Innovators across the globe are using common household items to help solve some of the most pressing problems of global poverty. Learn how inventive thinking is creating better conditions for millions.

Vitamins

• 70% of Americans take supplements like vitamins
• As many as 500,000 children worldwide go blind every year as a result of vitamin A deficiency
• In Mozambique, 72% of children and 66% of women have received vitamin A supplements, improving their nutrition and preventing blindness, at a distribution cost of US $1.20 per year per person.

Cookstoves

• 99.7% of American households have a stove
• Toxic smoke from indoor cooking fires in developing countries kills nearly 2 million people each year.
• The U.S. is part of a publi-private partnership that is working towards the goal of 100 million homes adopting new cookstoves and fuels by 2010, preventing premature deaths from toxic smoke and reducing pollution contributing to climate change.

Radios

• 20 million satellite radio subscribers pay about $20/month for service
• Natural Disasters killed 295,000 people in 2010
• In Haiti, USAID provided more than 400,000 solarpowered radios so earthquake survivors could receive important information about international relief efforts and public safety.

Water

• The average American family of four uses 400 gallons of water every day
• Inadequate access to water and poor sanitation is responsible for killing 2 million children each year in developing countries.
• In Cambodia, USAID is supporting local companies that produce easy-to-use ceramic water filters that provide safe drinking water to thousands.

Mobile Phones

91% of American use mobile phones 90% of the world's 2.5 billion people who live on less than $2 a day do not have access to basic financial services, such as a secure savings account In Kenya, a mobile banking service is used by more than 70% of households. USAID financed the development of a mobile phone application that matches small-scale farmers and traders with buyers based on prices, quantities and locations.