The Burness Effect Blog

In Kenya, the M-Kilimo helpline has given agricultural advice to nearly 25,000 farmers during its 18- month pilot phase. The project, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the GSMA and managed by KenCall in Nairobi, uses a mobile helpline to provide thousands of small holder farmers in Kenya with specific, timely and accurate information, as well as tips to help increase their incomes and farm productivity.

Last week, Burness Communications marked its 25th anniversary as a company. We started in 1986, supporting The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Council on Foundations, working out of an accountant’s office in the Landow Building in Bethesda, Maryland. Twenty-five years … Continue reading Reflecting on 25 Years →

Once I asked a pain expert, “why do you care about pain treatment so much?” The story that followed – about a dying girl writhing in pain who changed the course of his medical career - silenced the room. And then It became the lead to an opinion editorial he published soon after in Toronto’s Globe and Mail. More leaders need to open up and share what drives them day in and day out.

How will the world feed 9 billion people? In a nine-part special report, The Economist’s John Parker scrutinizes the multi-faceted challenges facing the expansion of the global food supply—from science to culture to policy—and explores the seeds of solutions to … Continue reading The Economist: Special Report on Feeding the World →

Following the Money—from the Pharmaceutical Industry to Advocacy Groups

Every day, health advocacy organizations testify on Capitol Hill, write op-eds, give interviews and publish studies. They exist, in part, to influence public and policymaker opinion, and some are highly effective in doing just that. But many of these groups, a new study in the American Journal of Public Health has found, receive substantial contributions from the pharmaceutical industry – and disclose few of them, if any.

No matter where your allegiance lies, there’s more to the Superbowl than the game itself. Ever notice the hours of storytelling that lead up to the game? They’re stories about the history of the teams, background of the coaches, growing pains and successes from the star players, celebrity fans weighing in—all told to lure you in and hold your attention. This is like anything else. Stories make people feel invested.

Two Years After CHIP

A new state-by-state scorecard reveals that the CHIP reauthorization and Medicaid expansions in the economic stimulus bill succeeded in preserving and, in some states, even expanding health coverage for kids, in spite of the economic downturn. That’s the good news.

Great summation of what makes a great presentation…Nancy Duarte outlines the key tips of how to do it using the masterful communicator Martin Luther King.

How many diseases are so devastating that entire regions are named for them? And what if, as early as 2015, we could stop one such disease in its tracks—in the very countries hit hardest? That’s the promise of a new, … Continue reading Eliminating the “Meningitis Belt” →

A colleague sent over this post from The New York Times' Dot Earth blog. As she pointed out, it echoes what we've heard from reporters who have been dismissed by impatient scientists for not being well-versed in a specific topic.