Health

  • To detect, treat and prevent tuberculosis, we need to replicate this flexible strategy

    Tuberculosis (TB) is once again the world’s most deadly infectious disease, silently retaking the top spot from COVID-19 sometime in mid-2022. TB sickens more than 10 million people each year and kills about 1.6 million, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

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  • Overcoming challenges to ensure access to medical oxygen

    Medical oxygen is a lifesaving, essential medicine. Access to it is vital for treating patients at all levels of the health system, during both routine and emergency care. The COVID-19 pandemic caused surges in demand for oxygen, resulting in critical shortages, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Even in the absence of a pandemic, health care facilities need medical oxygen to treat newborns, children with severe pneumonia, people with chronic and infectious conditions, and patients requiring surgery.

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  • Fit for purpose: Building on HIV investments for the global health security response

    Twenty years ago, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was established to lead the global response to the HIV epidemic. Today, PEPFAR is a public health engine: a critical platform for strengthening health systems, preparing for and responding to pandemics, and enabling global health security. Here, we share how PEPFAR made it possible for FHI 360’s teams to effectively respond to COVID-19 in countries with established HIV infrastructure.

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  • Busting burnout: A global health imperative

    Clinicians. Administrators. Researchers. Procurement specialists. Regulators. Supply chain experts. Community-based workers. Donors. Advocates. Policymakers. These are just some of the roles required to implement effective, evidence-based global health and development initiatives. Yet many professionals are struggling with feelings of overwhelm, disconnection and exhaustion. In the past several years, we have lived and worked through a global pandemic, which exacerbated many preexisting stressors. In this context, it is critical for us to address the risk of burnout among our staff and partners around the world.

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  • ‘Blended care’: The future of family planning

    In 2021, FHI 360 committed an estimated US$85 million over five years to support the goals of Family Planning 2030 (FP2030), a global movement dedicated to advancing the rights of people everywhere to access reproductive health services safely and on their own terms. As this effort advances, together we must reflect on the question: What is the future of family planning?

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  • One size doesn’t fit all: Why differentiated services are still needed for the next phase of the HIV response

    Over the past decade, there have been remarkable advances in the HIV prevention, treatment and epidemic control tools used by the global community working to address HIV. Investments in scientific discovery and implementation research have furthered our understanding of the factors driving the epidemic, as well as the biology of viral transmission. Prevention, diagnostic and treatment strategies have improved immensely, as have antiretroviral drugs. 

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  • A new option to transform HIV prevention

    The future of HIV prevention is here. Injectable cabotegravir (CAB) is the most effective, longest-acting option for avoiding the virus. Until now, pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) medicine taken to prevent HIV has only been available as an oral pill that must be taken daily. CAB needs to be injected only once every two months. 

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  • Refocusing on the fight: Communicating about HIV during COVID-19

    While COVID-19 has been at the center of health concerns since early 2020, the fight to end HIV continues. How are HIV communicators in the United States effectively engaging with their priority audiences? Here, four HIV communicators explain why they are passionate about their work and discuss how, in the current environment, they can best reach people in the United States who historically have had to bear the largest burden of HIV.

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  • The seeds of decolonization are planted. It is here to stay.

    Decolonization of global health is not a future event. This journey started decades ago, before use of the term was common or the development sector saw the concept as disruptive. The goals of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have been a major catalyst for the shift, with new voices and local viewpoints being elevated to create sustainable change and accomplish many of the targets we have set for global development. While host country nationals are now taking on greater responsibility in their organizations, more can be done to take full advantage of the benefits of diversity and the potential of decolonization.

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  • How to ensure that hand hygiene gains outlast the pandemic

    Contributors: Henry Omara, Ibrahim Abali, Kenneth Otieno Awuor, Washabiah Chagwa, Peter Gottart, Aeorangajeb Al Hossain and Julia Rosenbaum, FHI 360

    As FHI 360 marks its 50th anniversary, explore our history of solutions and future of possibilities. 

    For years, hand hygiene was a neglected issue within the broader water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector — until COVID-19. During the pandemic, public health messaging has re-emphasized the importance of handwashing and contributed to gains in more people practicing better hand hygiene. But now, we are seeing signs of fatigue and handwashing rates have begun to drop. As the pandemic continues, there is an urgent need to ensure that these gains are not lost. We must create a new normal, one in which hand hygiene is a mainstay in public health interventions. There are three ways to ensure that healthy handwashing behaviors outlast the pandemic.

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