• December 14, 2012

    Integrating gender into health projects – New collection of tools available

    Written by
    Laura Raney, Senior Technical Officer, FHI 360

    Are you a gender focal person in your organization looking to access programmatic evidence, tools for gender and health advocacy? Perhaps you are a program manager seeking to view guidance on integrating gender in HIV/AIDS, family planning, maternal health and youth programs or access gender training curricula and materials. Maybe you are a donor who wants to learn about key issues in gender mainstreaming and gender integration. Well, there is a new one-stop shop for you! The newly revised Interagency Gender Working Group (IGWG) Gender and Health Toolkit is now available.

    The Knowledge for Health (K4Health) project recently updated this electronic toolkit with input from leading gender experts. The result is a collection of carefully selected practical tools and instruments to help make programs and health systems more equitable and effective. Designed to move health practitioners, program mangers and policy makers from awareness and commitment to direct application and practice, the toolkit is a treasure trove of applied resources. This new IGWG Gender and Health Toolkit is a companion to the IGWG website and has the same goal: improvement of reproductive health/HIV/AIDS outcomes and sustainable development through the promotion of gender equity within population, health, and nutrition programs.

  • November 27, 2012

    World AIDS Day 2012: A Shared Vision of Getting to Zero

    FHI 360 has been partnering toward an AIDS-free generation since the beginning of the epidemic. As we approach World AIDS Day 2012, FHI 360 experts examine next steps needed to tackle HIV/AIDS for good. We’ll discuss new enhancements in the testing and treatment of women during pregnancy and in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. We’ll also take a look at the HIV treatment cascade and how it can help people to take the initiative to learn their HIV status and close some of the gaps in treatment and service. Finally, we will share perspectives from the field with a program profile and success story.

    As we look to the future, from our work in Cambodia to Kenya to the U.S., FHI 360 will continue to partner toward a shared vision of “getting to zero.”

  • November 2, 2012

    New Contraceptive Approaches Needed Now More Than Ever

    Written by
    Ward Cates, President Emeritus, FHI 360
    Laneta J. Dorflinger, PhD, Distinguished Scientist, FHI 360
    Kirsten Vogelsong, PhD, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

    A version of this post originally appeared on The Huffington Post. Reposted with permission.

    World Contraception Day 2012 (September 26) has come and gone, and 2012 marked the first International Day of the Girl Child. Together with the excitement from the London Summit on Family Planning this summer and the recent announcement of a major price drop for the contraceptive implant, Jadelle, it has been a banner year for media attention, political will and global resources on family planning and women’s and girls’ rights and empowerment. As part of these efforts, increasing access to safe, effective and affordable contraceptives will have a profound impact on the lives and health of women and their families throughout the world. To achieve the ambitious goals set forth by these international initiatives, however, the global health and development community must act on the current political momentum and not lose sight of the challenges that remain.

    The task ahead is large. Over 220 million women living in low-resource countries do not want to become pregnant and yet are not using an effective contraceptive method. This may seem strange when we have so many contraceptive choices available to prevent unintended pregnancy. However, not only is access to contraception limited for many of these women, but also the currently available methods do not always meet their needs, preferences or budgets. Approximately two-thirds of all women with an unmet need do not use modern contraception for reasons including side effects, perceived harm to health and desire to preserve future fertility. Along with our current method mix, we need to consider new contraceptive approaches that address these concerns.

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  • October 25, 2012

    New Discovery in Race to Develop AIDS Vaccine

    A version of this post originally appeared on Natural Medicine. Reposted with permission.

    A new study published in the on line journal Nature Medicine over the weekend brings exciting news in the race to find an AIDS vaccine. Researchers from the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) have found that a key change in the outer coating of the HIV virus allowed two HIV positive women to develop “broadly neutralizing antibodies,” which are antibodies that can be used to target and fight most strains of HIV.

    The first broadly neutralizing antibodies were discovered over three years ago, and since then dozens more have been identified. But until now, researchers haven’t been able to pinpoint how they develop, which is critical to developing a vaccine. The new findings establish a link between a change in the virus after infection and the formulation of the antibodies that fight it.

    According to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the study is “an important step in trying to understand just how these broadly neutralizing antibodies evolve.”

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  • October 15, 2012

    Ending AIDS Among Latino Americans: ¡Sí se puede!

    Written by
    A. Cornelius Baker, Technical Advisor and Co-director of the Be the Generation Bridge Project, FHI 360

    The past three years have seen tremendous breakthroughs in HIV prevention research. Since 2009, we have seen the first vaccine to show effectiveness, a microbicide that was found to be modestly efficacious and two studies demonstrating that an HIV medication could be used as a pre-exposure prophylaxis or could reduce new infections by treating those with HIV earlier. These advances have led many to herald a new era in our 30-year campaign to end the epidemic.

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  • October 15, 2012

    Global Handwashing Day: Helping More Children Reach Their Fifth Birthday

    Written by
    Katie Carroll, Coordinator of the Global Public–Private Partnership for Handwashing, FHI 360
    Patricia Mantey, Knowledge Management Specialist, WASHplus project, FHI 360

    Diarrhea and respiratory infections are responsible for the majority of all child deaths, taking the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year. Fortunately, one of the most cost-effective solutions is virtually at our fingertips: washing our hands with soap. This simple act can reduce the incidence of diarrhea and respiratory infections among children under 5 by almost 50 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

    To promote this life-saving practice around the world, the Global Public–Private Partnership for Handwashing — which includes FHI 360, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and 10 other public and private organizations — launched Global Handwashing Day. The event has grown from a one-day celebration in a few cities to a worldwide movement that has mobilized significant investment in and political support for handwashing with soap.

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  • October 10, 2012

    To Get a Jump on Bullying, Start with Young Children and the School Culture

    An Interview with
    Merle Froschl, Co-Director, Educational Equity Department , FHI 360
    Barbara Sprung, Co-Director, Educational Equity Department , FHI 360
    October is National Bullying Prevention Month. How should we address bullying in schools?

    Our research, which included in-class observations and focus groups with teachers and parents, found that bullying and teasing were prevalent in early childhood and early elementary grades. It’s important to look at behavior in the early grades because bullying progresses as children get older.

    We also address the issue school-wide, not just in the classroom. Our philosophy is to create a proactive climate where bullying is not an acceptable part of the culture. It’s very important to create a school-wide approach where differences are appreciated so that they don’t become triggers for bullying and teasing.

    How does this approach empower adults and children?

    We reach out to all adults who are involved with children at school, including parents and non-teaching staff such as paraprofessionals and bus drivers. We found that when bullying or teasing occurred when an adult was present, the adult did not intervene 75 percent of the time. To the children, it appeared that the incident was ignored. But often, adults don’t deal with bullying and teasing because they don’t know how. We offer adults strategies that help them intervene appropriately.

    We also help children understand that they shouldn’t just stand by when someone is being bullied. Our approach teaches them that while they shouldn’t put themselves in harm’s way, they should “do the right thing” — say something or get an adult to help.

    How has this approach worked?

    We found that after working with everyone — teachers, parents and children — adults did a complete turnaround and now intervened appropriately 75 percent of the time. Bullying and teasing incidents were down by a third. The results were the same in various school settings. So it works.

    If there’s a lot of bullying and teasing, teachers cannot teach and students cannot learn. Many teachers tell us that addressing bullying and teasing proactively creates more time for learning because of the change in the classroom environment.

    What’s the next step?

    Cyberbullying has taken the problem to a completely different level. If you’re a target, you can’t even be safe at home because the bullying is on the Web. Children have access to technology at younger ages, such as the third-grader with a cell phone or the young child playing games on an iPad. We’re beginning to talk with teachers, parents and children to develop age-appropriate strategies to address cyberbullying. Technology is part of their world, and they need to be able to navigate it safely.

  • September 20, 2012

    Turning the Tide: Increasing Access to HIV Prevention and Care for Men Who Have Sex with Men in Ghana

    An Interview with
    Kim Green, Deputy Country Director for Ghana, FHI 360

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  • September 19, 2012

    Building Program Capacity in the Prevention of Neglected Tropical Diseases

    Written by
    Bolivar Pou, Project Director, END in Africa Program, FHI 360

    Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) strike hundreds of millions of people in Africa, causing blindness, permanent disfigurement, and possibly ostracism from the community and life-long poverty. These diseases are a huge problem that requires an integrated, cost-efficient and sustainable solution.

    The first line of defense against NTDs is disease prevention via mass drug administration (MDA). The Program to End Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa (END in Africa) has distributed more than 72 million drug treatments to almost 34 million people in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Sierra Leone and Togo in just the past 18 months. The program is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and administered by a team of partners led by FHI 360, which provides overall program and financial management as the prime partner.

    A drug treatment program on such a scale wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago, when national prevention efforts were fragmented and lacked central coordination. It is possible now — thanks to integration efforts and public–private partnerships between national NTD programs, USAID and other funders, pharmaceutical companies and international NTD control program administrators, such as END in Africa. Together, these integration mechanisms have cut per-person MDA costs by more than 50 percent, from 27 cents to just 12 cents!

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  • September 18, 2012

    Toolkit Uses Community Conversations to Counter HIV in Malawi

    Written by
    Maclean Sosono, Executive Director, Friends of AIDS Support Trust (FAST)

    Awareness of HIV is high in Malawi, studies show. But HIV continues to persist. Clearly, knowledge and messages about HIV and AIDS are not enough to change behaviors, especially where there are high rates of illiteracy. My organization, FAST, which works with FHI 360 on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in some of the most culturally traditional parts of Malawi, began thinking of creative ways to deepen the dialogue around HIV/AIDS-related issues.

    FHI 360’s Communication for Change (C-Change) project developed a Community Conversation Toolkit to help communities take action against the HIV epidemic. We partnered with C-Change to tailor the toolkit for Malawi. The tools, such as role-play cards and finger puppets for storytelling, were customized in collaboration with community mobilizers with whom we have built trusting relationships over many years.

    What is powerful about the toolkit is that instead of prescribing behavioral changes, it is inspiring an organic dialogue among community leaders on specific drivers that spread HIV and AIDS, including cross-generational sex, gender-based violence and alcohol abuse.

    Local leaders are custodians of culture. Because their personal attitudes toward issues such as gender-based violence are linked to overall community acceptance and understanding, they can help change cultural norms that contribute to the epidemic. The toolkit encourages leaders to create culturally relevant solutions, gives them a sense of ownership and inspires them to become peer educators who promote change beyond the boundaries of their community.

    Communities follow up their conversations with their own action plans. Later, our trained facilitators check in with the communities to learn what worked, what didn’t work, and why. Thus, the toolkit allows us to understand a community’s underlying dynamics from the perspective of its people. In addition, if the facilitator takes the community’s concerns to higher-level officials, and those officials choose not to take these concerns seriously, we can act as mediators and initiate conversations because we already have built-in relationships with district officials.

    Local bicycle taxi operators, called “Shapa Boys,” have become integral to bringing the issue of gender-based violence to the forefront. Using the toolkit helped the Shapa Boys feel empowered to bring together key stakeholders, including police officers, to discuss possible actions on issues that affect their community. In these discussions, no one is arrested or punished, but the sensitive issue of gender-based violence is openly discussed by members of the community.

    In addition, issues that came to light through community conversations were included in our strategic plan. In this way, the plan is responding better to community needs that are voiced by the people, so they own the process.

    To learn more about the design and impact of the Community Conversation Toolkit, watch these videos of Maclean Sosono and C-Change Director Neill McKee (below).