San Francisco Doula Program Tackles Birth Equity and Economic Justice in One Fell Swoop

Pomegranate Kitchen in Wellington, New Zealand employees refugee women from around the world. The kitchen, which operates collaboratively rather than in a hierarchy, encourages these chefs to grow their cooking and managerial strengths as well as overcome cultural boundaries in order to become financially independent.

Two regions within Kenya, Mandera and Isiolo, have made significant strides in reducing their rate of maternal mortality cases. Both counties employed similar tactics, such as improving facility quality, increasing the number of healthcare workers, and training local community volunteers to advocate for ante-natal care. Among other metrics, Mandera now records 588 deaths per 100,000 live births (down from 3,795), and Isiolo now has 57 facilities (up from 47) to make healthcare more accessible.

In Western Uganda’s Budongo forest, the Budongo Conservation Field Station is saving chimpanzees by giving poachers the opportunity to do something different. The organization operates on two levels: First, employing former poachers to help scour the forest in search of traps, and second, by giving poachers goats in an effort to provide them with enough livelihood to stop poaching.

The simple addition of adding handles to bathroom stalls in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh has helped the camps' pregnant women regain a sense of empowerment and dignity. Providing support and balance, the design of these latrines have benefited the elderly in the camps as well.

Vermont's hub and spoke model of care has gained notoriety as being a system that has successfully played a positive role in creating better access to health care, especially as it relates to the opioid crisis. Now, officials in New Hampshire are looking to scale and adapt the program to work in their state.

Frustrated by a tight labor market, two locally owned Grand Rapids employers discovered the virtues – economic, not just moral – of hiring formerly incarcerated people, whose gratitude for an opportunity translated into excellent performance and less risk of adding to rapid turnover. The employers helped guarantee success by paying for support services that made post-prison transitions easier. The employers then talked hundreds of other local employers into doing the same. Besides providing a business advantage, the program changes lives and is evidently contributing to much lower rates of recidivism.

The Flight of the Angel attraction has helped the area to create more jobs and improve the economy through tourism. In 2007, when the attraction opened, there were only two restaurants and two hotels in the city. But now, there are about 50 bed and breakfasts, eight restaurants and over 130,000 visitors annually.

With an influx of COVID relief money, the Russellville school district began hiring and certifying more local, Spanish-speaking staff to help teach English language learners. Districtwide, the percentage of students who met their language proficiency goals increased from 46% in 2019 to 61% in 2022.

Drug Aid Africa sources unused, unaltered drugs from people who don’t need them anymore and distributes them to people who do need them but can’t afford or access them. Drug Aid Africa provides free routine medications for conditions like sickle-cell anemia, as well as antimalarials, antibiotics and frequent visits to communities where they provide healthcare support and supplies. So far, the organization's efforts have helped more than 10,000 people.

Birth in Color's doulas are filling the maternity care gap as rural labor and delivery rooms close, disproportionately impacting people of color. Doulas provide physical, emotional and informational support before, during and after childbirth, and advocate on the mother’s behalf. Doula care leads to improved birth outcomes and lower rates of C-sections, and in April 2022 doula services were added under the state’s Medicaid program.