Network Insights - June 28 2024

Weekly impact, news, and predictive insights from the world's largest social entrepreneur network.

India – The World Meteorological Organization has said that heat now kills more people than any other weather hazard, and practical ways of dealing with dangerous heat are emerging. This week the New York Times highlights a new insurance pilot that covers outdoor workers on days too hot to safely work outside – offered via the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), the pioneering membership organization (2.9M women) founded by the late social entrepreneur Ela Bhatt. This year, 50k SEWA members enrolled in the insurance pilot at an annual (subsidized) member cost of 200 rupees ($2.40). “The program works like this: When temperatures are projected to reach danger levels, [members] receive warning messages on their cellphones. When temperatures reach that threshold, insurance payments are triggered,” with payouts deposited to members’ bank accounts as compensation for lost income due to the heat.

Tanzania | Belgium | Global – NPR reported this week on elite “rescue rats” receiving training from Apopo, founded by Bart Weetjens. Since the organization's first landmine-detection tests in Mozambique in 2003, Apopo-trained rats have used their keen sense of smell and small body size to sniff out 160k mines and other explosives, and screen more than a half-million patients for tuberculosis (TB). Track one rat’s journey and explore new possibilities to gather data and live-broadcast from hard-to-reach search sites (e.g., earthquake rubble) via tiny rat-sized communications backpacks (pictured in the article).

Global | Brazil | Portugal | Austria – Leading toymaker Mattel announced this week that it will make 80% of its games color-blind accessible by the end of 2024 via a partnership with Miguel Neuva’s ColorADD. The UN Secretary-General appointed Anaclaudia Rossbach to lead the UN Human Settlement Programme (first person from Latin America in the role). And Ashoka and 6 young changemakers made the cover of Trend magazine, a leading business publication in Austria.