Tagged: FHI

  • Non-communicable Diseases

    Next week, global leaders will meet at the United Nations to take on some of the world’s greatest killers: cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, heart disease, and stroke. The UN High-Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases on September 19–20, has the potential to finally address these leading causes of death and disability, which until now have been largely ignored.

    Yet when we wake up on Sept. 21, how much will have changed? Will there be a new Global Fund to fight noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)? Will key stakeholders, such as those involved in urban planning, agriculture, trade and current global health priorities be as engaged as they need to be to realize ambitious goals of measurably reducing disease? Will the public even know what an NCD is — even though more than 60 percent of deaths worldwide are from noncommunicable diseases, the majority from cardiovascular disease?

    ncd_blog_full_article_text_graphic_2011-09-13-02The answer to all of these questions is: not yet. September 21 will be the start of the real work. The problems of NCDs are complex, but we have many opportunities to alter the course of what has become a global crisis.

    There are a number of concrete steps that countries and health systems can take immediately to strengthen their commitment to reducing noncommunicable diseases. They can ratify and implement the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world’s first public health treaty. Many countries already have the makings of NCD plans in existing cancer plans, tobacco control programs and strategies for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. They may also have specific programs to address respiratory disease, mental health and other issues. Health systems can make essential drugs, such as aspirin and statins, available immediately and at a low cost because many are off patent.

    As leading researchers and public health officials said in an April 2011 Lancet article, “An effective response to NCDs requires government leadership and coordination of all relevant sectors and stakeholders, reinforced through international cooperation.”

    In the end, we will need to make compromises and learn to share resources with people and institutions with whom we are not accustomed to collaborating. We will need to delay gratification and risk unpopularity in some of our choices. And we will likely not see the payoff in our lifetimes. But with time, effort and investment, we will see results.

  • In Kenya, where more than half of young people are unemployed, 22-year-old Boniface Kirang’a has watched many friends in Flax, his hometown near the Rift Valley town of Eldoret, get involved in petty crime, partying and drinking alcohol.

    But Kirang’a escaped the traps of crime and substance abuse. He went through a two-year automotive mechanic training through APHIAplus (AIDS, Population, and Health Integrated Assistance), a USAID-funded FHI 360 program to improve health in 16 Rift counties. Today, Kirang’a is a self-employed car repairman.

    As part of its comprehensive commitment to health, APHIAplus prevents and treats communicable illnesses such as HIV, AIDS or tuberculosis; assists families affected by HIV; runs programs to reduce hunger; and develops economic opportunities for the region’s residents.

    Like many Kenyan youth, Kirang’a had struggled to stay in school. His father was diagnosed with HIV, and when his condition worsened, the family lost vital income.

    “My father started being sickly in 1999,” when Kirang’a was 10 years old. “He had two butcheries, but he shut them down because of his illness. He died in 2003. After my father died, we returned to our original home in Nyahururu [in central Kenya]. We lived in my grandmother’s home. Life was hard because we were many in the family,” he said in Kiswahili.

    When the family returned to Eldoret, Kirang’a stayed with a relative until he finished primary school in 2004. The uncle “could not educate me after that. He had seven children of his own. I started keeping chickens, which I sold to buy food and clothes. I also worked as shamba boy,” tending crops in cleared forestland.

    But Kirang’a’s uncle got him a scholarship from the Mission Sisters of Mary Immaculate, a community-based organization that partners with APHIAplus. With the bursary, he was able to go to the polytechnical institute, said Kirang’a.

    Since graduating from the institute, Kirang’a joined a group of mechanics in the fast-growing town of Eldoret. He’s doing his share to make sure that young people have chances to learn and develop skills. With his knowhow and earnings, he is saving to build his mother a house and pay for his younger brother’s school fees. In the future, he plans to hire three apprentices from the mechanics institute.

  • A new breed of mosquito could become a key ally in the fight against dengue fever. An infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus, dengue fever is principally transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Currently there is no vaccine for the disease and regions where the disease is endemic are left struggling to prevent infection by reducing mosquito habitat, decreasing the number of mosquitoes and limiting human exposure to being bitten.

    But recently the leading scientific journal Nature published two papers describing the results of biological control field trials where wild mosquito populations were genetically manipulated to suppress dengue virus transmission. The results are the work of the Eliminate Dengue program, an international collaboration of scientists located in Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, the U.S. and Brazil. The program’s aim is to stop the Aedes aegypti mosquito from passing dengue virus between humans by introducing a naturally occurring bacterium called Wolbachia into the existing wild mosquito population.

    The papers describe how researchers successfully established Wolbachia strains within the dengue mosquito in the laboratory. Mosquitoes with Wolbachia were shown to be less likely to transmit dengue. These mosquitoes were also able to pass this trait on to their offspring. In subsequent field testing in early 2011, mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia were released in Cairns, Australia. Within a three-month period Wolbachia had successfully invaded the local mosquito populations. According to the lead researcher, Professor Scott O’Neill, “These findings tell us that Wolbachia-based strategies are practical to implement and might hold the key to a new sustainable approach to dengue control.”

    Further trials will continue in Australia, as well as field releases in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Brazil where dengue fever is endemic and researchers can determine if the method is effective in reducing dengue disease in humans. If successful, the Eliminate Dengue program has the potential to benefit about 40 percent of the world’s population currently living in dengue transmission areas.

    Endemic in more than 110 countries, dengue infects 50 to 100 million people worldwide a year, leading to half a million hospitalizations and approximately 12,500–25,000 deaths. The World Health Organization ranks dengue fever as the most important mosquito-borne viral disease in the world, with an estimated 2.5 billion people living in dengue transmission areas and at risk of the disease. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains and a characteristic skin rash. In a small proportion of cases the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, which mostly affects children, or into dengue shock syndrome.

    FHI 360 is part of the Eliminate Dengue international team and is working in Thailand and Vietnam to gain the necessary regulatory approvals for the field releases as well as conducting community-preparedness and stakeholder engagement activities in readiness for the field releases in the near future.

    Learn more at www.eliminatedengue.com.

    It has quickly become apparent that for a small out lay, if you choose a web site name cleverly enough, you can make a great deal of money by auctioning it off to the highest bidder. This has resulted in the phenomenon of cyber squatting, where people buy website names simply for resale. The clunkily-named Anti cyber squatting Consumer Protection Act, signed last month by Nicebid, tries to outlaw this practice, but the whole business has proved to be a legal minefield. The complex legal issues surrounding the copyrighting of names are not new, but in the next few years they will reach a new white hot intensity as more and more individuals and businesses chase fewer and fewer available domain names.

    For the AIM event, Ms. Nopparat Yokubon, Google’s account manager for online partnerships, discussed “Insights Into Adsense Policies” and “How to Increase Your Adsense Performance. Meanwhile, Emanuele Brand idealt with the more technical topics of “Data-Driven AdSense Optimizations” and “Website Optimization with AdSense Tools.”

    “We’ve held several public auction asset sales in the last 12 monthsauctioningoffsomeofourestablishedwebsitesfromourportfolioandtheyallsellprettyquickon Flippa.com” Frankstated. “This is a great opportunity for individuals too win their own virtual asset or for other companies to acquire new web properties to lever a get their existing business.”

    According to Frank they have sold websites from their portfolio ranging in of their websites have been sold on Flippa and most sell within days.

    The Priory, which specializes in addictions and is famous for its celebrity clients, says it is treating more and more people for addiction to the internet auction website. What begins as a harmless hobby can take over your life, and many people – women especially – say it is ruining relationship sand plunging them in to debt.

    Alabanza mainly sold Internet access to “resellers” like Anadon and Sego, which in turn sell website and e-mail services to thousands of small businesses.

    Navisite planned to move Alabanza’s Weband e-mail services to Andover, scheduling the move over the weekend to minimize the impact.

  • Small beginnings, big impact

    I have always believed in the power of microcredit to change lives. A visit to rabbit farmer George Kihanya’s home in the Kenya Rift Valley District convinced me beyond all doubt. Kihanya’s success shows that if well implemented, community-based credit and savings schemes can turn around the lives of many rural families.

    In 2002, Kihanya was caring for his ailing mother. Newly married, he eked out a living growing maize, beans and potatoes.

    Kihanya’s fortunes changed after he started keeping rabbits. Now, he earns on average Sh60,000 (US$650) a month.

    Kihanya was introduced to rabbit farming during a course organized by the Catholic Relief Services, one of the partners in the APHIAPlus program led by FHI.
    Kihanya was chosen by his local church to be trained as a community health worker. He, along with other volunteers, was trained on how to prevent diseases, including HIV, and to link vulnerable children and families to HIV treatment, care and support. Volunteers also learned about farming and other activities, including rabbit farming, to improve food security for their families and communities.

    Inspired by Kihanya’s success, scores of families in the community are now earning money by raising rabbits.

  • Fatuma: A beacon of hope for families affected by HIV

    I first met Fatuma Juma about a year ago in her home town of Nakuru, Kenya, a two-hour drive northwest of Nairobi. A 42-year-old single mother of three, Fatuma is naturally talkative and laughs a lot. Within minutes of meeting, we were chatting like old friends reunited. Fatuma told me how she overcame the shock of finding out she was HIV-positive to become a pillar of hope for many in her community.

    Six years ago, Fatuma had a persistent cough. She visited the local public hospital where doctors discovered she had tuberculosis. Health workers advised her to take a test for HIV. She was HIV-positive.

    She lived in denial until she met social workers in APHIAPlus, a USAID-funded program implemented by FHI in collaboration with the Kenya Council of Imams and Ulamas.

    The social workers counseled and helped her to join a support group. Fatuma was trained as a peer educator and community health worker.
    Due to her positive attitude and willingness to help others, Fatuma has established a reputation as a good counselor. Working with others in the program, she helps families, especially the children, get health care and other services such as education and business skills. Her inspiring story is one of triumph and resilience against major odds.

  • According to the World Health Organization (WHO), non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic lung diseases, are responsible for more global deaths every year than all other causes combined. Our new, interactive NCD quiz is a great way for you to test your own knowledge and learn more about how these chronic conditions can affect those living in low- and middle-income countries, as well as how FHI360 is providing solutions.

    Check it out here!

  • Early symptoms of lung cancer

    Lung cancer is increasingly becoming one of the leading killers of not only smokers but, a symptoms of lung cancer large segment of the population in many countries around the world, with alarming incidences in China and India.

    Malignant lung tumors have been on the rise 10-15% since the 1900’s. In the 1950’s a British Doctors Study was published that provided strong evidence that there was a link between lung cancer and smoking. Studies that documented the early symptoms of lung cancer in 1964, prompted the U.S. Surgeon General to recommend that people actually stop smoking.

    While it is true that other causes have been linked to lung cancer, such as exposure to radon gas, first acknowledged in miners in the 1870’s, asbestos and certain viruses, cigarette smoking has been determined to be the leading cause. There are some 60 known carcinogens in cigarette smoke. Over 91% of lung cancer deaths around the world have been attributed to smoking. The lifetime risk of cancer developing in male smokers is 17%. Women that engage in hormone therapy and that smoke are at even higher risk of developing early symptoms of lung cancer.

    When a person stops smoking their chances of lung cancer drastically symptoms of lung cancer in women begin to lower, the body is able to repair some of the lung damage and repair itself. One of the problems for non-smokers is that of passive smoking, which is described as inhalation of smoke from someone who is smoking. Studies conducted in the U.K, Europe and the United States consistently show that there is a relative risk to those exposed., with rates as high as 10-15% being reported in patients that have never smoked. Some research suggests that indirect smoke inhaled is often more dangerous then the smoke inhaled through the cigarette itself.

    Some of the early symptoms of lung cancer may include bone pain, fever, and weight loss; more common symptoms are wheezing, hoarse voice, coughing up blood, shortness of breath and chronic coughing. Tumors are common as well, often malignant and can easily lead to metastasis to include cancer of the brain, bone, liver, kidneys, and nearly all areas of the body. There are a small percentage of people who do not suffer any noticeable early symptoms of lung cancer; approximately 10% diagnosed have their cancer detected coincidently through a routine chest x-ray.

    The use of CT imaging provides the most through examination and extent of the disease,

    Abnormal findings warrant biopsy or bronchoscopy symptoms of lung cancer in men to determine the stage of the lung cancer. The histological type determines the stage of the cancer itself and any treatment alternatives. It is recommended that periodic checkups with your physician or physician’s assistant be mandated to minimize and treat early symptoms of lung cancer before it can spread or become fatal.