In 2014, 1.2million [980 000 – 1.6 million] people died from AIDS-related illnesses.
How to build a theory of change for an impact evaluation
3ie International Initiative for Impact Evaluation
3ie’s How-To videos use a simple step-by-step approach for explaining theoretical concepts. The How-To videos on impact evaluation draw from examples of impact evaluations to show viewers how to apply technical concepts. The videos in this series explore various topics related to designing, implementing and using impact evaluations. A short quiz at the end of each lecture will help assess your understanding of the subject covered in the video.
Lesser Known International Funders
fundsforNGOs: 6 August 2015
fundsforNGOs are offering a free download to their resource on ‘Lesser Known International Donors You should look for Funding in 2015’. It contains a list of profiles of those funding agencies that are not very well known but do offer active grants to NGOs around the world. Their application process is not as complex as that of traditional donors and there is less competition for seeking grants from them. These agencies also fund ideas for social change.
Bridging Waters Film Series
SADC: Botswana 2015
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) region is home to more than 260 million people, with transboundary rivers, lakes and groundwater bodies: 15 great rivers with their respective river basins in Southern Africa are shared between two or more countries. Water, however, does not recognise international boundaries. The joint management, protection and utilisation of water in Southern Africa is therefore not an option - it is a necessity. Bridging Waters is a docu-drama series illustrating how water in Southern Africa is sustainably managed according to SADC's Protocol on Shared Watercourses. Narrated through the lives of those living along Southern Africa's rivers and depicting their daily challenges, Bridging Waters connects local settings with transboundary management and exemplifies the local impacts of improved cooperation between countries in the region. Shot in 10 countries over a period of two years, the series delves into the waters of the Zambezi, the Limpopo, the Kunene, the Ruvuma and the Orange-Senqu. Rivers are the lifelines of Africa, and the film shows the shared responsibility to keep them flowing: clean and jointly managed for the benefit of all.
E-Huesped: An information platform on transmissible diseases
Fundación Huésped: July 2015
e-huesped aims at communicating news about the progress made in the fields of HIV/aids, viral hepatitis and other transmissible diseases, in a swift and dynamic way using an online platform which allows the continuous collaboration and updating and information exchange with professionals throughout the world. The platform is accessible at any time and from any place. It is implemented on the Edx platform developed by MIT and Harvard with online courses to update professionals in the health team. E-huesped was developed by Fundación Huésped an Argentinean organization with projects that reach throughout Latin America responding to HIV/AIDS as both an infectious disease and a social challenge.
Ebola Fund Watch: Tracking For Ebola Crisis in West Africa
BudgIT; Open Society Initiative for West Africa: June 2015
This resource gathers evidence on the use of funds for the containment of the Ebola outbreak as provided by external funders. It also plans to create a narrative of cumulative experiences of how emergency funds were applied to survivors, victims, healthcare workers, institutions and other beneficiaries. It focuses on curating, tracking and demanding accountability for funds meant for Ebola virus treatment and containment across the sub region.
Evidence for policy and practice
Murphy L: Eldis 2015
Quality assured research synthesis documents from a selected set of publishers who focus is on supporting evidence-informed decision-making on issues relevant to international development. This Guide provides access to a set of quality assured research synthesis documents specifically intended to assist evidence-informed decision-making in development policy and practice. They are selected by the Eldis team from a limited set of "approved" publishers who have been assessed to ensure a robust methodological approach to quality assurance. The Guide also provides a space for discussion on some of the debates on what constitutes "evidence", the use of different methods for quality assessment and the various approaches to impact evaluation