On April 7, the World Health Day Symposium 2021 offered a space of global and local interconnection around the theme of global equity. Hosted by Global Minnesota and sponsored by GHR Foundation, the day-long event linked local grassroots innovation and global policy initiatives — tapping the wisdom and experience of leaders from a variety of fields around improving global health outcomes, with faith and community voices represented.

Health equity is a crucial aspect of racial justice, and the World Health Day Symposium presented a chance to envision a more healthy and fair future for all. GHR's support represents our continued commitment to integrating racial equity into every aspect of our work and organization. 

Amy Goldman, CEO and Chair of GHR, shared, "there’s no doubt the devastation of COVID-19 has awakened the world to a crisis of broken systems with health, economic and racial inequities growing rather than shrinking. Yet, there is reason for hope as we hear new calls for change through collaborations such as World Health Day. We’re leaning into that change at GHR, taking steps today that prepare a different future – one that heals, that builds community, and creates conditions for equity and solidarity to flourish. And that’s why Global Minnesota’s focused conversation on health equity is so critical to all of us.”

Watch the full symposium here.

The African American Leadership Forum, in partnership with members of a Black professional fraternity, the Itasca Project and GREATER MSP, today announced an initiative to address racial inequities in the Twin Cities region in a new and transformational way.

With a working title of the Alliance of Alliances, the effort will be led by local Black leaders. It will be housed at the African American Leadership Forum (AALF), which will be the backbone for coordinating existing racial equity work and for instigating new work shaped and driven by the Black community.

Early partnerships with the Minnesota Business Partnership and the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity helped pave the way to developing new pathways to fund efforts such as this initiative.

“The Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE) represents leaders from more than 80 organizations who have come together to build an equitable, inclusive and prosperous state with and for black residents,” said Acooa Ellis, steering committee member and senior vice president of Community Impact for Greater Twin Cities United Way.

The Alliance, AALF, and MBCRE will work together to generate and implement solutions to advance equitable outcomes for Black Minnesotans. Currently, nearly $4 million of the $4 million required to jumpstart this effort has been raised through a coordinated fundraising effort with MBCRE members’ companies.

The approach that the Alliance of Alliances will take to solving the region’s persistent disparities is different, according to Lynn Casey, chair of the Itasca Project. “Our region’s business and philanthropic organizations have invested heavily over many years in reducing the disparities between white residents and people of color — particularly Black residents,” she said. “We can point to many success stories, yet Black Minnesotans remain at or near the bottom in income, graduation rates and other socioeconomic measures when those quality-of-life measures are broken out by race. It is time to add some new thinking. It’s time to invest in Black leadership.”

In addition to Black leadership, the Alliance of Alliances will use an approach called Black-Centered Design to ensure that solutions for the Black community are created by the Black community. “This is not how things have typically been done in the past,” Marcus Owens, AALF’s executive director, said. “Previous efforts have failed largely because they did not center Black perspectives and experiences.”

The Alliance of Alliances’ approach also is different in its comprehensiveness, Owens said. AALF will recruit leaders for each of eight areas essential to achieving racial justice and equity: public safety, shared responsibility, infrastructure investments, employment, education, healthcare, housing and advocacy. “These leaders will not only convene those organizations and individuals who currently work in and support those areas; they also will look for ways to leverage work across those areas,” Owens said.

“Take education and employment as one example. They are linked. Could we be more successful in how we educate and train our young people for careers if we thought through and addressed the barriers more holistically?”

The idea for the Alliance of Alliances began last July when members of Omicron Boule’, the local chapter of the Black professional fraternity Sigma Pi Phi, met with leaders of the Itasca Project and GREATER MSP to co-create a vision for what a more equitable region would look like in 2030. Out of those discussions emerged a two-page document outlining a 10-year vision and the eight work areas essential to achieving that vision. The document was shared with more than two dozen business, philanthropy and nonprofit organizations, including many that are Black led.

“We asked what it would take to build a different kind of movement for change,” said Omicron Boule’ member and U.S. Bank Chief Diversity Officer Greg Cunningham. “As conversations continued, the question of whether to form a separate organization or leverage an existing one came up repeatedly. AALF became the logical home because of its reach into the Black community, its way of partnering with others to get things done, and its commitment to centering Black voices in its efforts to drive change.”

Initial funders of the Alliance of Alliances include the U.S. Bank Foundation, 3M, Best Buy, General Mills, GHR Foundation, Securian Financial, Target Foundation, Thrivent, The Toro Company, and Wells Fargo. “This effort is about shifting our region from a focus on managing disparities to investing in equity as a strategy to drive growth and innovation,” said GREATER MSP President & CEO Peter Frosch. “And we are inviting other leaders and organizations to join in shaping a new consensus on how to advance racial equity.”

Funders also will be tapped for expertise related to governance, operating plans and accountability measures. “The Alliance of Alliances is ‘Black led’ but it is not ‘Black only’,” Owens said. He also emphasized that the work would require millions of additional dollars and engagement from the business, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors over time. “Many organizations doing great work in this region are under-funded. We can get there faster if we think bigger. Some of that will be new money, and some funds will likely be redirected as we uncover better ways to work together.”

From Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis:

A worldwide clinical trial aimed at finding treatments for Alzheimer’s disease has expanded to include investigational drugs targeting a harmful form of the brain protein tau. The trial, known as the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU) and led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, launched in 2012 as the first prevention trial for Alzheimer’s disease. Originally focused on amyloid-based therapies, it was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2013.
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“As a platform trial, DIAN-TU plays a critical role in Alzheimer’s prevention by testing a variety of mechanisms,” said Fred Miller, GHR Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer and Alzheimer’s program lead.  “We are excited to join public and private partners in supporting the expanding scope of DIAN-TU as it begins testing tau therapies. Together with DIAN-TU families, we are reimagining what’s possible in our shared goal to prevent dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease.”

Read more...

Imagine a development sector fueled by the power of those with the least, a world where the people and communities most impacted by global decisions have a role in remaking the system to best serve the common good. Inspired by Pope Francis, the Global Solidarity Fund is a network of partners supporting innovative public-private partnership among and beyond Catholic networks that place the most vulnerable at the center of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

With support from GHR Foundation and others, GSF is connecting people, ideas and networks to build an inclusive economy, to amplify the leadership of Catholic sisters, and to shine a light on the development contributions made by the Catholic Church. One initiative, representing Catholic sisters around the world, is the work of International Union of Superiors General (UISG) in bringing the unique voice of sisters into the global dialogue, strengthening not only programs led by sisters, but other efforts supporting those most vulnerable. As an initial effort, GSF is working with UISG to tell the compelling story of sisters’ leadership in leading community-based solutions to COVID-19.

Additionally, through support provided to the Vatican COVID-19 Commission and to partners in the field, GSF has lent its support to the Church’s role in the response to coronavirus. Moving forward from 2020 and beyond, GSF will use its network and voice to tell the powerful story of the Catholic experience and call to action – not only in recent times, but over the long term — to the broader development community and public. GSF also provides support for other Church initiatives to promote development that is sustainable and inclusive and works for the benefit of all.
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Learn more at: https://www.globalsolidarityfund.org/
 

From the World Economic Forum Davos Agenda:

With 9.9 million new cases of dementia globally each year, the type of collective action witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic is urgently needed.

What policies, practices and partnerships can help to develop new diagnostics and treatments for Alzheimer’s?

This session is associated with the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative, convened by the Global CEO Initiative (CEOi) and the World Economic Forum.

Speakers:

Ali Velshi, Anchor, NBC News

Michel Vounatsos, Chief Executive Officer, Biogen

Jeff Huber, Chief Executive Officer, Home Instead Inc.

​Amy Goldman, Chief Executive Officer and Chair, GHR Foundation

As representatives of nonpartisan philanthropic institutions, serving rural, urban, and suburban communities across the nation, we condemn the violence that broke out at the U.S. Capitol this week. The events in Washington are a stain on our nation’s history and a painful break in the peaceful transition of power that has been a defining hallmark of American democracy for more than 200 years.

The shameful events are the result of actions by President Trump and other political leaders who have recklessly fanned the flames of grievance. Those responsible for this deadly violence and insurrection must be held to account, and we call on Republican leaders, in particular, in government and media to unequivocally reject conspiracy theories and the actions of extremists who use violence. After hard-fought campaigns, extraordinary voter turnout, and the resolution of more than 60 election-related lawsuits, it is long past time for our nation to accept the results of the 2020 election so that our duly elected leaders — President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris and members of the 117th Congress — can move forward with addressing the nation’s pressing challenges.

Our organizations donate hundreds of millions of dollars to charitable causes each year to advance the common good. While we have different funding approaches, vary in our areas of focus, and are ideologically diverse, we share a belief in the importance of finding common ground to solve problems and serve people and communities. And while we may vary in our views on the size and scope of government, we share a belief that safeguarding the health, security, and rights of people and communities requires a government whose leaders can accept the election results, bridge divisions that have roiled our nation, work in good faith to forge solutions, and stand up for democracy.

As the U.S. faces the most dire global health emergency in 100 years, the worst economic crisis in modern history, and a racial reckoning overdue for centuries, it is time to move on from last year’s election, cease further delays in the transition of power, and turn to governance. To our duly elected leaders, we urge you to follow facts and let science lead the way toward solving the COVID-19 crisis. We encourage you to listen to diverse voices — including those of people who have been overlooked, forgotten, and excluded, and who are facing persistent threats to their lives and livelihoods. We call on you to repair our tattered social fabric and help our democracy live up to its ideals. And we stand ready to work with you to move our country forward and increase opportunity for all who call it home.

https://democracyletter.medium.com/philanthropies-condemn-political-violence-call-on-leaders-to-protect-democracy-and-get-back-to-242aaf86f253

Through our deep partnerships, GHR has come to learn that racism is prevalent and
persistent both in the U.S. and global contexts. Our organization is committed to pursuing
racial equity across our work to better support Black, Brown, Indigenous and people of color
communities and accelerate the change they seek.

As part of our shared commitment to racial equity, GHR and Devex co-hosted the Devex World 2020 workshop: ‘Dismantling systemic inequity in development through racially conscious collaboration.’ 
Led by Tony Hudson, president & founder of Racially Conscious Collaboration™, the highly interactive workshop advanced the conversation on race within the global development and aid sector through an in-depth examination of how race and racism are present and active in development spaces.

Race takes different forms in different cultural contexts, but racism remains persistent and pervasive in every community, country, and continent in which the global development sector works. If injustice and racial inequality are to be tackled effectively, they must first be named and acknowledged. Only in doing so can systemic barriers to the inclusion of marginalized groups be addressed, in global development organizations and the diverse communities they serve.

The event engaged a multi-racial, multi-level audience across the global development sector. Participants had the opportunity to learn from each other, sharing lived experiences and ideas, as well as insights on how race and power are present and active in their work, and implications of the same. 

GHR looks forward to sharing what we learn alongside sector leaders and advancing this critical work together.

GHR partner, Zambia-based Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE), along with Christian Alliance for Children Zambia, have published a comparative study out of Lusaka highlighting positive outcomes for children when family-based care is prioritized over recourse to institutional care. Evincing how family-based care results in improved childhood development outcomes, the study also illuminates how such a model is operationally more effective for organizations implementing the same. Offering a working model of family-based care in Zambia, the study supplies a replicable framework that can be modified for other regions and circumstances.  
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Drawing on over twenty years of experience in family-based care, Alliance for Children Everywhere seeks to apply their experience in Zambia to support a transition to family-based care among other organizations serving vulnerable children within Southern Africa and beyond. ACE and GHR share a collective vision of a world where all children—especially those at risk of losing or without parental care—are living in a stable, positive, long-term family or family-like environment. 

Find the study here:

C2N Diagnostics’ Alzheimer's blood test has been introduced into the clinic, a breakthrough healthcare innovation for patients, advocates, and physicians who have long awaited an easy to administer test that can help them better understand Alzheimer’s disease.

C2N developed this groundbreaking test based upon longtime GHR partner Dr. Randall Bateman’s initial discovery of how to measure amyloid proteins in blood, validating its results in a clinical trial of 686 patients. Earlier this year, GHR made a Program-Related Investment (PRI) in C2N to provide the resources necessary to develop and launch this innovation. 

The test is a highly sensitive blood test using mass spectrometry and is performed in C2N’s CLIA-certified lab. While the test by itself cannot diagnose Alzheimer’s disease — which is a clinical diagnosis made by a health care provider — the test is an important new tool for physicians to aid in the evaluation process. 

Joel B. Braunstein, MD, CEO of C2N says, “Our mission is to translate exceptional science into unique diagnostics that can help as many people as possible. This blood test introduces a new option for patients, families and the medical community that have eagerly awaited innovative tools to address Alzheimer’s troubling problems.” 

GHR Foundation is partnering boldly with a consortium of government, industry, academic research and other philanthropists on a game-changing undertaking – the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Learn more here.