SciDev.Net

The Information for Development Program (infoDev), run by the World Bank, coordinates action between multilateral and bilateral donors and forms partnerships with public and private organisations to maximise the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

It publishes news, briefing papers, toolkits, reports and videos about key issues and projects and provides coverage of recent and ongoing infoDev activities.

infoDev covers three themes: access for all; mainstreaming ICT; and innovation, entrepreneurship and growth. These encompass topics such as rural livelihoods, health, governance, and monitoring and evaluation.

The Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF) was established in June 2008 to provide accessible funding for projects that avoid deforestation and contribute to poverty alleviation in the Congo Basin. This multi-donor fund is run by a governing council supported by a secretariat based at the African Development Bank. The website provides reasons for establishing the fund, its proposal process and an overview of projects that have received funding.

The PHEA — a joint project between seven private US foundations — supports higher education development in Africa. It works in four specific areas: developing and retaining new academics; information and communication technologies for higher education; regional institutional capacity building; and higher education research and analysis.

Within each of these, the PHEA publishes news and information on its projects, highlighting case studies and achievements to date. The PHEA also hosts a database of past and current grants, which, between 2000 and 2008, represent investments of over US$350 million.

The foundation's aim is to raise awareness of diabetes worldwide, with a special emphasis on developing countries. A key activity is funding projects (142 so far) that raise awareness, improve education and build capacity at local, regional and global levels. The website contains details of all ongoing projects, including details of the project budgets and individuals responsible for running them, the expected impacts and results so far. Importantly, the foundation prioritises monitoring and evaluation of its projects to learn key lessons for the future and minimise the risk of project failure.

As with any disease, and particularly those in developing countries, the health economics are important. The website has a useful tool for calculating the economic cost of diabetes in a particular country that allows the user to change variables such as population, prevalence and so on.