GHR Foundation's Children in Families Initiative supports child protection interventions that strengthen families, deinstitutionalize children and drive further evidence of innovative, pro-family approaches. One important area for family strengthening is the growth of formal care and adoption. Adoption is an immensely complicated process, and represents often represents a barrier to creating families around the world. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) titled, “At Home or in a Home: Formal Care and Adoption of Children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia,” (PDF) noted these significant changes in the field:

• More children are becoming separated from their families
• The rate of children in formal care is increasing
• Poverty is not the only cause of separation, but an important one
• Dropping birth rates hides the increase of residential care in most countries
• Institutionalization of infants and young children is still too common
• Children with disabilities represent a large proportion of all children in residential care
• Some non-state actors in the development of residential care only downscale existing systems
• Transfers between institutions skew out-flow data from residential care
• The development of family-based alternative care has been slow
• Adoption is an option, but only for some

GHR has supported family development work in Nepal, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Vietnam and Guatemala that has informed our approach to systems change in key countries. Our current Children in Families geographic focus is Zambia. Contact us if you are interested in learning more.

GHR Foundation’s Inter-Religious Action Initiative is focused on mobilizing religious leaders and communities to address common development challenges. One pressing issue in many African nations is public health and the lack of infrastructure. The recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa highlights a common challenge GHR grantees have experienced tackling malaria and other public health interventions. In a recent article for SmartGlobalHealth.org, Heidi J. Larson, Ph.D. addresses the health costs of misinformation, local misconceptions and distrust of health workers.

Many of the difficulties facing public health experts in fighting these outbreaks can be addressed by deploying inter-religious approaches in local communities. Inter-religious strategies used in the fight against Ebola, polio and malaria include: 

• Identifying local traditional and religious leaders, as well as trusted community members, who understand the public health issue
• Build upon established local trust networks
• Translate necessary public health practices into locally accepted solutions
• Distribute accurate prevention and treatment information, and discourage activities that accelerate the spread of the outbreak

GHR has seen the powerful outcomes of using inter-religious approaches to strengthen public health. Contact us if you are interested in learning more about how to engage faith leaders to improve development outcomes. 

GHR Foundation’s Inter-Religious Action Initiative is focused on improving development outcomes, building lasting community connections and advancing peace by mobilizing religious leaders and communities to address common challenges. A core component of the Foundation’s funding focuses on developing evidence and replicable models.

GHR is building a case to encourage government, philanthropy and other donors to increase investment in inter-religious strategies to scale impact. We are eager to demonstrate how incorporating inter-religious collaboration into aid and security initiatives improves outcomes. 

We are working with grantee partners and global experts, and are eager to hear from you. What are the most compelling indicators of success when it comes to measuring inter-religious action?  What would best demonstrate that inter-religious action improves return on investment when it comes to development?

Comment below to share your insights and resources.