The "Shape Up Somerville" program grew out of a collaboration between the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and its neighboring community of Somerville, Massachusetts. Together, they set a precedent in community responsiveness to childhood obesity.  A study published in the journal Obesity found that after the first year of the effort, Somerville children were  leaner that those in the neighboring control communities.  As stated in a cover story on The Wall Street Journal, "The Somerville study is believed to be the first controlled experiment demonstrating the value of a community wide effort".  The obesity reduction program targets children in the first to third grades and includes an elaborate array of community-based "interventions" designed to challenge children and help make them more health aware.  The interventions take place through partnerships that increase opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating, specifically fruits, vegetables, legumes, low-fat dairy and whole grain products throughout the children's day and include:

   * School Food Service - educating children about fruits and vegetables, improving menus
   * In-School Curriculum - incorporating "Healthy Eating and Active Time" (HEAT) into the curriculum
   * After-School Curriculum - six after-school programs on nutrition including trips to an organic farm
   * Parent/Community Outreach - newsletters and educational materials to parents, PTA, local media
   * Restaurants - 20 restaurants in Somerville are now "Shape-Up Approved" by offering healthy menu options
   * Walkability/Safe Routes to School - safer crossing points were designed, with more bike racks at schools

Boston Public Health Commission
1010 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 534-5395

Millions of people in Massachusetts are not receiving benefits they are eligible for, simply because the forms are complex and piecemeal.  TheRealBenefits initiative is combating that problem.  They have created a simple and easy to use web application, intended for advocates and service-providers, that provides accurate eligibility screening for both state and national benefits programs. The result is a streamlined and efficient system that helps get benefits to the households that need them, enabling them to be healthy, productive and secure.

• Programs covered by RealBenefits include food stamps, Medicaid, fuel assistance, and earned income tax credit
• Received 2006 MacArthur Foundation award for creative and effective institutions

DotWell defines health as community wellness--strong families, clean air, good schools, safe neighborhoods, and a vibrant economy. DotWell is a collaborative effort between the Codman Square Health Center (CSHC) and the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center (DHMSC) to guarantee high-quality clinical and community services across sites. The two health centers founded DotWell to provide them with infrastructure and support to reduce operating costs so that they could afford to offer innovative programs and initiatives beyond the exam room, address the needs of the whole person, family, adn community. In addition to providing administrative services to CSHC and DHMSC, DotWell supports cross-site public health programs that link clinicians with community organizers and educators. It also provides leadership and management to community service programs that operate out of the health centers, ranging from technology training and access, civic engagement, environmental health, HIV/AIDS outreach and care-management, parenting programs and after-school programs.

   * Offers services to over 41,000 Dorchester residents per year
   * Public health programs include Asthma and Diabetes Case Management and the Breast Health Initiative
   * Civic health programs include The First Generation College Bound Program, home-buying classes, and community walking groups

Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
79 Elm Street
Hartford, CT  06106-5127

An example of the "back to nature" movement that is gaining force across the nation, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection is working to re-connect today's youth with the great outdoors, both to promote healthy lifestyle practices and to build the next wave of environmentally conscious citizens.  The initiative attempts to shield Connecticut children from "Nature Deficit Disorder," a term coined by RichardLouv in his 2005 book entitled The Last Child in the Woods.  Louv and others have shown how enjoying nature can reduce the likelihood of childhood loneliness, depression, attention problems, and even obesity--each a major public health problem rampant throughout the United States today. The Connecticut initiative is just one of many current attempts to reverse the harmful impacts of America's increasingly sedentary lifestyle. 

Abt Associates and the National Center for Healthy Housing collaborated on the development of an interactive web-based database that plays a crucial role in the national effort to eliminate childhood lead poisoning by 2010.  LeadSafeHomes.info uses Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping to give the public easy access to address-specific information about lead hazards.  While other programs have developed maps identifying high-risk zip codes or census tracts, LeadSafeHomes.Info is the first to make risks at the address level publicly available. It is now possible to enter an address in Boston, Baltimore, or Chicago and get a map reveiwing lead testing and response at each address in the neighborhood.

   * Housing risk indicators based on property age and lead inspection history
   * Data on lead inspections updated quarterly
   * Data on community blood-lead levels updated annually
   * Funded by the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD)

2300 Children's Plaza Box #157
Chicago, IL 60614

Center for Ecoliteracy
2528 San Pablo Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702
email:info@ecoliteracy.org

Healthy Tomorrow
Susan McLucas, director
14 William Street
Somerville, MA, USA 02144
tel in US: (617) 776-6524
HealthyTomorrow@stopexcision.net

In Mali
Sini Sanuman
BP E 3885, Bamako, Mali
(223) 222 54 50
SiniSanuman@yahoo.fr (French only)

A major, but often ignored, cause of illness, death, and HIV transmission affecting girls around the world is that of excision, or female genital mutilation (FGM).  An estimated 85 to 110 million women and girls alive today have undergone FGM worldwide, with the majority being in Africa.  Many of these young woman and girls will experience infertility, illness or death as a result.  One small non-profit based in Somerville, Massachusetts, but with operations in Mali, Africa, is creatively addressing the deeply-rooted cultural practice with music, dance, and even humor, to affect country-wide changes.  The Sini Sanuman (Healthy Tomorrow) project, started by Somerville resident Susan McLucas has been operational in Mali since 2001 and has already created a growing movement and frank discussions against the practice of FGM unthinkable a decade ago.  The program works by producing music videos that feature famous Malian performers singing and dancing with real village leaders and former excisers in songs composed specifically to build the campaign against FGM. 

* The music videos are produced in the 8 languages common in Mali and shown on local and national television 
* A Pledge Against Excision signature campaign currently has signatures from over 100 excisers and 30,000 citizens across Mali  
* One spin-off project called The Club of Whole Women -- women who have *not* been excised, were recently featured on national radio.  In previous years, such a broadcast would have been unthinkable 

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
PO Box 23350
Seattle, WA 981

Launched by the Gates Foundation in 2003, the Grand Challenges Initiative is one of the the world's most ambitious attempts to apply advances in science and technology to pressing health problems in the developing world.  While most of the negative impacts of infectious diseases affect the developing world, much of the technology and resources needed to eradicate those diseases are still located in the developed world.  By creating "deliverable technologies"--health tools that are simultaneously cost-effective to produce, easy to distribute, and simple to use--the Initiative hopes to transform developing world health and save millions of lives.  As part of the global movement to develop appropriate technologies that match the needs and circumstances of the poor, the initiative focuses its efforts in the following areas:

* Improving childhood vaccines
* Preventing disease transmission
* Growing more nutritious and stable crops
* Discovering new ways to prevent resistance to life saving drugs