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2.06 MB
Extraction Summary
4
People
12
Organizations
14
Locations
3
Events
3
Relationships
3
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
News article / media digest (house oversight production)
File Size:
2.06 MB
Summary
This document is a media digest or article from the Guardian blog by Mark Tran, produced as part of a House Oversight investigation (Bates stamped HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019430). It discusses the efficacy of development awards, highlighting 'Sunlite' solar lanterns used in refugee camps and mentioning various humanitarian organizations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. While part of a production likely related to investigations involving high-profile figures, the text itself focuses strictly on global health initiatives and technology awards.
People (4)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Tran | Author |
Writer for the Guardian blog.
|
| Divyesh Thakkar | Subject |
Based in Leicester, associated with Sunlite, visited refugee camps in Ethiopia.
|
| Joaquim Chissano | Past Winner |
Former President of Mozambique, winner of Mo Ibrahim prize.
|
| Festus Gontebanye Mogae | Past Winner |
Former President of Botswana, winner of Mo Ibrahim prize.
|
Timeline (3 events)
Last month (relative to article)
Finalists meeting to showcase ideas to save lives of mothers and newborns
Washington
53 finalists
Saving Lives at Birth partnership
October (upcoming relative to article)
Locations (14)
Relationships (3)
Thakkar's company, Sunlite.
Partnership includes... the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates foundation awarded $100,000 to the California Institute of Technology.
Key Quotes (3)
"It's amazing they're still working and to see them changing lives"Source
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Quote #1
"People are going to university thanks to the lamp."Source
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Quote #2
"Sceptics may wonder whether these accolades contribute meaningfully to development, or exist only to make donors feel good while sidestepping more fundamental, structural issues."Source
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Quote #3
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (3,712 characters)
The biggest network we use is the GiveIndia network. Working with their team allows us to screen and monitor, before that we were able to support a handful of NGOs. Now we have a reasonable portfolio across all the areas we are interested in. I don't think that scale up would be able to happen if we hadn't leveraged the GiveIndia team."
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Global Health and Development – Full text articles
Pat on the back or force for good: what purpose do development awards serve?
Mark Tran – Guardian blog
Mark Tran – Guardian blog
Divyesh Thakkar has just returned from refugee camps in Ethiopia, where he was surprised to see portable solar lanterns designed by his company still in use three years after their distribution.
The batteries for the prototype lamps were expected to last only two years, but were still functioning at the Jijiga camp near the Somali border.
"It's amazing they're still working and to see them changing lives," said Thakkar, who is based in Leicester. "People are going to university thanks to the lamp."
The solar lantern, which looks like an old-fashioned kerosene hurricane lamp, won an innovation award last year at AidEx, an annual trade show bringing together suppliers and buyers of products for the aid industry. The lamp has a built-in solar panel to charge its four AA-sized batteries.
The lantern has an obvious advantage over kerosene-fuelled equivalents: with no flame or smoke emissions, it is safer and more environmentally friendly. The batteries are made for 500 cycles, or about two years, but the longevity of the lamps in Ethiopia has come as a pleasant surprise. In a novel twist, the lantern, which costs $38 (£24.50), can also be used to charge mobile phones.
The award provided a huge fillip for Thakkar's company, Sunlite. As word spread, relief agencies placed increasingly large orders. About 100,000 of the lamps have been (or are being) used after emergencies in Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and Syria.
Sunlite makes 15,000 lamps a month at two plants in India, including one in a special economic zone in Gujarat state.
Next month, there will be a new winner at AidEx in Brussels, the third year of the award. The innovation award sits alongside a crowded field of honours in the development world, although AidEx is geared more towards humanitarian needs.
Awards seem to be proliferating. Last month, 53 finalists met in Washington to showcase ideas to save the lives of mothers and newborns in developing countries. The award is given by the Saving Lives at Birth partnership, launched in 2011, which includes USAid, Norway, Grand Challenges Canada, backed by the Canadian government, the UK's Department for International Development, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In October, the Mo Ibrahim foundation will announce its prize for achievement in African leadership, established in 2007. Past winners include presidents Joaquim Chissano and Festus Gontebanye Mogae, of Mozambique and Botswana respectively, although the prize is not awarded if no one meets the criteria.
Sceptics may wonder whether these accolades contribute meaningfully to development, or exist only to make donors feel good while sidestepping more fundamental, structural issues. For instance, the Gates foundation awarded $100,000 to the California Institute of Technology last year for designing a solar-powered toilet that breaks down water and human waste into hydrogen gas for use in fuel cells.
The competition was for "next-generation" toilets to improve sanitation in the developing world. Would that money have been better spent on supporting community-led total sanitation – a project to end open defecation that has had considerable success?
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019430
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