The Challenge In impoverished and war-torn areas, regional instability leads to ineffective health care infrastructure unable to adequately treat ailments such as diabetes and HIV/AIDS. The Technology Approach Through community-based workshops, micro-clinics leverage social networks to spread “contagious health” best practices, providing information dissemination and training in conjunction with local partners. 2013 Updates The NGO MicroClinics International will expand and support the 1,500 established micro-clinics spanning four continents through evaluation and policy advocacy. The group also recently launched a diabetes micro-clinic project domestically in Kentucky. Principal Investigator Prof. Eva Harris, School of Public Health Lead Researcher Daniel Zoughbie, Principal Investigator, CEO Microclinic International [button link=”http://microclinics.org/”

LED Lighting The Challenge Over a billion people in the developing world lack access to an electric grid and instead rely on inefficient, expensive and polluting flame-based lighting. The Technology Approach The Lumina Project works through laboratory and field-based investigations to cultivate technologies and markets for safe, affordable lighting options that can replace fuel-based options in the developing world, including low-carbon alternatives, such as LED lighting. 2013 Updates In addition to supporting various off-grid lighting projects in Africa, the Lumina Project team has recently conducted in-depth studies of the health impacts of fuel-based lighting, in addition to market analysis regarding carbon credit mechanisms in the developing world. Principal Investigator Dr. Evan Mills, Building Technology and Urban Systems Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [button link=”http://light.lbl.gov/”

The Challenge Social organizations frequently lack the resources and expertise to assess the impact of their programs to guide future growth, as the opportunity costs of assessments are high and may result in little value added to the organization unless done in a meaningful way. The Technology Approach ReadyMade provides social enterprises a free and effective online tool to aid in assessment of impact and costs through analysis of essential data that are easy to collect. 2013 Updates ReadyMade will develop an online impact assessment tool that can be used by organizations to undertake assessments, track project outcomes, and create evaluation reports.  The team has developed prototypes in a variety of areas, including a cataract surgery clinic, agricultural co-ops in Africa and Asia, and at-risk youth college-prep program in the US. Lead Researcher Prof. Clair Brown, Economics Field Locations Prototypes in South America, Africa, Asia, and United States Prototype Reports Developing an Effective and Efficient Assessment Template for Social Enterprises Analysis of Berkeley Scholars to Cal Program Hospital de la Familia’s Cataract Surgery Program in

A Cellular System for Rural Off-Grid Locations The Challenge Over one billion people in rural areas worldwide lack access to the transformative technology of cellular phones. The Technology Approach The Village Base Station (VBTS) cellular tower is optimized for rural, off-grid deployments by drastically reducing the cost of cellular coverage through decreased required power, especially when not in active use. 2013 Updates The VBTS is deploying three towers in rural Papua, Indonesia, aiming to serve between 1,000 and 10,000 people. Lead Researchers Prof. Eric Brewer, Computer Science Prof. Tapan Parikh, School of Information Field Location Indonesia [button link=”http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~kheimerl/pubs/vbts_nsdr10.pdf” text=”White

Fuel Efficient Stoves for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) The Challenge Since 2003, civil conflict in Darfur has led to massive displacement of people into densely populated camps. The Darfur Stoves Project provides Darfuri women with specially developed cookstoves that require less firewood, reduce pollution, and decrease women’s need to trade food rations for fuel and their exposure to violence by reducing the time needed to collect needed firewood. The Technology Approach The stoves team leads the development of fuel efficient stoves through user-centered design, reducing both harmful emissions and firewood collection by 50% each. For a family, the stove leads to up to $1770 in firewood savings over five years. 2013 Updates Started at Lawrence Hall of Science (LBNL), the project is currently also the first initiative of Potential Energy, a Berkeley-based, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring life-improving household technologies to women in the developing world. Potential Energy is transitioning to a market-based approach in Darfur and is partnering with LBNL to design a fuel-efficient stove for use in Ethiopia. Lead Researcher Dr. Ashok Gadgil, LBNL Field Locations Darfur, Sudan; Ethiopia [button link=”http://www.potentialenergy.org/”

Women’s Emergency Communication and Reliable Electricity The Challenge Lack of reliable electricity results in inadequate obstetric care for pregnant mothers and their offspring in the developing world, contributing to morbidity and mortality. The Technology Approach The durable and portable “We Care Solar Suitcase” provides power for medical LED lighting, cell phones, and battery charging for fetal dopplers and headlamps – reducing delays and increasing capacity of providing emergency obstetric care. 2013 Updates We Care Solar aims to expand by deploying networks of Solar Suitcases in specific regions, partnering with Ministries of Health and NGOs to enhance health care delivery. The engineering team is working to improve the suitcase design through increased battery life, higher performance LEDs, and an integrated PC board. Additionally, a recently launched Solar Ambassador program has trained women to lead installations and international trainings. Lead Researcher Laura E. Stachel, MD, MPH, DrPH Candidate Field Location(s) Western, Central, and Eastern Africa; Central America, Haiti, Asia [button link=”http://wecaresolar.org/” text=”Website”] [button link=”https://www.facebook.com/WeCareSolar”

Caliber, a UC Berkeley general interest magazine, featured the #GlobalPOV story artist, Abby VanMuijen, and her popular DeCal course in its Spring 2013 edition (Issue 7). According to VanMuijen: I like to leave information up in a cloud in my head, and take each piece down one-by-one, and draw it out. . . . It’s empowering to turn this hobby into something that other people can use. I really believe that visual notetaking is something that everyone can learn. People from all majors and paths of life take this DeCal, and the class is structured in a way that everyone can gain something out of it.” To read the full article, click

One fall 2011 afternoon, while sitting/doodling/not sleeping in Prof. Roy’s “Global Poverty: Challenges and Hopes in the New Millennium” class, student Abby VanMuijen ditched her live-action note-taking for a moment and scribbled down a series of words instead. (Abby can spell, say wha?) The words were Abby’s response to Thomas Friedman’s “the world is flat” assertion. A year later, her words inspired the #GlobalPOV team, not to mention our logo: And all this time, I thought the world was round. The world is not round. It has edges we can fall from and faces staring in entirely different directions. And I thought the world was huge, but it is not — it’s in our hands. We can hold it, change it, turn it, shake it. We can solve it, but not by sheer luck or chance. We must be taught the way.” — Abby VanMuijen, U.C. Berkeley