Health

  • November 14, 2013

    On World Diabetes Day, calling attention to prevention in the U.S.

    Written by
    Phillis Kim, Project Director, Social Marketing and Communication, FHI 360

    Today is World Diabetes Day, a global observation that coincides with National Diabetes Month, when organizations across the United States work to raise awareness of a disease so serious that it can cause heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure or loss of toes, feet or legs.

    Diabetes affects one in 10 adults in the United States, where it is also the seventh leading cause of death. By 2025, as many as one in five Americans could have diabetes.

    FHI 360 works with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand its National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP), a public–private partnership of community organizations, insurers, employers, health care organizations and government agencies working together to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes — the most common form of diabetes.

    The statistics are alarming. One in three American adults has prediabetes, a condition in which they have an elevated blood glucose (sugar) level that is not quite high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Most do not even know they have it. People with prediabetes are five to 15 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. (Learn about the different types of diabetes.)

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  • November 13, 2013

    Expanding the Contraceptive Armamentarium

    Written by
    Laneta Dorflinger, Distinguished Scientist and Director of Contraceptive Technology Innovation, FHI 360
    Kate Rademacher, Technical Advisor, FHI 360
    Markus Steiner, Senior Epidemiologist, FHI 360

    Armamentarium. It’s a big word. It’s what we in the U.S. like to call a fifty-cent word. An armamentarium refers to the full range of resources that are available to tackle a problem, often in the arena of health care.

    Today, we have an unequivocal need to expand the contraceptive armamentarium for women around the world.

    In some cases, this means expanding access to existing, underutilized family planning methods. In too many settings, women do not have adequate access to a full range of options, including long-acting and permanent contraceptive methods. Barriers to access include frequent stock-outs of commodities; a lack of adequate health care facilities or trained staff to administer contraceptives, especially in rural areas; prohibitively expensive client fees; a lack of comprehensive, accurate information for clients; a provider bias against the provision of long-acting methods to some women; and opposition from family members or community institutions.

    This week, over 3,000 program implementers, health care providers, researchers, faith-based leaders, donors and policymakers gather in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the third International Conference on Family Planning. The theme of the week-long event is “Full Access, Full Choice.” The organizers explain that this is more than just a conference; it is part of a movement to garner commitments globally to implement evidence-based solutions targeting the persistent barriers to access that women and men face every day.

    In addition to identifying effective service delivery and policy approaches to increase access to existing methods, we must also take advantage of this moment in Addis to make a long-term commitment to expand the contraceptive armamentarium to include new, innovative methods. The basket of family planning methods available has remained largely unchanged for several decades. There are gaps in the method mix that, if filled, could result not only in increased uptake of contraceptives by women, but also in improved continuation rates by better meeting individuals’ needs and desires.

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  • November 11, 2013

    The award-winning power of Mobile for Reproductive Health

    Written by
    Trinity Zan, Technical Officer, FHI 360

    FHI 360’s Mobile for Reproductive Health (m4RH) project has been nominated for a prestigious 2013 Katerva Award, which recognizes “the most promising ideas and efforts to advance the planet toward sustainability.” This nomination adds to the considerable recognition that this innovative mHealth information service has already received. In June of this year, m4RH was one of ten recipients of the first African Development Bank eHealth Awards. Just a year earlier, Women Deliver 50! selected m4RH as one of the top 10 innovative technology programs supporting women and girls.

    The Katerva Award nomination highlights m4RH’s innovative packaging of reproductive health information and behavior change components in a single mobile phone technology. Using mobile phones, m4RH disseminates family planning information to the general public, as well as information on the nearest clinic that offers these services. One of the few text-messaging services globally that provides family planning information as a means of education and behavior change communication, m4RH has revolutionized the concept of informed choice in the provision of family planning information. With m4RH, any person with a mobile phone can access standardized, essential and comprehensive information in simple language. One user said, “m4RH is using terms you can understand, it has clear knowledge on what you want to know. It is simple to understand, simple language that everyone can understand.” Given that more than 85 percent of global citizens have mobile connectivity, the potential impact of this simple service is truly exciting.

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  • November 7, 2013

    Why family planning matters in the post-2015 development agenda

    Written by
    Ward Cates, Distinguished Scientist and President Emeritus, FHI 360
    Tricia Petruney, Senior Technical Officer for Global Health, Population, and Nutrition, FHI 360

    The sun is setting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In 2015, the world will shift its focus toward a new development agenda. We know that family planning improves the health and well-being of women and families around the world. Now, as the next-generation goals expand the focus from social and human development to also include economic and environmental objectives, we should not underestimate the positive ripple effects of family planning across all three areas.

    Let’s first remind ourselves of family planning’s connection to all eight MDGs. Family planning: generates wealth and reduces hunger (MDG 1); prolongs education (MDG 2); empowers women and girls (MDG 3); saves infants (MDG 4); improves maternal health (MDG 5); prevents pediatric HIV (MDG 6); reduces pressure on the environment (MDG 7); and promotes global partnerships (MDG 8).

    Moving beyond 2015, the three health-related MDGs are likely to be condensed into one goal (Ensuring Healthy Lives). It is reassuring to see that “ensuring universal sexual and reproductive health and rights” is among the five sub-targets proposed within this goal. Moreover, exciting new support for family planning has been generated by passionate champion Melinda Gates and through global movements like Family Planning 2020. This promising momentum will not realize its full potential, however, without bold, outside-the-box approaches that reach people with family planning information and services. Given family planning’s wide-ranging benefits, we must now strengthen support for it in development sectors beyond health.

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  • October 31, 2013

    Motherhood in childhood: Facing the challenge of adolescent pregnancy

    The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has launched the 2013 State of World Population report focusing on adolescent pregnancy. Motherhood in Childhood: Facing the Challenge of Adolescent Pregnancy highlights the main challenges of adolescent pregnancy and the serious impacts on girls’ education, health and long-term employment opportunities. The report also shows what can be done to curb this trend and protect girls’ human rights and well-being.

    Girls under 15 account for 2 million of the annual total of 7.3 million new adolescent mothers; if current trends continue, the number of births to girls under age 15 could rise to 3 million a year in 2030. While the report concludes that adolescent pregnancy is a much bigger challenge in the developing world, it is still an issue that needs to be addressed worldwide. In the United States, only about half of the girls who become pregnant as adolescents complete high school by age 22, compared to nine out of 10 girls who do not become pregnant. It also harms the economy as a whole, with nearly US$11 billion a year in costs to taxpayers in the United States alone.

    Follow #SWOP2013 to join in the conversation.

    Learn more about The State of World Population 2013.

  • October 22, 2013

    Promoting male involvement in Uganda

    Written by
    Johanna Harvey, Senior Communications Officer, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

    Since August 2012, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) has partnered with FHI 360 to engage men in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and other family planning services in Uganda. The project, titled, “Promoting Constructive Male Engagement to Increase Use of PMTCT Services,” encouraged clients to seek HIV/AIDS care and treatment services at eight health facilities in the Kabale District of Uganda.

    Studies have shown that male involvement in PMTCT and other family planning activities can reduce the risks of vertical HIV transmission (mother-to-child) and infant mortality by more than 40 percent. Educating male partners about HIV in general and how it is transmitted is essential to successful, long-term approaches to eliminating HIV/AIDS. A 2008 study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and South Africa’s University of KwaZulu Natal found that male involvement in PMTCT was linked to more people taking advantage of HIV testing, antiretroviral treatment, condoms, and support for infant feeding choices. What’s more, some women say they need their partner’s support in order to access HIV prevention, care, and treatment services, including PMTCT.

    To encourage male involvement, team members from EGPAF and FHI 360 consulted with leaders in the Kabale district, including district health officials, civic leaders, religious leaders, politicians, and community groups to discuss matters related to gender and HIV and family planning. The community leaders then nominated well-respected men from their community to serve as champions (called “Emanzi” in the local language) and role models for their peers and lead discussions on gender and health issues in their communities.

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  • October 17, 2013

    For World Vasectomy Day: Lessons from Rwanda

    Written by
    Dominick Shattuck, Scientist, Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, FHI 360

    Our SUV bounced along the dirt road through the Rwandan mountains, which are noted for roads complicated by switchbacks and steep descents but dotted with stunning sites. On one side of the car, tea farmers pruned the lush green bushes atop raised beds of rich, black soil. We were destined for the Kinihira Health Facility, and our goal was to provide vasectomies. We looked forward to hearing more from our clients, usually husbands and wives who want to provide better lives for their children, about what led them there.

    After two decades of experience in East Africa, I could not imagine that we would have many clients. Worldwide, less than 2.4 percent of men of reproductive age have had a vasectomy.1 In Africa, the prevalence of vasectomy is negligible, less than one percent. Studies on vasectomy in Africa have found that men and women have limited knowledge of the method and many misconceptions, including equating vasectomy with castration and attributing the procedure to a reduction in sexual performance or desire, weight gain and laziness.

    In reality, vasectomy is safe, effective and the least expensive long-acting or permanent contraceptive method.

    Since 2010, FHI 360 has been providing technical assistance to the Rwandan Ministry of Health to scale up the delivery of enhanced vasectomy procedures, such as no-scalpel vasectomies (NSV). NSV has significant advantages, including a very low failure rate (0.15 percent) and a decreased risk of surgical complications like bleeding. To increase demand for vasectomy, Rwanda’s Vasectomy Scale-up Program — one of the first national vasectomy scale-up efforts in sub-Saharan Africa — has strived to provide reliable access along with facts to dispel common myths about the procedure.

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  • October 16, 2013

    Improving global nutrition through stronger food systems

    An Interview with
    Sandy Remancus, Project Director, Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance III Project (FANTA), FHI 360
    This year’s World Food Day focuses on sustainable food systems for food security and nutrition. What is the relationship between food systems and nutritional outcomes?

    Through various initiatives — such as the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future Initiative, the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement and the 1,000 Days Partnership — the international community has made a significant commitment to improving nutrition around the world. To meet the goals of these efforts, we need to focus not only on clinical interventions to address malnutrition, but also on safe, healthy food systems that can lead to more sustainable, scalable results.

    A focus on food systems means making investments that put the right information and resources in the hands of communities and households to prevent malnutrition in a number of areas: improved dietary quality and food consumption (especially during the 1,000 days from conception to a child’s second birthday), better child-feeding practices, increased access to and availability of higher quality water and sanitation services, and healthier and more diverse agricultural production choices. Food systems should also include equity considerations, such as offering women and other economically disadvantaged groups greater opportunities to grow and earn from the production of nutritious food.

    Most of the world’s population at risk of malnutrition either grows its own food or buys it in local markets. In the past, agricultural programs focused on increasing the amount of food available. We now understand that healthy food systems should also focus on the production and availability of diverse foods that provide the nutrients needed for adequate nutrition and health. This is particularly important in order to prevent malnutrition in populations most at risk — children under two and pregnant and lactating women. Issues about food safety, which emerge all along the value chain — from the choice of inputs to the processing of foods — are also crucial to consider if we are to protect consumers’ health and nutrition.

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  • October 16, 2013

    On World Food Day, breast milk for a healthy start in life

    Written by
    Luann Martin, Associate Director, Communications, Alive & Thrive Project, FHI 360

    The theme of this year’s World Food Day is Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition. According to the World Food Programme, poor nutrition causes nearly half of deaths in children under five — 3.1 million deaths each year.1 Breast milk provides the perfect nutrition for infants through six months of age. Unlike formula, which is expensive to purchase and may not be safe or readily available, breast milk comes from a sustainable, secure source: mothers.

    The Tiny Tales video series, produced by FHI 360’s Alive & Thrive project, provides a glimpse into the project’s efforts in Bangladesh to improve nutritional outcomes for women, infants and children through counseling on prenatal nutrition and infant and young child feeding during the first 1,000 days of an infant’s life. The episodes show how one family’s life has been improved through access to healthy food, advice on exclusive breastfeeding and proper, timely introduction of complementary foods.

    Watch the episodes individually below, or click here to watch them in full.

    Episode One

    Sultana, a 26-year-old woman, awaits the birth of her second child in a rural village in northern Bangladesh. A community health care worker talks with Sultana to ensure she is getting nutrient-rich food and taking iron supplements daily during her pregnancy. The health care worker emphasizes the importance of breastfeeding within one hour of birth.

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  • October 15, 2013

    Making handwashing with soap a habit in Zambia

    Written by
    Bridget Kakuwa-Kasongamulilo, Knowledge Management and Communication Advisor, SPLASH, FHI 360
    Romakala Banda, Hygiene Behavior Change Technician, SPLASH, FHI 360

    The idea seems so simple. But, for millions of people across the globe, handwashing with soap and clean water is much easier said than done.

    In eastern Zambia, where we work, FHI 360 is improving access to clean water and sanitation facilities and encouraging healthy hygiene behaviors as part of the Schools Promoting Learning Achievement through Sanitation and Hygiene (SPLASH) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

    The need is great. According to a baseline survey conducted by SPLASH in 2012, only 28 percent of 564 schools surveyed had any type of handwashing facility. To fulfill this unmet need, SPLASH is creating permanent handwashing stations in four districts of Zambia’s Eastern Province (Chadiza, Chipata, Lundazi and Mambwe). Since 2012, SPLASH has constructed 760 toilets and rehabilitated 128 others, and installed 40 hand pumps with 2,500 litre water tanks at schools in Chipata, Lundazi and Mambwe.

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