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Have a Seat! It's World Toilet Day
November 19, 2012

By: A.E.Cote

Most of us in America are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving this Thursday, November 22. We’re polishing the silver, and setting up the dreaded ‘kids table’ in the living room. But there’s an equally important yes lesser known holiday that deserves some press. Today Monday, November 19th is World Toilet Day! Yes, when biology and holidays collide, we all have a lot to be thankful for.

So why a holiday to stop and reflect on the engineering marvel that is the toilet? Plushy seats aside, it’s true that nearly 2.5 billion people do not have access to something most of us take for granted. It’s easy to see why we’d be alarmed with this. As a matter of fact, here’s some incredibly terrifying toilet trivia:

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Odon | obstructed labor | Saving lives at birth | Odon device
"Look Ma, no Dents"-- How a Car Mechanic, a Wine Bottle and Suction Inspired a Life-Saving Device
November 16, 2012

A highlight of #UN Week for our team was getting the chance to meet the inventor of the Odón device. When entrepreneurs pitch an idea about a great story or a moment of inspiration for a groundbreaking technology, bets and tricks with friends aren't usually cited as aha moments. Often it's your usual bar or coffee shop sketch on the napkin scenario. But in Jorge Ernesto Odón's case inspiration came in the form of a bet--with buddies. He is from Argentina, and a car mechanic by training--their trick? How to get a cork out from inside a wine bottle without breaking the bottle? It has to be one of the best stories ever in global health innovation. That was in 2005.

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Grounds for Health | cervical cancer | VIA cervical |
“One Screening, To-Go”: Coffee Drinkers for Cervical Cancer Prevention
November 07, 2012

By: Lizi Jones

A handful of clever, caffeinated Americans have put into action the coffee-addict’s daily mantra: coffee can, in fact, help save the world. Grounds for Health is a women’s health organization focused on engaging coffee consumers, companies, and cooperatives around the world in a collective battle against the highly preventable, yet rampant-in-the-developing-world, blight of cervical cancer.

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water purification | disaster water purification | Divvy water system | populati
Water,Water Everywhere and You Can Actually Drink It
October 30, 2012

Water has become one of the world's most sought after commodities. Worldwide, populations are struggling to survive with limited potable water resources. This impacts not only personal hydration, but sanitation,and agriculture. I had an opportunity to interview the inventor of the Divvy Water System, Gary Cruikshank, to find out the inspiration behind the hydration.

What was the inspiration behind the Divvy Water System?

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Delivering hands to deliver children: Expanding Nigeria’s midwife workforce to aid expectant mothers
October 25, 2012

By: Lizi Jones

Nigeria is attacking the problem of its maternal health status with all hands on deck.
As the nation with the largest maternal mortality rate in Africa—due in large part to preventable deaths related to lack of access to health care—it has unleashed a flood of midwives to confront the problem first-hand.

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