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Financial Services

Breakthroughs for Healthy Birth: What “Health Diaries” tell us about financial and medical preparation for giving birth among women in West Bengal and Jharkhand

This research brief will present results from a series of “Health Diaries”—or frequent surveyor-administered surveys—conducted with 45 women in West Bengal and Jharkhand, India to uncover how low-income women prepare for and experience childbirth and its associated costs.

Breakthroughs in Affordable Health Care: What ‘Health Diaries’ tell us about managing health care and costs among women in West Bengal and Jharkhand

This research brief presents results from a series of “Health Diaries” — or frequent surveyor-administered surveys — conducted with 45 women in West Bengal and Jharkhand, India and focuses on key findings related to treatment seeking behavior, access to services and insurance, how out-of-pocket costs are managed and who makes the decisions in the household regarding health care and how to pay for it.

Pro-WEAI Baseline Results from the initiative Building the Resilience of Vulnerable Communities in Burkina Faso (BRB)

This report documents a quantitative assessment completed as part of a pilot test of the pro-WEAI for the “Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project – Phase 2” (GAAP2) project led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) was launched by IFPRI, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and USAID’s Feed the Future program in February 2012 and was the first comprehensive standardized measure to capture women’s empowerment and inclusion in the agricultural sector.

Building Resilience in Burkina Faso: Impact Study Endline Results

Building Resilience in Burkina Faso (BRB) takes a multi-sectoral approach to improving household resilience and food security and features the innovative use of community-based women’s savings groups as a platform for providing an integrated package of agricultural, nutrition, financial services, and women’s empowerment programming to help thousands of savings group members overcome many of the geographic, cultural, social, and economic constraints that hamper their resilience in the face of shocks and disasters.

Catalyzing Financial Inclusion: The Case of Grameen Foundation’s Community Agent Network Program in the Philippines

Offering digital financial services to women and men in low-income and rural areas requires much more than a technology solution. It also involves activities that encourage client adoption, a robust agent network and reliable digital platforms, and a viable business for financial technology providers. This report shares key lessons from Grameen Foundation’s Community Agent Network (CAN) in the Philippines with respect to these areas.

Factors Associated with Food Insecurity among Female Savings Group Participants in Burkina Faso

Abstract: Food security remains a challenge in Burkina Faso due to climate-related hazards that have led to decreasing food availability in areas already plagued with low food consumption and malnutrition. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of food insecurity among women in savings groups in northern and central west Burkina Faso and to identify associated factors. Interviews were conducted with 429 women. Logistic regression models were constructed to describe potential associations between key variables of interest and food security.

Protecting Savings Groups Reached Through High-Tech Channels: Guidance from the New Client Protection Principles for a Digital Savings Product

Abstract: This case study, utilizing an experience from Freedom from Hunger’s Bridge to Financial Inclusion project based in Burkina Faso, aims to highlight experiences of integrating client protection principles – the minimum standards microfinance clients should expect – into the initial design and roll-out of a digital savings product designed for savings groups.

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Understanding Gender Norms in Rural Burkina Faso: A Qualitative Assessment

This report documents a series of qualitative assessments completed as part of a pilot test of the Pro-WEAI for the “Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project – Phase 2” (GAAP2) project led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) was launched by IFPRI, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and USAID’s Feed the Future program in February 2012 and was the first comprehensive standardized measure to capture women’s empowerment and inclusion in the agricultural sector.

Breakthroughs for Financing Sustainable Agriculture

November 07, 2017

“It’s not culturally common for us to work with foundations and NGOS--we’re a bank,” said Matthew Arnold, the Global Head of Sustainable Finance for JPMorgan Chase, which handles US$2 trillion in assets.

He was speaking in Seattle on Nov. 2, during a breakfast panel with Paul Moseley, Program Officer, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Steve Hollingworth, President and CEO of Grameen Foundation. So, perhaps it was a trio of unlikely bedfellows--but perhaps not.

Nutrition at the Center: Client Outcomes of the Rajasthan Nutrition Project

This report documents the final client outcomes from a pre-/post-test assessment completed during the Rajasthan Nutrition Project (RNP). RNP’s goal was to improve household nutrition, particularly among pregnant and lactating women and children, and aimed specifically improve breastfeeding rates, use of ORS to treat diarrhea, linkages to local health services and household food security. The results suggest that all targets were met, if not exceeded. Gender dynamics, as measured by mobility and decision-making power, also improved during the project period.

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