The world’s biggest challenges disproportionately affect historically marginalized communities. To solve these challenges, the next generation of leaders and problem-solvers must reflect these communities. So, together with U.S. universities and academic institutions, FHI 360 is working to ensure that more students can learn about and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, manufacturing and design (STEM²D).

Through GE Foundation’s Next Engineers program — which is coordinated by FHI 360 and operates in England and South Africa, in addition to the U.S. states of South Carolina and Ohio — middle school and high school students from diverse backgrounds are exposed to engineering careers and concepts through creative, immersive activities. Through Pathway to Success, a Johnson & Johnson (J&J) program, FHI 360 is supporting first-generation college students and alumni of J&J’s Bridge to Employment program as they explore higher education and career opportunities in STEM²D and health care fields. 

“When students engage with different subjects — and interact with professionals who look like them — they see that they can excel in whatever career they choose,” says FHI 360 CEO Tessie San Martin. “Representation is an important step toward a more equitable world.”

Many students around the world — particularly girls and individuals with disabilities — face barriers to accessing quality education, such as violence and discrimination. These barriers can keep them out of school or lead them to drop out, affecting their chances of building full and healthy lives. To help students overcome these challenges, FHI 360 is working to make schools more accessible and inclusive.

In the traditional Muslim community of Medina Gounass in southern Senegal, we partnered with ministries of education and religious leaders to incorporate French and mathematics into the curriculum and to encourage girls to continue on to secondary school. Two years of this partnership produced remarkable outcomes, including creating safe and inclusive learning environments — and of the students who transitioned into the formal education system from informal education, nearly 50% were girls. In other schools, we developed solutions to expand access to formal education for girls and individuals with disabilities.

One classroom at a time, FHI 360 will continue to break down barriers so that learners around the world can advance their education and shape their futures. 

An effective civil society is the backbone of thriving communities and countries. Yet social, structural and economic forces are eroding social cohesion and causing persistent and increasing inequalities around the world. These can prevent people from fully participating in society and asserting their voices in community and national dialogue.

Chad has one of the highest rates of gender inequality in the world. And challenges in the Sahel region — such as food insecurity, political instability, climate change, poverty, violent extremism and conflict — can exacerbate inequality.

To increase women’s participation in civil society, FHI 360 partnered with the National Council of Women Leaders (Le Conseil National des Femmes du Tchad, or CONAF) to encourage women to speak out during the country’s political transition. FHI 360 and CONAF trained more than 100 women on Chad’s legal framework, culminating in the Bongor Appeal (L’appel de Bongor) — a plea for peace, social cohesion and reconciliation.

CONAF members then met with Chad’s transitional president, who voiced support for including women in the political process. This year, CONAF is planning an information campaign about peaceful coexistence that will run in N’Djamena (the country’s capital) and all 23 provinces.

For people everywhere to lead full and healthy lives, they must have equitable access to services such as medical care. But as inequality increases around the world, it can be challenging to obtain vital care.

FHI 360 is working to reach people in marginalized communities with health services relevant to their specific needs. In the U.S., FHI 360 is helping migrant farmworker families get the medical and dental care they need by connecting Migrant and Seasonal Head Start child care providers with local community health centers. And in many countries, such as Thailand and the Dominican Republic, we team up with local or community-driven organizations to deliver HIV services — including testing, prevention, care and referral to treatment — to people from marginalized communities, including transgender people, sex workers, and migrants.

“I want to empower clients and encourage them to take PrEP, as well as use condoms to protect themselves,” says Anchalaporn (Anna) Pilasuta (pictured below), who works with an FHI 360 partner in Thailand. “I always stress that it does no harm to protect yourself. I ask them, ‘Between protecting and fixing, which one do you want?’”

Nearly 1 billion people worldwide have a mental health condition, according to the United Nations — yet only a fraction can get the support they need. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated deteriorations in mental health; around the world, people with mental health conditions experience stigma, discrimination and human rights violations.

Across our programs, FHI 360 addresses individual, social and structural drivers of poor mental health outcomes by fostering community support, increasing demand for services, and decreasing stigma and discrimination. And we are expanding access to stigma-free mental health care and psychosocial support, particularly for people who are facing trauma, loss and marginalization.

In Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, we have worked — along with Pragma Corporation and 10 regional HIV service delivery organizations — to provide in-person and virtual mental health services for LGBTQI+ individuals, people living with HIV, other members of populations most affected by HIV, and service providers.

In Jamaica, through the Local Partner Development project, we have provided psychosocial support to young people from under-resourced communities, helping to give them the tools they need to thrive.

The world continues to grapple with COVID-19, which has killed more than 6.8 million people and caused myriad consequences. The pandemic has damaged people’s well-being and livelihoods and burdened health systems. It has also stalled global progress in other areas, such as social and economic development and efforts to control other infectious diseases. 

To continue the fight against COVID-19 and prepare for future outbreaks and pandemics, FHI 360 is combining proven, data-driven solutions with our global network of local partners. In low- and middle-income countries, where access to the COVID-19 vaccine remains limited, we are working with local partners to vaccinate millions of people.

In addition, we are strengthening health systems’ access to medical oxygen, which is lifesaving but challenging to obtain, deliver and use. It is vital that communities have access to this essential medicine during both pandemic and nonpandemic times. 

We know that future pandemics are likely. FHI 360 is helping communities meet immediate challenges today. And by working with communities to design sustainable solutions, we are preparing them to address future challenges.

Infectious diseases threaten everyone, but they are especially concerning in countries with fewer resources. In recent years, progress has stalled on combating existing infectious diseases, and new pathogens have emerged. The climate crisis is changing the environment and ecosystem, increasing the threat from infectious diseases while fueling antimicrobial resistance.

Health systems function best when they anticipate emerging disease threats and prepare accordingly. So FHI 360 works with local partners, civil society, communities and governments to build health systems that can adapt to new challenges. We are bringing together local partners to collect and share surveillance data that shows where disease outbreaks are happening. This helps us learn how antimicrobial resistance is exacerbating new and existing infectious diseases.

We are providing USAID with quality assurance to ensure that health products procured on their behalf are safe, effective and high-quality. When those products are used around the world, they support the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of priority diseases such as HIV.

To help people everywhere build healthier lives and to foster a healthier world, FHI 360 is committed to investing in global health security.

While climate change is a global issue, it is felt locally — and it disproportionately affects those who are least responsible for it. FHI 360 is working with communities with the fewest resources to support them to adapt.

In Kathmandu, Nepal, one of Asia’s most polluted cities, air pollution is causing a dramatic increase in respiratory and other health issues. As part of the USAID Clean Air program, FHI 360 is training women to drive electric vehicles for public transportation, helping to reduce vehicular emissions. The program addresses a critical health issue — and it provides stable economic opportunities for women.

In 2021, Cambodia experienced one of the world’s highest percentages of primary forest loss, exacerbated by illegal logging. Bushmeat consumption and illegal hunting and fishing have also fueled much of the country’s biodiversity loss. FHI 360 is helping reduce these demands by engaging young people and encouraging citizen action to change these behaviors through the Cambodia Green Future Activity.

In all our climate work, we are mobilizing solutions that benefit people and our planet, working to build a more resilient — and greener — future for all.

Crises sparked by climate change and violent conflict threaten lives and well-being, undermine food and economic security, and cause mass displacement of people. Around the world, our teams and partners are witnessing upticks in displacement, impoverishment and competition for increasingly scarce resources. Sometimes, the causes are obvious, such as the war in Ukraine; other times, the origins of suffering are less apparent, driven by the ripples of the climate crisis or political conflict. Whatever the causes of emergencies, FHI 360 collaborates with diverse partners, pairing hyperlocal insights and leadership with our global network of experts to meet the challenges communities face.

FHI 360 teams are mobilizing to meet growing threats posed by climate change, as we did in Nigeria during one of the country’s worst cholera outbreaks. We are developing innovative solutions to complex problems, such as the establishment by our team in Ukraine of six mobile medical units to meet the shifting needs of a population on the move. Around the world, we will address the threats to individuals’ safety, health, education and dignity.

When crisis strikes, a person’s life can be upended. Pandemics, climate change and violent conflict imperil the health, well-being and security of people everywhere.

During crises, and in their aftermath, FHI 360 works to protect people’s health and well-being. Students fleeing violence may become refugees, making their dreams of higher education seem unobtainable. We are advocating for local leadership, governments and humanitarian organizations to prioritize these students, both during and after conflict, so that a generation is not deprived of the opportunities for good jobs, security and well-being that higher education provides.

During crises, the challenges of finding and obtaining family planning services multiply enormously. Our Research for Scalable Solutions project is exploring whether digital access to family planning information can help more people get the care they need — when they need it, where they need it. Because people will continue to need essential services, no matter their circumstances.