Abundance Foundation

THE ABUNDANCE FOUNDATION SERVES AS A CONNECTIVE HUB FOR A NETWORK OF VISIONARIES, INNOVATIVE PROJECTS, AND ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TOGETHER TO TRANSFORM SCARCITY INTO ABUNDANCE.

HEALTH: DR. STEPHEN KAHN, THE FOUNDATION'S PRESIDENT, IS A BOARD-CERTIFIED EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN. DR. KAHN HAS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE WORKING IN GLOBAL HEALTH ECOSYSTEMS AND HE PROVIDES CLINICAL AND HEALTH SYSTEM EXPERTISE TO THE FOUNDATION'S PROGRAM PARTNERS. HAVING COMPLETED HIS MEDICAL TRAINING AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL (HMS), DR. KAHN SERVES ON HMS'S BOARD OF FELLOWS AND IS THE CHAIR OF THE HMS GLOBAL HEALTH AND SERVICE ADVISORY COUNCIL IN 2021, THE ABUNDANCE FOUNDATION CONTINUED AND BUILT ON ITS MULTIFACETED GLOBAL HEALTH COMMITMENT -- MADE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL PARTNERS IN HEALTH, AND THE BETTER EVIDENCE PROGRAM-THROUGH THE ABUNDANCE PROJECT FOR GLOBAL HEALTH (APGH). THIS PROJECT HAS TRAINED GLOBAL HEALTH LEADERS, IDENTIFIED TOOLS TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF EPIDEMIC DISEASES, AND ADDRESSED THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH FOR OVER A DECADE. MOREOVER, THE APGH HAS PROVIDED LONGSTANDING, FOUNDATIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE BETTER EVIDENCE PROGRAM AT ARIADNE LABS, WHICH IS A JOINT CENTER FOR HEALTH SYSTEMS INNOVATION AT BRIGHAM & WOMEN'S HOSPITAL AND THE HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. 2021 MARKED THE 11TH YEAR OF THE ABUNDANCE FOUNDATION PARTNERING WITH BETTER EVIDENCE AND WOLTERS KLUWER TO PROVIDE FREE ACCESS TO THE EXCEPTIONAL EVIDENCE-BASED DIGITAL CLINICAL TOOL, UPTODATE, TO 30,000 PROVIDERS SERVING VULNERABLE POPULATIONS IN 4,000 CLINICAL FACILITIES IN OVER 135 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. 2021 WAS ALSO NOTABLE FOR THE CONTINUED EXPANSION OF THE BETTER EVIDENCE FOR TRAINING PROGRAM, WHICH INVOLVED INCREASING THE NUMBER OF TEACHING FACILITIES IN AFRICA THAT RECEIVE FREE ACCESS TO UPTODATE (FROM 47 TO 70 FACILITIES) AND REACHING MORE THAN 43,000 MEDICAL STUDENTS, RESIDENTS, AND FACULTY ACROSS 12 COUNTRIES. WHAT IS MORE, DR. KAHN'S ONGOING SUPPORT HAS ENABLED THE BETTER EVIDENCE TEAM TO FLEXIBLY RESPOND TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC BY PLANNING FOR VACCINE ROLLOUT AND SUPPORTING LEADERS IN CONTINUALLY UPGRADING THEIR DELIVERY STRATEGIES. MOREOVER, IN 2021 THE BETTER EVIDENCE TEAM COLLABORATED WITH BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND GOOGLE HEALTH TO DEVELOP THE VACCINE EQUITY PLANNER, A PUBLIC TOOL TO IDENTIFY "VACCINE DESERTS." THE FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS RECEIVED MEDIA COVERAGE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORKER, AND NUMEROUS OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS. PRECEDING THE ROLLOUT OF VACCINES FOR 5-11-YEAR- OLDS, THE BETTER EVIDENCE TEAM WAS INVOLVED IN REDUCING BARRIERS TO PEDIATRIC VACCINATION BY SUPPORTING PEDIATRICIANS' ENGAGEMENT IN THE PROCESS. AS CHAIR OF THE HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL GLOBAL HEALTH AND SERVICE ADVISORY COUNCIL, DR. KAHN WORKED CLOSELY WITH DR. PAUL FARMER, CO-FOUNDER OF PARTNERS IN HEALTH AND THE CHAIR OF HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL'S DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL MEDICINE (DGHSM). IN 2021, DR. KAHN BROUGHT TOGETHER THE DGHSM'S LEADING FACULTY AND CLOSEST SUPPORTERS TO CELEBRATE THE DEPARTMENT'S 150-YEAR HISTORY OF RESPONDING TO EPIDEMIC DISEASES AND ADDRESSING DISPARITIES ROOTED IN THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH. ON TOP OF DR. KAHN'S SUPPORT FOR COVID-19 RESEARCH, THE DGHSM SECURED ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR CRITICALLY IMPORTANT MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMMING. MOREOVER, DR. KAHN PARTICIPATED IN THE DGHSM'S NEW COURSE, MEDIA AND MEDICINE INTENSIVE, WHICH WAS INITIATED IN 2021 AS A CERTIFICATE COURSE AND IS SET TO BECOME A NEW MASTER'S COURSE AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL. DR. KAHN SUPPORTED THE DGHSM'S WORK RELATED TO THE LANCET COMMISSION FOR REPARATIONS AND REDISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE, WHICH EXPLORES THE MORAL, LEGAL, ECONOMIC, HISTORICAL, AND POLITICAL EVIDENCE FOR GLOBAL CLAIMS TO REPARATIONS AND REDISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE, INCLUDING THOSE FOR NATIVE AMERICANS AND BLACK AMERICANS SEEKING RACIAL JUSTICE. IN 2021, FIDELITY CHARITABLE TRUSTEES' PHILANTHROPY FUND HONORED THE ABUNDANCE FUND FOR GLOBAL REPARATIONS AND REDISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE WITH A GRANT AWARD FOR RACIAL EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. THE ABUNDANCE FOUNDATION MATCHED FIDELITY CHARITABLE'S $25,000 GRANT, DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR, COMMITTING $50,000 TO HIGHLIGHT THE FUNDAMENTAL LINK BETWEEN RACIAL JUSTICE AND CLIMATE JUSTICE BY EVENLY DIVIDING THE FUNDS BETWEEN GLOBAL GREENGRANTS AND THE FUNDING INITIATIVE OF DECOLONIZING WEALTH, CALLED THE "CASE4REPARATIONS." IN 2021, DR. KAHN WORKED CLOSELY WITH DR. MURRAY, THE DIRECTOR OF HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL'S GLOBAL HEALTH RESEARCH CORE (GHRC), TO EVALUATE THE ROLE OF THE BCG VACCINE IN PREVENTING SEVERE COVID-19 AND OTHER RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS. THE BCG VACCINE IS THE MOST WIDELY UTILIZED VACCINE, COSTS MERE PENNIES, AND BOASTS A SAFE, CENTURY-LONG TRACK RECORD. OVER THE LAST DECADE OF THE APGH, THE ABUNDANCE FOUNDATION HAS COLLABORATED WITH DR. MEGAN MURRAY AND HER COLLEAGUES TO BUILD RESEARCH CAPACITY IN RESOURCE-POOR COUNTRIES, INCLUDING RWANDA AND HAITI, AND TO CONTROL EPIDEMIC DISEASES, INCLUDING CHOLERA AND EBOLA. DR. KAHN HAS ALSO SERVED ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF GLOBAL PEDIATRIC ALLIANCE (GPA), HELPING TO FURTHER THEIR MISSION TO PROMOTE GRASSROOTS EMPOWERMENT AND COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTHCARE TO REDUCE MATERNAL AND INFANT MORTALITY AND IMPROVE THE LIVES OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN POOR, RURAL AREAS IN LATIN AMERICA BY TRAINING MIDWIVES IN EVIDENCE-BASED PRENATAL, NEWBORN, AND PEDIATRIC CARE AS WELL AS IN BIRTH MANAGEMENT AND EMERGENCY-CARE RESPONSE. DR. KAHN'S LEADERSHIP AND GRANTS FROM THE ABUNDANCE FOUNDATION CONTINUED TO SUPPORT GPA'S SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM, WHICH IN 2021 EMPOWERED 250 WOMEN AND ADOLESCENTS TO REVERSE THE SEVERE MALNUTRITION AFFLICTING THEIR FAMILIES IN GUATEMALA, STRENGTHENED THE SKILLS OF 55 HEALTH PROMOTERS FROM 36 MAYAN COMMUNITIES, SUPPORTED 13 HEALTH PROMOTERS IN THE FLOODED AREAS OF TABASCO TO PROVIDE CARE TO 400 PEOPLE, AND PROMOTED MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH IN OAXACA, MEXICO. IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THE ABUNDANCE FOUNDATION IN 2021 SUPPORTED AND ISSUED GRANTS TO THE HAITI CLINIC, WHERE DRS. KOBEL DUBIQUE AND NADEGE BELIZAIRE RESPONDED TO THEIR COMMUNITIES' MULTIFACETED AND UNDER-ADDRESSED HEALTH NEEDS.

ARTS & EDUCATION: ABUNDANCE HAS BEEN A STRATEGIC PARTNER AND SUPPORTER OF OUT OF EDEN WALK (OOEW) AND OUT OF EDEN LEARN (OOEL) SINCE 2012, LONG BEFORE PULITZER PRIZE- WINNING JOURNALIST AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY EXPLORER PAUL SALOPEK BEGAN HIS 24,000- MILE ON-FOOT JOURNEY FOLLOWING THE PATH OF HUMAN MIGRATION-AN ODYSSEY THAT IS ONGOING TO THIS DAY. THE ABUNDANCE FOUNDATION'S PRESIDENT, DR. KAHN, CONTINUES TO SERVE ON OOEW'S BOARD OF TRUSTEES. BY THE END OF 2021, OOEW HAD PRODUCED A TOTAL OF OVER 533 IN-DEPTH ARTICLES ON TOPICS RANGING FROM MASS MIGRATION AND CULTURAL SURVIVAL TO ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES. ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIGITAL, OOEW HAD PUBLISHED MORE THAN 420,000 WORDS, 1,800 PHOTOS, AND 380 VIDEOS, AND IT HAS AN ARCHIVE OF 75,000 UNPUBLISHED IMAGES. THIS TREASURE TROVE OF GLOBAL REPORTAGE CONSTITUTES APPROXIMATELY 480,000 WORDS AND IS STILL GROWING. OOEW HAS PUBLISHED A SERIES WHOSE LONG-TERM COVERAGE IS UNPRECEDENTED IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S 130-YEAR HISTORY. INDEED, BY 2021, IT HAD PRODUCED 10 FEATURE PRINT STORIES AND THREE COVER STORIES IN THE MAGAZINE. THE CHINA SEGMENT OF THE OOEW BEGAN IN OCTOBER 2021, WHEN PAUL LEFT THE MYANMAR BORDER AND ENTERED CHINA'S YUNNAN PROVINCE. IN 2021, OOEW FINALIZED ITS PLAN FOR A THREE-PART NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE PRINT STORY SERIES COVERING PAUL'S HISTORIC 3,600-MILE WALK THROUGH CHINA, WHICH WILL BE PUBLISHED STARTING IN 2023. THANKS TO ITS UNIQUE MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING AND THE VISIBILITY AFFORDED BY ITS PARTNERSHIPS WITH RESPECTED GLOBAL MEDIA AND PHILANTHROPIC INSTITUTIONS, OOEW IS NOT SIMPLY A RARE PATHWAY THAT ILLUMINATES DAILY LIFE IN CHINA AND ELSEWHERE ALONG A 24,000-MILE ROUTE; IT IS A BRIDGE TO BUILDING MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING ACROSS CULTURES AND BORDERS. ADDITIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS RELATED TO OOEW IN 2021 INCLUDED HOLDING DOZENS OF ON-SITE AND VIRTUAL EDUCATION WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS IN CHINA AND THE US, WHICH IMPACTED THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS FROM KINDERGARTEN LEVEL ALL THE WAY UP TO UNIVERSITY LEVEL. IN 2021, OOEW CELEBRATED THE LAUNCH OF A COMMUNITY STORYTELLING INITIATIVE FEATURING OVER 1,200 ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS AND A COMMITTED TEAM OF DOZENS OF VOLUNTEERS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE US. IN THE SAME YEAR, OOEW FINALIZED ITS PLAN FOR A MUSEUM EXHIBITION, SET TO OPEN IN 2023, DEDICATED TO THE OOEW AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY-SHANGHAI'S PRESTIGIOUS INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS. ABUNDANCE WAS ALSO THE ORIGINAL SUPPORTER AND STRATEGIC PARTNER FOR THE CREATION OF OUT OF EDEN LEARN (OOEL), A UNIQUE SOCIAL MEDIA-LIKE LEARNING PLATFORM FOR STUDENTS AGED 3-19, INSPIRED BY THE OUT OF EDEN WALK (OOEW). OOEL IS AN INITIATIVE OF PROJECT ZERO, A RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT THE HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION. THE PROGRAM OFFERS MULTI-WEEK "LEARNING JOURNEYS" IN WHICH STUDENTS EXPLORE THEIR OWN LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND JOIN WITH STUDENTS OF SIMILAR AGES FROM DIVERSE GEOGRAPHICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC SETTINGS TO SHARE AND COMPARE THEIR EXPERIENCES. SINCE THE PLATFORM'S INCEPTION, ABUNDANCE FOUNDATION STAFF HAVE PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN ADVISING AND SUPPORTING THE CORE OOEL TEAM IN PROGRAM AND CURRICULUM DESIGN, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT WORK. IN ADDITION TO CONTINUING TO OFFER NEW LEARNING JOURNEYS AND RESOURCES DEVELOPED DURING THE PANDEMIC, IN 2021, OOEL DEVELOPED A SUBSTANTIAL NEW LEARNING JOURNEY CALLED "REMEMBERING THE PAST." THROUGH LOCAL WALKS, INTERVIEWS, AND PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS, THIS LEARNING JOURNEY ENABLES STUDENTS TO EXPLORE HOW AND WHY THE PAST IS REMEMBERED-OR NOT REMEMBERED-IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES. THEY ARE THEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THEIR FINDINGS WITH THEIR PEERS THROUGH ONLINE PLATFORMS. AS OF 2021, THIS COMPLETELY FREE PROGRAM HAS ENGAGED OVER 42,000 STUDENTS IN 62 COUNTRIES AND 44 STATES; IN THE PROCESS, IT HAS SUCCESSFULLY ENCOURAGED YOUNG PEOPLE TO (1) SLOW DOWN SO THAT THEY CAN CAREFULLY OBSERVE THE WORLD AROUND THEM AND LISTEN ATTENTIVELY TO OTHERS, (2) SHARE STORIES AND PERSPECTIVES WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND (3) MAKE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THEIR OWN LIVES AND THE LARGER OVERALL HUMAN EXPERIENCE.