By: Alanna Shaikh

One of the most challenging things about global health is the need to keep telling our stories. Our work isn’t funded by the people who benefit directly from our efforts. Instead, it’s supported by a whole network of donors: individuals, foundations, governments, UN agencies, and more. None of these donors gets much direct benefit from their support.

That means, in practice, that an awful lot of global health work involves talking about that work. Donors need proof that their money is being well-spent. They need to know the works it supports is important. And they need to be reminded of the benefits they reap from improved global health. That means conferences where program results are trumpeted. Success stories for donors to publish. High resolution pictures suitable for reprinting and as much media coverage as you can generate and still implement your program simultaneously.

It’s tough.  Showing your donors that their money is being carefully husbanded and efficiently used is probably the easiest part of the task. For one thing, you don’t have to collect any new data. Any good program knows where their money goes, and what its impact is. Packaging that information into a form that your donor can understand is time-consuming, but rarely all that difficult. Continue reading →