The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Following a string of recent premature infant deaths in Ecuador that appeared to result from poor hospital hygiene, there was widespread agreement that authorities needed to act.

Jitinder Kohli, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, conducted a training program for legislators in Ecuador last month that explored how they could bring citizen input into this issue and others.

A recent focus group study by NDI finds that in Burundi, a country historically fraught with ethnic conflict between Hutus and Tutsis, citizens today express little apprehension about current or future ethnic strife. Instead, it is regional, political, and economic differences that divide Burundians. And, despite politically-motivated violence and an opposition party boycott of 2010 elections, Burundians still embrace democracy and see elections as the best means for choosing their country’s leaders.