Global Health News
July 2007
Religious Leaders Help Deliver Health Messages
USAID recently funded an initiative in Yemen that provided gender- and culture-sensitive training in reproductive health/family planning (RH/FP) topics to local male and female Islamic leaders. The training covered such topics as birth spacing, family planning methods, sexually transmitted infections, breastfeeding, gender-related violence, reproductive anatomy and physiology, and Islamic perspectives on these issues. An important follow-up to the training was a study tour that sent the Yemeni religious leaders to Egypt to observe local religious leaders disseminating RH/FP messages. Participants returned to Yemen with their new skills and observations and are now training other local religious leaders. Plans are under way to replicate the successful religious leaders program in other countries in USAID’s Asia/Near East region, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
Routine Immunization to Protect Against Pneumonia and Meningitis Can Save Hundreds of Thousands of Lives
 |
| Source: CCP, Courtesy of Photoshare |
An estimated 3 million cases of Hib disease occur each year in children under the age of five, resulting in approximately 400,000 deaths. Despite a growing body of evidence, only 26 percent of the world's children live in countries with access to Hib vaccine.
A new study funded by USAID and other partners, to be published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, shows that routinely vaccinating infants against H. influenzae type b (Hib), a bacterium that causes deadly Hib pneumonia and meningitis, could save hundreds of thousands of children in Asia.
Dr. Kent Hill Comments on WHO Global MDR TB & XDR TB Response Plan
Read the press statement from Dr. Kent R. Hill, USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Heath, commending WHO’s recent launch of "The Global MDR TB & XDR TB Response Plan 2007-2008" and announcing USAID’s commitment to fight MDR TB and XDR TB.
“Tuberculosis is a disease that affects individuals, families and communities. MDR and XDR TB are even more devastating as these strains of TB are more difficult and costly to treat, and sometimes incurable,” Dr. Hill said in his statement to the press.
Day of the African Child
| |
 |
|
Source: Reverie Zurba/USAID South Africa |
Read the remarks by Dr. Al Bartlett, Senior Advisor for Child Survival, Bureau for Global Health, USAID, on the challenges to child survival and health in Africa and how USAID is addressing those challenges.
“Whatever vision we have for Africa, it will be today's children who will ultimately make it a reality. But we have to act now to give them the potential to build that future. And that's what USAID's maternal and child health program aims to do,” Al Bartlett said in his June 14 speech.
USAID Preparedness Efforts for Avian Influenza in Ghana Put to Test as Country Faces First Outbreaks
In May 2007, Ghana became the eighth African country to confirm H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks in poultry. Early USAID interventions to enhance national planning, raise public awareness, and strengthen overall preparedness in Ghana were critical in ensuring a timely and effective response to the outbreak. Africa, which faces a multitude of health and development issues, is particularly vulnerable to the economic and human health threats posed by avian influenza. To help limit the spread of the disease and its devastating consequences, USAID has conducted planning and preparedness activities in 57 countries including Ghana.
Read the archived editions of Global Health News
Interested in the latest USAID development experience reports? Subscribe to the new e-bulletin, DEC Express.
Subscribe to other USAID Global Health e-newsletters
If you have questions or comments, please contact Chris Thomas at ChThomas@usaid.gov.
To ensure delivery of this newsletter to your inbox, please add ghnews@aimglobalhealth.org to your e-mail address book or safe senders list.
Subscribe to USAID Global Health News by sending a blank e-mail with the word “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line to ghnews@aimglobalhealth.org.
Unsubscribe from USAID Global Health News by sending a blank e-mail with the word “UNSUBSCRIBE” in the subject line to ghnews@aimglobalhealth.org.
Update your e-mail address by sending an e-mail to ghnews@aimglobalhealth.org with your new and old contact information.
|
