title: The African Millennium Villages.
abstract: We describe the concept, strategy, and initial results of the Millennium Villages Project and implications regarding sustainability and scalability. Our underlying hypothesis is that the interacting crises of agriculture, health, and infrastructure in rural Africa can be overcome through targeted public-sector investments to raise rural productivity and, thereby, to increased private-sector saving and investments. This is carried out by empowering impoverished communities with science-based interventions. Seventy-eight Millennium Villages have been initiated in 12 sites in 10 African countries, each representing a major agro-ecological zone. In early results, the research villages in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Malawi have reduced malaria prevalence, met caloric requirements, generated crop surpluses, enabled school feeding programs, and provided cash earnings for farm families.
authors.affiliation: The Earth Institute, Columbia University, 405 Low Library, 535 West 116th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA. psanchez@ei.columbia.edu
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Palm
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sachs
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Denning
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Flor
authors.forename: Rebbie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harawa
authors.forename: Bashir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jama
authors.forename: Tsegazeab
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiflemariam
authors.forename: Bronwen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Konecky
authors.forename: Raffaela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kozar
authors.forename: Eliud
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lelerai
authors.forename: Alia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Modi
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mutuo
authors.forename: Amadou
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niang
authors.forename: Herine
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okoth
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Place
authors.forename: Sonia Ehrlich
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Sachs
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Said
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Siriri
authors.forename: Awash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Teklehaimanot
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Justine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wangila
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zamba
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D000383:Agriculture; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology; D012424:Rural Population; D014480:United Nations