The “Health and Care Floating Clinic – a Maurice Machoud Foundation/FXB International Joint Initiative” will provide 12,000 people living along the Irrawaddy River with access to adequate health care each year.

In partnership with the Boston College, FXB Rwanda launched the phase II of an ambitions early childhood development program.

Known locally as Sugira Muryango, it aim to train 10,000 parents by 2022, through 12 interactive modules, spread over several months, covering topics such as : health, proper nutrition, hygiene, family conflict resolution, violence between partners, communication within the family, importance of the role and participation of fathers in the upbringing and well-being of their children, and options to fight severe punishment.

30 years of action is also a time for a review : 18 million adults and children have benefited from FXB’s presence in their communities through its FXBVillage economic and community development programs, infrastructure rehabilitation, access to water, hygiene and sanitation, education, protection and awareness-raising, notably through extensive HIV/AIDS and human trafficking prevention campaigns.

Through the FXBVillage poverty reduction model initiated in 1991, 10 people are lifted out of poverty every day.

FXB Mongolia receives Dornogoviïmag’s Best NGO Award in the “Development” cathegory

A partnership with the City of Paris, underway since 2006, has already enabled FXB to lead more than 900 families (nearly 5,500 people) to economic and social autonomy in Kigali, Rwanda.

An evaluation, conducted by the Group’-Consultants Mutualisés Experts du Secteur Solidaire in 2019, revealed, among other things, that among these families – some of whom graduated from the programme 10 years ago – 81% have maintained the cultivation of a vegetable garden, primarily intended for self-consumption, beyond the duration of the project. All the houses visited showed a particular effort in terms of adequate hygiene and environmental protection practices. 81% of the parents reported a high level of satisfaction with the support received forchildren’s education. Former participants also expressed a very high level of satisfaction with the support provided by FXB in their economic development.

Read the full evaluation.

FXB USA launches the FXB Climate Advocates initiative, which aims to equip young climate activists with the knowledge and tools to mobilize climate action at local, national and international levels, position climate change as a public and global health emergency, and promote more climate-friendly individual and collective behavior.

An independent consultant conducted a retrospective evaluation of the 8 FXBVillage poverty reduction programs conducted in Burundi between 2006 and 2017. The 800 beneficiary families were divided into three groups based on the time elapsed between the evaluation period and the end of household participation in the programmes. The evaluation carried out between 1 and 12 years after the end of the programmes showed that 74% of households find food on a regular basis, 83% of households have access to an improved sanitation facility, between 44 and 56% of households save money on a regular basis, and average monthly incomes are higher than the regional average.

Read the full assessment.

Launch of the first FXBVillage poverty eradication program in a slum near Windhoek, Namibia. The program, carried out in partnership with the local NGO HISA Namibia, will enable nearly 520 adults and children to move from extreme poverty to economic and social self-sufficiency in three years.

Thanks to the responsiveness and great support of the King Baudouin Foundation, the Arcanum Foundation, the Service for International Solidarity of the Republic and State of Geneva,  and the SDC (Swiss Development Cooperation), FXB was able to restart agricultural activities and rebuild toilets and houses (made of semi-industrial and environmentally friendly bricks) for some of the 200 families in the FXBVillage programs who had lost everything or almost everything during the April 2018 floods in Burundi.

FXB France inaugurates a programme for the distribution of basic hygiene products for street women and their children in the Paris area.

FXB Mongolia receives the “Mongolian Quality” award and its director Erdenetuya Jambal the “Best Manager” medal, both awarded by the National Business and Development Committee. FXB Mongolia is thus ranked among the best NGOs in the country.

Launch of a partnership with the Morija Association in Burkina Faso, whose overall objective was to improve the nutritional status and practices of the inhabitants of the commune of Nobéré, with particular attention to women and children.

FXB Myanmar inaugurates a vocational training course in hotel management and sustainable tourism in Ngapali, a seaside resort located in Rakhine State. In a region with no real training opportunities, this programme offers disadvantaged youths the opportunity to acquire professional skills in order to access decent job opportunities.

Albina du Boisrouvray, Founder and President Emerita of FXB, is initiating a partnership with PalThink for Strategic Studies, an independent think tank and working group created in 2007. The aim is to carry out activities promoting, disseminating and strengthening the concept, culture and principles of non-violence within Palestinian society, specifically targeting the youths of Gaza who are the key to a positive change in society.

Launch of the first FXBVillage poverty eradication programme in Myanmar’s Mon State. This programme will enable nearly 500 adults and children to go from extreme poverty to economic and social self-sufficiency in three years. The same year will also see the launch of a road safety awareness programme. The country’s roads are among the deadliest in Southeast Asia. This project aims to improve the safety of the most at-risk groups, especially children.

The FXB Mongolia team and the families benefiting from its FXBVillage poverty alleviation programme took part in a large-scale community work, planting nearly 90,000 trees adapted to the poor and arid soil of the Dornogovi Aimag.

Conducted in collaboration with ECPAT Luxembourg, Mukti aims to reduce the incidence of women and children sexual and commercial trafficking.

Ramzaan Kaan’s nomination for the “2016 International Children’s Peace Prize”. At the age of 17, Ramzaan lived through the hell of drugs and street violence, before being reintegrated into society thanks to the FXB Daycare Center, which helped him develop his drawing and painting skills, among other things. He has become an inspiration to many street children. The young artist-educator was nominated for this award, which each year rewards a child for his or her commitment.

A FXBVillage poverty reduction programme in Villupuram, India, was evaluated by an independent researcher to measure the sustainability of impacts. The beneficiaries’ participation in the programme had ended one year earlier. Twelve months later, all of the women beneficiaries were still involved in collective Income Generating Activities (IGAs), with varying levels of profits. From a health point of view, the most significant change was in access to improved latrines. Beneficiaries also confirmed a better knowledge of diseases and prevention tools. Finally, FXB has cultivated the desire of pupils and students to study and has encouraged the motivation of poor families living in rural areas to provide their children with a higher education.

Read the summary of the evaluation.

Read the full evaluation.

Launch of the first FXBVillage poverty reduction programme in Dornogovi province. Rural exodus is a major problem generating iourtes neighborhoods on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar. Migrant populations have very few work opportunities and live in extremely precarious sanitary conditions. Our main objective is to help vulnerable families in this deserted region to create economic opportunities at home rather than migrate to the capital.

Online publication of the FXBVillage Toolkit and Planning Guide. On the occasion of FXB’s 25th anniversary, Albina du Boisrouvray wished to make the recognized FXBVillage poverty eradication model accessible to other organizations that would like to strengthen their approach in the fight against extreme poverty. This toolkit – developed in collaboration with experts from the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, and endorsed by Professors Sudhir Anand, world-renowned development economist and Amartya Sen, 1998 Nobel Laureate in Economics – provides step-by-step guidance on the FXB Village methodology, from its history and guiding principles to the specific details of how to work with the most vulnerable populations.

Production of the documentary “Generation Rescue”: shot in Burundi, it describes the transition of 4 participants in FXBVillage programmes from a life of extreme poverty to a life of dignity. By recounting how these determined women are gaining independence, economic and social autonomy, the documentary gives the viewer a glimpse of what is needed to take action to eradicate extreme poverty.

Using aggregate data from the FXBVillage poverty reduction model evaluation methodology, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard compared the status of beneficiary families before and after their participation in the programmes with a sample of families who had been part of national Demographic Health Surveys. The study includes data from 20 programmes operating between 2009 and 2012 in Rwanda and Uganda, representing more than 1,500 households. The results of the evaluation conclude that FXBVillage programmes have led to marked improvements in economic security, health and nutritional status, access to water, sanitation and hygiene, psychosocial well-being and children’s school participation.

Read the full assessment.

Nearly 17 million adults and children have benefited from FXB’s presence in their communities through its FXBVillage economic and community development programs, infrastructure rehabilitation, access to water, hygiene and sanitation, education, protection and awareness-raising, including extensive HIV/AIDS and human trafficking prevention campaigns.

FXB Rwanda receives a National Certificate of Merit in recognition of its efforts to improve the
living conditions of the population of Nyamirambo District during the year 2013 – 2014.

Students from various Harvard University faculties will support FXB programs in their
respective fields and will in turn be able to increase their knowledge and experience of
development, health and human rights on the ground with the most vulnerable communities
(2014 – 2018).

In celebration of FXB’s 25th anniversary, Jillian Edelstein, an internationally renowned London-based photographer, has traveled to China, Colombia, India, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi to capture in her sensitive and talented lens the faces, hopes and accomplishments of families in FXBVillage poverty eradication programmes. The series of 41 photos has been successfully exhibited at the prestigious Oxo Gallery in London, Sotheby’s and Galerie Charpentier in Paris, the International School of Hotel Management Les Roches in Bluche and the Espace Muraille in Geneva.

Launch of an innovative agricultural technology for soil amendment with biochar. This plant-based charcoal, obtained by pyrolysis of biomass from organic matter of various origins, is used to capture carbon, enrich the soil with nutrients and reduce water consumption. This method, brought by FXB to Rwanda, makes it possible to increase yields by between 4% and 189%, depending on crops and soil quality. An evaluation of the quality of the biochar produced was also carried out by the Rwanda Standards Board in 2017. The parameters tested included organic matter content, pH and nitrogen. The conclusion of the RSB is that the quality of this biochar is convincing and that its content contributes to the improvement of Rwanda’s soils.

FXB Uganda receives a Certificate of Appreciation for its efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS from
the Wakiso Local Government.

FXB South Africa is starting a three-year vocational training programme for 90 vulnerable adolescents. Nearly 90% of the young people have found employment after this training and 3% of them have continued their education.

A joint raid with the local police resulted in the release of 51 children, 27 of whom were underage girls, from the clutches of traffickers. Detained in a house in Jaipur, India, some of the children had been abducted for more than 10 years.

FXBVillage poverty eradication programs were awarded the Special Contribution Award for their involvement in the development of the Yi community. The award was presented by the Yi Culture Research Center of the Central University of Nationalities and the China Social Welfare Foundation.

In spring 2012, the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University publishes “The Cost of Inaction“. With Professors Amartya Sen and Sudhir Anand leading the project, economists and public health researchers address the complex challenges of enumerating and quantifying the multiple social and economic costs that result when societies fail to meet the pressing needs of their most vulnerable members, namely children. This project answers previously unaddressed public health questions: what are the costs of inaction, and does the cost of inaction outweigh the cost of action? As stated by Amartya Sen in the preface of the book, the IOC is primarily intended for policy-makers who need to set priorities on the basis of an analytical and empirical framework provided in the book.

Chapter 5 of IOC focuses on research carried out in the context of its FXBVillage programs in Rwanda : Scaled-up FXB Intervention: An integrated approach to poverty reduction.

“This work was initiated by the insights of Albina du Boisrouvray, a visionary activist whose clear understanding of the consequences of inaction inspired and led this research.”

It is in the world of decision-makers that one of the most important uses of “The Cost of Inaction” (COI) book can be made, as decision-makers need to set priorities on the basis of an analytical and empirical framework provided by COI.

On December 30th 2011, a violent cyclone hit the coast of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry in India. The New Year was shaping up to be catastrophic for the people of the region, some of whom had lost everything. Thanks to its teams on the ground, FXB India was able to quickly put in place the necessary emergency response to assist the beneficiaries of the Villupuram FXBVillage programmes and surrounding communities.

Science shows that the most critical phase of brain development occurs during the first 24 months of a child’s life. Intense stressors such as poverty, violence or being orphaned can damage their development and the damage can never be repaired. This is why our teams have received a training that’s inherent to early childhood development, including a specific coaching technique through “family games” that teaches parents how to interact with their children.

In his book “La Voix”, Edgar Morin, a famous French sociologist and philosopher, points out that “… an organization such as the Association François-Xavier Bagnoud, which fights poverty and AIDS in Africa, works in perfect harmony with the communities it helps. » (p.125).

Young people participating in out-of-school support and life and interpersonal skills development programmes in slums across the country were invited to write poems that were then edited into a collection with the evocative title “Walk a mile in my Shoes”.

A report published by the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University and FXB International: “Removing “Unfreedoms”, Decreasing Vulnerability in Economic and Food Security: Year 1 Results of the FXBVillage Model in Rwanda and Uganda”, demonstrates that the holistic approach adopted in terms of accompaniment and support in accessing basic needs as well as financial inclusion training leads, among other things, to an increase in food security and economic assets as well as an increase in the schooling rate among FXBVillage participants, after one year of participation.

Launch of the first FXBVillage poverty eradication programme in Barranquilla, Colombia.

FXB Myanmar inaugurates an innovative social and community development programme through participatory theatre. Conceived in partnership with the British Council, the objective of “Human Drama” is to help populations become aware of the various issues related to health, human trafficking, domestic violence, the justice system, etc. The aim is to bring about changes in behaviour by creating a favourable ground where spectators can freely express opinions, determine and bring the best solutions to the problems they face together.

The “FXBVillage” poverty eradication methodology is remarkably consistent with the “Capabilities Approach” developed by Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize winner in economics. In an interview in 2010, he noted that in his opinion, FXB is doing an extraordinarily effective job and deserves more recognition.

“We don’t know how François-Xavier would have led his life, but we do know that he would be happy and proud of what has been accomplished on his behalf with the most vulnerable”.

Albina du Boisrouvray and Bruno Bagnoud.

Yunnan’s FXBVillage programme is mentionned as a successful solution to address the deep psychological needs of orphans and vulnerable children in a UNICEF-edited collection, ‘Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS’. It identifies best practices on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, treatment and care for women and children living with HIV, and reducing the vulnerability and stigma of young people.

Publication of the final report of the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and AIDS (JLICA), of which FXB is a major partner. “Inconvenient Truths: Children, AIDS and Poverty” argues for a reorientation of policies in countries hitten very hardly by AIDS.

Creation of FXB DRC and launch of the first FXBVillage poverty eradication programme in Goma. From 2009 to 2014, more than 2,000 children and adults have thus moved from extreme poverty to economic and social autonomy. More than 6,000 people have benefited from FXB’s presence in their communities through various capacity building trainings.

Simultaneous launch of 20 FXBVillage poverty eradication programmes in Rwanda and Uganda with PEPFAR funding awarded on December 2008.

Publication on World AIDS Orphans Day of Iridescent Reflections, a collection of stories and poems written by the 250 children and adolescents in our after-school support and life and interpersonal skills development programmes in South Africa’s slums.

Publication of a collection of testimonials: “Hopes Alive: Surviving AIDS and Despair”. Among those attending the book launch in Calcutta and Delhi were Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics Amartya Sen, India’s Vice President Shri M. Hamid Ansari, FXB Founder and President Albina du Boisrouvray, and Sujata Rao, Director General of India’s National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).

Conducted by Thaksin University, this evaluation of the Buriram FXBVillage programme found that 100% of the young participants have completed primary school and moved on to secondary school, while the national average for primary school completion is 40%. There was a 60-62% increase in the average income of participating families, with more than 80% of families continuing to pursue income-generating activities on a regular basis. The evaluation concluded that the FXBVillage programme had been implemented effectively and “had significantly improved the living conditions of a large number of orphans and vulnerable children”.

FXB China launches its first FXBVillage Poverty Eradication Programme in Sichuan for the Yi community.

FXB Colombia inaugurates an HIV/AIDS prevention programme in their mother tongue, for the Wayuu community living in the remote Guajira province.

The devastating Cyclone Nargis killed 140,000 people. FXB Myanmar shows immediate responsiveness by setting up various emergency aid and reconstruction programmes for 55,000 people. FXB has also launched, in partnership with UNICEF, 20 Child-Friendly Spaces to accommodate 4,500 vulnerable children in Yangon and the Irrawaddy Delta.

In UNICEF’s 2008 annual report, ‘Child and AIDS, 2nd Stocktaking Report‘, the FXBVillage model was mentionned as a strong example of a community-based programme for vulnerable families.

Empreintes, from France 5, dedicates a documentary to Albina du Boisrouvray. “Au nom du fils”, is directed by Olivier Horn, produced by Gédéon Programmes and France 5, with the participation of TSR and CNC. From Thailand to Burma, from Uganda to the Swiss Alps, the film takes us alongside Albina to meet the beneficiaries of FXB programmes. It goes back to the sources of her exceptional career, gives us her conception of humanitarianism and enlightens us on the meaning of her commitments. This film bears witness to a unique destiny marked by the gift of self, the convictions of a committed woman, the courage and love of a mother.

Link to the film in french

FXB India Suraksha launches its first five FXBVillage poverty eradication programs for marginalized and HIV/AIDS-affected communities in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and West Bengal and opens the FXB Day Care Home for Station and Street Children in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (South Africa) in Rwanda, this evaluation led by Chris Desmond, showed that 86% of beneficiaries of FXBVillage poverty eradication programmes still live above the poverty line four years after exiting it. 97% are still operating their original income-generating activity. Their children attend school regularly, for a sustainable periode of time and perform better than their peers.

Read the summary of the evaluation.

Launch of the first FXBVillage poverty eradication program in Maha Sarakham Province, Thailand. Many parents, who had migrated south to find seasonal work, lost their lives in the Tsunami. FXB’s goal is to help grandparents, doubly weakened by grief and poverty, to achieve economic and social self-sufficiency so that they can care for, protect and nurture the orphans they have taken in.

Mrs. Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of the country, awarded a certificate of merit to FXB Rwanda in recognition of its remarkable work in caring for orphans and vulnerable children.

Launch of The Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (JLICA), of which FXB is a founding member. JLICA is an independent alliance of researchers, practitioners, policy makers, activists and people living with HIV dedicated to improving the well-being of children affected by HIV/AIDS.

Creation of FXB Burundi and launch of the first FXBVillage poverty eradication programme in Bujumbura.

Creation of FXB China and launch of two FXBVillage poverty eradication pilot programs for families affected by HIV/AIDS in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.

Following the 2004 tsunami, FXB India and FXB Thailand set up a programme of emergency aid, reconstruction and restarting economic activities for fishermen in the territory of Pondicherry and the State of Tamil Nadu. In Thailand, it also undertook a boat reconstruction project for “Moken” fishermen and organized psychosocial support sessions in schools in Phuket and Phangnga for more than a year.

Albina du Boisrouvray joins the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) which brings together a community of leaders from around the world to exchange and implement innovative solutions to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. This initiative is differentiated by its determination to change things quickly and to be action-oriented for each participating member. The President of FXB made several commitments that year and in subsequent years.

• In collaboration with the Green Belt Movement, FXB has implemented measures so that FXB can achieve carbon neutrality by mitigating the environmental costs of its organizational activity – such as travel, paper use, lighting and heating – through tree planting.

• In partnership with the United Nations Foundation, Albina has committed to convene a think tank involving key economic leaders from the public and private sectors, bilateral aid agencies, NGOs, developing country ministries and Internet companies to understand how to effectively use new technologies in development assistance.

• FXB also launched, on a duration of 5 years, 30 FXBVillage programs that would lift 18,000 adults and children out of extreme poverty in Africa and Asia.

• In partnership with the Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) in India, FXB has developed HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention programmes for the 10,000 employees, often vulnerable migrant workers, of its partner’s subsidiaries.

• Through a partnership and funding at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, FXB is committed to providing care and psychological support to Israeli and Palestinian children affected by the conflict. Project components included the training of Palestinian doctors through scholarships in Israeli hospitals, access to medical care for Palestinian children in Israeli hospitals, and twined football schools to foster friendships between Israeli and Palestinian children.

FXB India initiates a partnership with AIDS ARK (AA), a British NGO whose mission is to raise funds to purchase antiretroviral tritherapy drugs for people suffering from HIV/AIDS in Andra Pradesh.

FXB Colombia joins a major three-year initiative to open HIV/AIDS prevention workshops for the most vulnerable groups such as street children and sex workers. More than 165’000 people have been reached by this action. In addition, within the framework of the United Nations programme to raise awareness about mother-to-child transmission of HIV, FXB Colombia is the main organization running workshops throughout the Caribbean region, including with coal mine workers in the Guajira.

At the end of the 1990s, Albina du Boisrouvray launched the Global Action for Orphans (GAO) to draw the attention of the public and governments to the the millions of orphans left in its wake by AIDS. His lobbying had convinced Senator Kerry to introduce Bill 16/9 in the US Congress, a bill that failed due to lack of ownership. Inspired by Kerry’s bill, Senator Hyde filed a new petition that would become Public Law 108-25 on 17 May 2003: The United States Leadership Act of 2003 on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. As a result of Senator McCollum’s urgent lobbying, the bill contains an amendment that calls for 10 percent of the funds allocated to this bill to be spent on HIV/AIDS assistance to orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS.

In 2003, Albina du Boisrouvray and Paul Zeitz decided to extend this lobbying to other vulnerable children by launching the Global Action for Children (GAC), which will officially come into realisation in 2004. The GAC, co-chaired by Albina du Boisrouvray and led by Jennifer Delaney, has had many successes. Especially by developing a set of recommendations to the US Congress, supported by Senator McCollum, which will lead, in 2005, to a specific law for orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries: Public Law 109-95 (PEPFAR), signed by President George W. Bush. This was the first comprehensive legislative response to the global orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) crisis.

As a result of these efforts by the GAO, through 2003, and the GAC, $3 billion (10% of PEPFAR funding) has been earmarked for programmes for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Although the GAC ceased operations in December 2010, its impact and work for OVC continues to impact the lives of millions of children around the world.

Launch of a one-off HIV/AIDS prevention programin Mongolia, at the request of, and in partnership with the government, which wished to benefit from FXB’s extensive experience in this field in India, where FXB conducts HIV/AIDS-related activities in all 35 states and territories of the Indian Union.

Creation of FXB Togo to help the vulnerable populations of Siou, through the reinforcement of medical and school structures and by generalizing access to drinking water in the communities.

On the initiative of its founder, Albina du Boisrouvray, FXB launches the first World AIDS Orphans Day (WOOD). On this occasion, it created a symbolic lifeline for AIDS orphans made up of two million signatures (without the support of social networks at the time), including the one of the General Secretary of the United Nations, Kofi Annan. Each name is a stitch that weaves this gigantic symbolic safety net. The campaign urges the United Nations, governments, donors and policy makers to take urgent and priority action for the care and rehabilitation of the millions of AIDS orphans. WMBD has been held every 7 May since 2002.

FXB Myanmar inaugurates a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention and human trafficking awareness programme for bus and truck drivers and their passengers across the country.

Publication of “AIDS in the Twenty-First Century” by Tony Barnett and Alan Whiteside. Funded by the FXB Foundation, this groundbreaking study argues that it is essential to look at the disease as a whole. Accessible, this book is essential reading for policy makers, students and anyone concerned about the relationship between poverty, inequality and infectious diseases.

In its annual report on the epidemic, UNAIDS mentionned the FXBVillage model in a case study as an effective response to the needs of children affected by AIDS.

Albina du Boisrouvray is one of the first 30 members of the “Social Entrepreneurs Group” of the Schwab Foundation. This recognition allows the group’s social entrepreneurs to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos to present and share their expertise with world leaders in politics, business, civil society and the public sector. Albina’s lobbying focuses on the priority of putting the millions of AIDS orphans and vulnerable children at the top of the agenda.

FXB India is creating a network of over 10,000 barbers across India who are trained to disseminate HIV/AIDS prevention information to their clients.

Construction of the first FXB well for and with the Tuareg population in northern Niger.

This database is a joint initiative of FXB and the Early Childhood Development (ECD) team of the World Bank’s Education Sector. This tool enables organizations and individuals helping children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS to find each other, inform each other and communicate. The database also aims to help donors identify potential partners, eliminating costly intermediaries.

In India, expansion of HIV/AIDS and other STD programs in Delhi and the states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Manipur, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Rajasthan and West Bengal. A special attention is given to migrant workers.

The 3-volume series “FXB Orphan Alert: International Perspectives on Children Left Behind by HIV/AIDS” has been developed by FXB as a resource for a wide range of readers interested in issues related to AIDS orphans.

The first after-school support and interpersonal skills development program for extremely vulnerable children and young people, most of whom have been orphaned by AIDS, will be launched the following year in Alexandra Township, a suburb of Johannesburg.

FXB is launching a one-time economic and social development program to improve the quality of life and build the capacity of vulnerable women in Machacamarca, Bolivia.

Launch of the FXB Home Palliative Care Centre in Paris, France. In 2003, FXB transferred its knowledge in this field to the Croix Saint-Simon Foundation to take over the programme and integrate it into the state system.

Campaign against forced child labour with the Swiss company Charles Veillon, whose factories in India FXB has been monitoring.

Launch of the first FXBVillage poverty eradication program in Rwanda. Since then, this model has been widely replicated across the country, enabling more than 65,000 children and adults to move from extreme poverty to economic and social empowerment.

Publication of “AIDS in the World II” by the Global AIDS Policy Coalition (GAPC) and the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard.

FXB obtains special consultative status at ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council of the United Nations).

FXB Switzerland organizes holiday camps for vulnerable children in French-speaking Switzerland who never get the chance to go on holiday.

A few months after the genocide in Rwanda, the urgency was to protect the population. FXB therefore launched a first phase of reconstruction of 528 houses to rehouse widows, orphans and children made vulnerable by this tragedy, some of whom were HIV-positive. Since then, FXB has expanded its activities to serve vulnerable populations in all provinces of the country. It is developing complementary programmes to promote access to basic human rights and social justice. More than one million adults and children have already benefited from FXB’s presence in their communities through its FXBVillage poverty alleviation, infrastructure rehabilitation, water and sanitation, education and early childhood development, nutrition, protection and HIV/AIDS prevention programs.

Creation of FXB Brazil and opening of the FXB House in Sao Paulo for orphaned children, HIV-positive and AIDS patients. In addition, as a result of the joint action of FXB and several Brazilian NGOs, the Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved the amendment of Article 18 of the Patent Law (9.279/96), allowing Brazilian pharmaceutical companies to produce generic antiretrovirals, to significantly reduce the price of triple therapy and to expand access to it.

A National Committee – made up of representatives from the Thai government, NGOs including FXB Thailand and agencies such as UNICEF, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – was formed to develop a national action plan to combat prostitution and human trafficking to Thailand and to organize lobbying actions.

This committee was set up following the rescue operation launched in 1992 by Albina du Boisrouvray, Founding President of FXB and Senator Saisuree Chutikul, at the time Adviser to the Thai Prime Minister on the Status of Women and Child Prostitution, to rescue young women forcibly recruited into prostitution networks. FXB thus helped pave the way for the improvement of Thailand’s national legislation through the “Act on the Prevention and Suppression of Women and Children Trafficking” adopted in 1997.

Establishment of the FXB Chair and Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University School of Public Health. The Center will move to the FXB building, especially built to house it in 1996. The Centre is the result of a visionary partnership between Albina du Boisrouvray and Dr. Jonathan Mann, who will be the first professor of the Chair. The FXB Center for Health and Human Rights is the first university center to focus exclusively on these themes. It approaches many health issues from the perspective of fundamental rights, which must be correlated with the physical, mental and social well-being of individuals and populations, and advances the idea that health and human rights are inextricably linked.

In Thailand, initiation of a partnership with the monk Ahra Alingar (Pra Alongot) for the launch of a pioneering hospice in the Buddhist temple of Lopburi which will welcome AIDS patients at the end of their lives. This project has since been taken over by the Dhammaraksanives Foundation.

Opening of 4 FXB Homes for orphaned children, HIV positive or sick with AIDS in the Chiang Mai province in Thailand. FXB handed this project over to the Thai NGO “Support Children Foundation”.

Creation of FXB Uruguay and opening of the Casa FXB in Montevideo which will offer an educational project for street children and vulnerable adolescents to enable them to find ways to face the difficulties caused by poverty and to develop a life project. At the end of a long campaign launched by Albina du Boisrouvray, many families of the young people of the Casa FXB have managed to benefit from decent housing. FXB then initiated the development of agricultural activities aimed at improving these families’ quality of life, both economically and in terms of access to proper nutrition. In addition, FXB collaborated in a UNICEF initiative to include a new line in the national budget to provide financial support to families caring for orphans. FXB handed this programme over to a local NGO.

Publication of “AIDS in the World I” by the Global AIDS Policy Coalition (GAPC) and the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard.

Creation of FXB Kenya and opening of FXB House, in the suburbs of Nairobi, for orphaned children, HIV positive or suffering from AIDS. FXB handed this project over to a local organization.

FXB organized a summer camp in Crans-Montana in Valais, Switzerland for 30 children who were suffering from leukemia or cancer following the Chernobyl disaster. A fully equipped kindergarten was also set up in Minsk two years later. To finance this operation, FXB organized a football match in Sion between former international and Swiss football stars.

In July 1992, FXB received a call for help from young women working on the Thai-Burma border. They were subjected to sexual slavery, beaten, malnourished and at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. Albina du Boisrouvray then alerted Saisuree Chutikul, adviser to the Thai Prime Minister and in charge of the status of women and child prostitution. The police raided and released 153 women and girls, including 95 young Burmese women. Aged between 14 and 20 years old, 50% of them were HIV-positive. They were then repatriated to their country of origin a few months later. In September 1993, FXB opened a programme there to offer individualized reintegration, according to the aspirations and aptitudes of each of these young women.

Creation of FXB Myanmar and launch of a socio-professional reintegration program for 95 girls who escaped human trafficking during a police raid on the Thai-Myanmar border. Since then, FXB has provided essential support to Myanmar. Whether through our emergency and reconstruction operations after the Nargis Cyclone and other major floods, our HIV prevention and comprehensive care programmes, our awareness campaigns on human trafficking, sexual and reproductive health or gender-based violence,s capacity building for policy formulation and implementation of multi-sectoral policies and interventions, vocational education and training, or FXBVillage poverty reduction programmes, FXB has reached more than 1 million children and adults who have benefited from FXB’s presence in their communities in different states and regions of Myanmar.

Creation of FXB Colombia and opening of FXB House in Barranquilla for orphaned children, HIV positive or suffering from AIDS.

Born of Albina du Boisrouvray’s desire to allow people who wish to do so to die at home, FXB founded the “Centre François-Xavier Bagnoud de soins palliatifs à domicile” (CFXB) in Sion, a care and support structure for people at the end of their life. The CFXB thus offered palliative care at home to any person residing in central Valais, in the irreversible phase of illness, when curative medicine proved powerless. Its intervention is part of a global approach, combining daily nursing care, psychological support and logistical support, both for the sick person and their family and friends. The FXBC has also facilitated bereavement groups throughout its activities. 800 people and their families were accompanied by the FXB Centre team, which ceased its activities on January 1st, 2010. The entire team – its experience and the countless skills acquired over 18 years – was integrated into the pole of skills in medicine and palliative care of the Valis health system.

FXB Switzerland launches “François-Xavier’s Dreams“, a programme that aims to make dreams come true for children suffering from a serious illness or who’s health has been affected as a result of an accident.

Donation of two Cessna aircraft to the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) to be used for emergency evacuations and vaccination campaigns in remote areas of Kenya and war-torn Somalia.

Opening of the first FXB House in the USA for orphaned children, HIV positive or suffering from AIDS in Washington DC. The FXB Homes, which will later be developed in Thailand, Colombia and Brazil, offer much more than medical care, they are based on the concept of Tender Loving Care: the belief that these children will have a better and longer life if they are cared for in a family setting, surrounded by tenderness and loving care. From babies to teenagers living there, most of them are orphans or abandoned and cannot count on the support and love of their parents. The team that surrounds them has all the medical and human skills necessary for their well-being. FXB House is their family and the setting for their children’s lives. The opening of these Houses also represents a significant stand in the fight against stigma and discrimination against these children and is an alternative in the access to palliative care for the young residents. At that time, there was nothing to treat people infected with HIV, not even AZT. As soon as antiretrovirals became available in the region, FXB’s strategy was – as with all FXB Houses – to hand over the project to a local NGO in order to devote itself to other development projects.

In Uganda, a first programme was launched to support the biological or extended families within the community that took in these orphans. The aim was to provide them with the means to meet their basic needs, so that they could raise, protect and give these children a dignified future. Each family received a seed capital to start an income-generating activity and was supported in terms of nutrition and schooling. These were the first steps in our poverty reduction model: the “FXBVillage Economic and Community Development” programmes. Since the launch of the model in Uganda in 1991, 200 FXBVillage Economic and Community Development programmes have been developed in 12 countries, enabling more than 105,000 people to move from extreme poverty to economic and social empowerment.

Creation of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Chair in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now Rutgers). This chair was awarded to Professor James Oleske. That same year Dr. Oleske and Mary Boland launched the FXB International Pediatric HIV Training Programme (FXB-ITP) which has provided physicians, nurses and social workers from around the world with specific skills in the management of young patients. 

Creation of FXB Thailand and the opening of two FXB emergency shelters in Bangkok, in partnership with CPCR and MSF, to take in girls who have escaped from brothels or been evacuated by the police. A third FXB House is soon opened in Chiang Mai and a fourth one in Chiang Rai. A reintegration programme offers them, after being treated, the opportunity to prepare a return to their families, to be hosted on a long-term basis by another institution or to undertake a training course in order to become economically independent. This programme has since been taken over by a local NGO.

At the same time, FXB is setting up HIV/AIDS prevention, education and awareness programmes on Human and Children’s Rights in Bangkok, Buriram province and, through a local radio station, in the mountainous regions where the Akhas live. Through these activities, FXB intends to respond to the deteriorating living conditions of people living with HIV/AIDS and the increasing stigma and discrimination against them.

First needs assessment mission in Uganda and establishment of a partnership with AMREF.

Creation of FXB India (which will become FXB India Suraksha in 2007) and opening of the FXB Asha Sadan Day House which welcomes the children of prostitutes in the red-light district of Baïna in South Goa. In Goa, FXB also supported an orphanage for young boys in Margoa and an orphanage for young girls in Rivona.

Since 1991, FXB has been providing essential development assistance to tens of thousands of children, women and marginalized and destitute communities across India every year. Through its activities related to protection, education, health, water, sanitation and hygiene, and economic empowerment, FXB fights the multidimensional causes of poverty and social injustice. 13 FXBVillage economic and community development programmes have been conducted over the past 10 years in the states of Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh and the Territory of Pondicherry. More than 7,000 adults and children have been lifted out of poverty in a sustainable manner. In addition, from 2000 to 2010, FXB has conducted extensive HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns in all 35 states and territories of the Indian Union, raising awareness among several million people about the risks of contracting the virus.

FXB’s story begins in 1986, when Albina du Boisrouvray and Bruno Bagnoud’s son, François-Xavier, a helicopter pilot specialized in rescue, tragically lost his life at the age of 24 during a helicopter mission in Mali.

Three years later, surrounded by her family and friends, Albina founded an organization that would bear the name of her only son and to which she dedicated the ¾ of her possessions. The objective of FXB’s founding members is to pursue, in the field of development, the values of generosity and compassion that guided the life of François-Xavier Bagnoud.

FXB’s first action was to engage, alongside Médecins du Monde, in a symbolic maritime pilgrimage: ”The Route of the Rights of the Child” which, linking Nantes to New York via the African coasts and the West Indies, aimed to promote the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations. In New York, they were received by Javier Perez de Cuellar, then Secretary General of the United Nations, with whom they shared their thoughts and concerns. A declaration resulting from this meeting urged governments to ratify and implement the Convention Children’s Rights.

Children’s Rights are at the heart of FXB’s actions. Each of its programmes is a response to the implementation – in the daily lives of children – of their rights as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989.