American Institutes for Research Exceeds First Year Goals on Commitments to Clinton Global Initiative that Benefit Millions of Children
Washington, D.C. – The American Institutes for Research (AIR) has met and exceeded the first year targets for the two Commitments to Action that were made at the 2008 annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). AIR was part of three commitments, which included joining forces with Deworm the World to help millions of children in developing nations, and helping to expand basic education in Haiti.
To date, AIR and Deworm the World, along with other partner organizations, have reached 20 million school-age children in 26 developing nations – 10 million more than the initial first year goal – and shipped over 40 million doses of deworming drugs to treat these children. The three-year goal of this commitment is to help more than 75 million children, increasing coverage from around 10 to 30 percent of the 400 million children currently estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be at risk.
AIR also made significant progress in its commitment to help more children access quality basic education in Haiti. In the first year of the commitment alone, 30,760 scholarships have been distributed and 1,100 teachers and school directors have received professional development training.
The Clinton Global Initiative, created by the William J. Clinton Foundation, provides global leaders the opportunity to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. The action-oriented mission of CGI relies on its members to develop specific and measurable Commitments to Action to channel the capacities of individuals and organizations to realize change.
AIR is a key partner of Deworm the World, along with Feed the Children, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, Innovations for Poverty Action, Save the Children, and Partnership for Child Development, the United Nations World Food Program, WHO, and the World Bank. Through the school-based deworming activities of Deworm the World, AIR and other partners are helping children in 26 countries, improving their health, nutrition, education, and long-term development for less than $0.50 per child per year.
AIR and Deworm the World also provide technical and policy guidance, and capacity building and training to ministries of education and nongovernmental organizations implementing school health and deworming programs. Additionally, AIR committed at CGI 2008 to supporting the Secretariat of Deworm the World and is currently providing office space, IT and telecommunications support, and administrative and logistical support.
As stated above, AIR also committed to expanding basic education in Haiti. The majority of activities for AIR’s Commitment in Haiti are funded through a performance-based contract from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Programme Haïtien d’Appui à la Réforme de l’Education (PHARE) provides technical assistance and training to strengthen the capacity of Haiti’s Ministry of Education and Professional Training to prepare teachers and help increase the access of Haitian youth to quality basic education.
In addition to strengthening the Ministry of Education, AIR provides direct services at the school level to improve the quality of instruction. The PHARE program also encourages the Haitian business community and Haitians living in the United States and other countries to support and manage school improvement projects.
These activities are being implemented in Port-au-Prince, Petit-Goâve, Les Cayes, Gonaïves, Saint-Marc, Montruis, Limbé, Cap-Haitien, Cabaret, and Jacmel.
For additional information or to learn how to contribute to AIR’s CGI commitments and its ongoing work in international education and school health, contact Brad Strickland at bstrickland@air.org.
About AIR
Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.