Partnerships Focusing on Rural Development, Education and Women’s Empowerment in India Launched at Clinton Global Initiative

Eighteen new public-private partnerships, focusing on rural development, education and women’s empowerment in India, were launched at the 12th and final meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative.

[Photo Source: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images ]

By: India West Staff

Eighteen new public-private partnerships, focusing on rural development, education and women’s empowerment in India, were launched at the 12th and final meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, which began Sept. 19 in New York City, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Launched in 2005 by the Clinton Foundation, CGI annually brings together leaders from the business, political, entertainment, and non-governmental organization sectors to create solutions for the developing world. Since the first meeting, CGI has created public-private partnerships – known as commitments – worth an estimated $2 billion. Through CGI, corporations partner with NGOs in the developing world to solve a specific issue, with a tangible timeline and endpoint.

The Clinton Foundation has come under attack during the 2016 presidential election cycle, with suggestions that wealthy donors received special treatment from Hillary Clinton, when she served as Secretary of State. The FBI, along with Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, are continuing to investigate allegations of criminal conflicts of interest involving the State Department during Hillary Clinton’s tenure there and the Clinton Foundation. Released e-mails from Clinton’s controversial private e-mail server reveal that Foundation staffers attempted to secure favors from Clinton and her staff at the State Department.

The Democratic presidential nominee has said she will cut off all her ties to the Foundation once she is elected president, to avoid future potential conflicts of interest.

Former President Bill Clinton vigorously defended the Foundation and its work on the last day of the final CGI meeting Sept. 21. “This has been, I believe, a profound advance in the conduct and impact of modern philanthropy. None of us who were there at the beginning could have fully foreseen it,” he said, noting that more than 430 million people around the globe have benefitted from the Foundation’s work.

CGI’s 2016 public-private partnerships to India include a $1.2 million commitment by Keystone Human Services to advancing the rights of people with disabilities. Keystone is partnering with the Hans Foundation to set up the Keystone Institute, India, which will work with advocates, thought leaders, and the government of India to empower people with disabilities.

In the two-year project, the Institute will aim to create models to ensure disabled people can engage in everyday life, and be groomed for leadership roles. The project will also work with the families of disabled people.

Upaya Social Ventures has committed $2.1 million over three years to investing in more women-led enterprises to increase the total number of women in its portfolio by 50 percent.

Upaya will invest in 50 agribusiness, skill development, and labor intensive manufacturing businesses, which will participate in a financial management program.

The Mahila Housing SEWA Trust has committed $1.1 million to an initiative which will mobilize young women to making Ahmedabad, Gujarat free of open-defecation.

The Trust has aligned with the Clean India Campaign. The partnership will support the construction of 2,500 individual toilets and eliminate 50 open-defecation areas, while also building gender-specific toilets in four schools to support healthy menstrual hygiene. The project will target 10,500 schoolchildren, and MHT hopes to launch the initiative in New Delhi in future years.

The Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers has committed $200,000 to help 1.3 million slum dwellers in Odisha and Maharashtra address priority issues, including housing and sanitation. The initiative, focusing on women, will train slum dwellers to gather data to determine most pressing needs.

ReNew Power has committed nearly $487,000 over three years to upgrade the rural Indian village of Paniyara in Uttar Pradesh to meet the Indian government’s “Smart Village” standards. The initiative – which will impact the village’s 1,100 residents – aims to provide a renewable and sustainable supply of electricity, access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, basic health care services, educational and livelihood opportunities.

GEP Worldwide, partnering with the Akshaya Patra Foundation, has committed $620,000 to provide one million meals to low-income primary school children in India via the Indian Government’s Mid-Day Meal model. The initiative will provide lunch in 25 government run schools in Telangana.

This commitment will reach 5,000 children every year for three years.

WorldQuant University has committed $5 million over three years to helping students in several countries – including India – gain access to free online learning. The initiative – which can be scaled to support 100,000 students – will help identify internships and job opportunities for its graduates.

CARE has committed $8 million to providing 500,000 women access to formal financial services in Africa and Asia by 2020. Presently, 1.1 billion women around the world lack access to financial services, while many have access only to the informal financial sector. CARE hopes to provide 30 million women access to formal financial services by 2020.

The American Jewish World Service has committed $12 million over two years to address the issue of child, early and forced marriages in India.

Girls, Women & the Global Goals: Unilever launched a fellowship program that will invest $2.5 million in 100 emerging global women leaders over the next four years.

Syngenta International has committed $2 million to empower 3,000 women working in agriculture in India and nine other 10 countries, by providing them with tools and resources needed to improve yields and other productivity outcomes. Smallholder farmers are increasingly seen as critical actors in the future of global food production, yet often lack access to critical resources. Women in particular receive a negligible proportion of extension and financial services, access to markets, land tenure, and improved inputs, reports Syngenta, which aims to close the gap.

The Walkabout Foundation has committed $1.7 million to establish rehabilitation centers in Haiti, Kenya and India. The Walkabout Centers will not only provide rehabilitation services, but will also provide wheelchair riders with vocational training and a community hub for educational and personal development. The initiative aims to impact 30,000 people.

The full list of global commitments can be searched at clintonfoundation.org

This story was originally published on India West.