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Innovation

Infographic: How everyday household items save lives

From radios to cellphones, USAID has gathered some game-changing solutions that have helped save lives and improve health conditions in developing countries.
Written by Janet Fang, Contributor

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the United States Agency of International Development (USAID) is following through on a commitment to cost-effective, innovative development solutions. The agency has been implementing strategies that use everyday items to address challenges from access to food to maternal and child health using everyday items like cellphones and stoves.

In this infographic, USAID has gathered some ‘household game-changers’ that have helped save lives and improve conditions in developing countries.

Some highlights:

  • The average American family of 4 uses 400 gallons of water every day; inadequate access to water and poor sanitation kills around 2 million children a year in developing countries. USAID is supporting local companies in Cambodia that produce easy-to-use ceramic water filters.
  • About 20 million satellite radio subscribers pay $20 a month for service. In Haiti, USAID provided over 40,000 solarpower radios so earthquake survivors could receive information about relief efforts and public safety.
  • Stoves are found in 99.7% of American homes; toxic smoke from indoor cooking fires in developing countries kill nearly 2 million people each year. The US is part of a public-private partnership to have 100 million homes adopt new stoves.
  • About 70% of Americans take supplements like vitamins; half a million children worldwide go blind every year because of vitamin A deficiency. In Mozambique, 72% of children and 66% of women have received vitamin A supplements – at a distribution cost of $1.20 per year per person.
  • Around 91% of Americans use mobile phones; 90% of the world’s 2.5 billion who live on less than $2 a day don’t have basic financial services, such as a savings account. Mobile banking service is used by 70% of households in Kenya; USAID financed the development of a mobile phone app that matches small-scale farmers and traders with buyers based on prices, quantities, and locations.

You can view the full infographic here.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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