Discussion of climate change typically involves natural phenomena: raging wildfires, record flooding, ruinous drought. Less frequently examined, but equally important, is the effect of our warming planet on a child’s right to education.
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In 2010, around 390,000 children under age 15 became infected with HIV, mainly through mother-to-child transmission. However, with effective interventions, mother-to-child transmission can be virtually eliminated to save the lives of thousands of children every year. One effective, evidence-based intervention is the preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) component of FHI 360’s Zambia Prevention, Care and Treatment Partnership (ZPCT). This USAID-funded program, which ran from 2004–2009 —and was renewed through 2014 as ZPCT II— serves as a model for other countries.The ZPCT I program increased the percentage of pregnant women in antenatal clinics who accepted HIV tests and received test results from 45 to 99 percent. Among women who tested positive for HIV, the program increased the percentage of women who received a full course of antiretroviral prophylaxis from 29 to 100 percent. Most importantly, observational data from ZPCT sites showed an HIV acquisition rate of 6.5 percent among children ages 0 to 6 weeks where the mother and infant received interventions, compared with 20 percent where no intervention was given to either mother or baby. The fact that this highly effective intervention costs merely US$113–126 per mother makes a compelling case for replicating it in other contexts.
To support program designers who wish to replicate this program, FHI 360 produced Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV: Implementation Starter Kit. This starter kit describes and provides access to all programmatic materials and tools (such as training materials and job aids) used by ZPCT and provides basic guidance on replicating effective programs. We hope that such an effective and low-cost intervention will be reproduced in other country contexts and that it will generate the same life-saving results.
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New USAID Policy and FHI 360’s Community YouthMapping Approach Let Young People Drive Development
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The recently released Youth in Development policy from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) puts youth squarely on the map in international development. As a supporter of positive youth development, I was particularly happy to see support for the engagement of youth, “elevating their voices and ensuring meaningful opportunities to contribute to resolving issues and promoting positive change in their communities and nations.”
Putting young people in the driver’s seat of the development of their communities and countries actually works. Several years ago, on the hot, dusty streets of N’Djamena in Chad, I walked alongside pairs of energetic young people sporting white shirts, blue backpacks and baseball caps. The young women and men were interviewing community members in an outdoor market using a process we taught them called Community YouthMapping (CYM). Their goal was to collect data about gaps in services and opportunities for young people in the neighborhood. The same exercise was taking place throughout N’Djamena in diverse neighborhoods, northern and southern, Christian and Muslim, rich and poor. An analysis of the complete data set would be reported back to the communities and used by the youth and youth-led organizations to develop and implement social, cultural and economic activities for urban youth.
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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.
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December 14, 2012
What can we achieve together in 2013? Share your vision on Twitter.
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Bitra George, India Country Director at FHI 360, discusses the role of innovation in human development.
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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.”
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Cascade Helps Keep People Coming Back for HIV Treatment
Last year, we celebrated 30 years of progress in the fight against AIDS. This year, let’s celebrate World AIDS Day by looking forward.
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The road to elimination of new pediatric HIV infections: FHI 360’s contribution
We’ve been at this challenge of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV for more than a decade, and the international community is looking for ways to measure the effectiveness of everyone’s efforts...
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One day at a time: A closer look at Zambia
FHI 360 supports Zambia’s Ministry of Health to create conditions in which newborns can enter the world HIV free. With support from USAID and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and under the Zambia Prevention Care and Treatment Partnership (ZPCT II), FHI 360 is working to...
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HIV early infant diagnostic: Opportunity and challenge to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV
The last decade has seen significant progress in the implementation of PMTCT programs. Success has been measured using process indicators, such as the number of pregnant women provided with counseling and testing services...
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Toward elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Zambia: Early infant diagnosis specimen referral system
Great progress is being made toward eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Zambia...
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FHI 360 Commends PEPFAR Blueprint Release; Reinforces Commitment to Shared Vision of ‘Getting to Zero’
FHI 360 applauds today’s release of the PEPFAR Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-free Generation.
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Expanding access to male circumcision in Zambia: The ZPCT II experience
Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is among the most efficacious HIV prevention tools available, reducing the risk of acquisition by as much as 60 percent according to published data from randomized clinical trials...
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Building a strong partnership with community is essential to ending AIDS
This has been a tremendous year in the fight against AIDS. One year ago, at the National Institutes of Health, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a historic speech calling for an “AIDS-free generation"...
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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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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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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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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.