Archive for category: Global Health

Information and stories about global health.

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Saving Calories & Lives

In recent years, technology and applications have had an increasingly philanthropic purpose. The latest of these technologies is the Share Your Calories application. The app was designed by Catherine Jones, a well-known author of nutrition cookbooks, Elaine Trujillo, a leader in nutrition, and Stop Hunger Now, an international agency aimed to end hunger across the globe.

The app can be used to help people lose weight while simultaneously providing food to people harmed by natural disasters. By adding a philanthropic purpose, the designers of the application aimed to give users another goal as well as more motivation to eat healthier. Studies also show that spending on others makes us happier than spending on ourselves, so the application, in and of itself, allows users to feel lasting happiness.

The application allows users to monitor their daily activities and food intake through a calorie bank determined by bio-data. If they do not consume all the calories in their calorie bank, the user has the option to convert the extra calories into monies. Once they have accumulated $12, the user has the option to donate to Stop Hunger Now.

Each Stop Hunger now high-protein dehydrated meal is equivalent to 250 calories and 25 cents.

The financial contributions from the Share Your Calories App go toward Stop Hunger Now meal packaging events. Each of these meals contains rice, dehydrated soy and vegetables as well as a vitamin-mineral pack. These meals are easy to store and have a shelf-life of 2 years.

These meals are currently distributed through host-organizations, but the funds from this application will also allow smaller groups and businesses to participate.

This application hopes to bring in $95,000 to build an android app, provide basic nutrition information, translate the app into different languages, etc. The Stop Hunger Now effort is supported by the Medical Science Foundation, TruBios Communications, iSO-FORM, The Ohio State University Food Innovation Center and the Experiment.

– Lienna Feleke-Eshete

Sources: IndieGoGo, FoodTank
Photo: Irish Red Cross

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Sochi, Brazil and a Global Health Nightmare

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The passing of four years signifies the completion of an important unit of time for the sporting world, a marker that brings the World Cup and the Olympic Games back, blissfully, to the forefront of the global stage with 2014 being no exception. This year, Brazil will host the FIFA World Cup and Sochi will host the Winter Olympics, to begin June 12 and February 6, respectively.

Headlines anticipate security concerns for both events, which include the threat of terror attacks, widespread protests and general mayhem.

In Sochi, officials have mobilized thousands of security cameras, instituted new security checks and passport screenings, deployed scores of military personnel and amped up surveillance to ensure that “everyone in the city… feel[s] at home and safe.”

Authorities in Brazil are making similar arrangements in hopes that extensive precautionary measures will entice tourists despite the nation’s — particularly, Rio de Janeiro — volatile and violent history. Furthermore, Colonel Alexandre Augusto Aragon, head of the Brazilian National Security Force, recently revealed that 10,000 hand-selected riot troops would police the 12 cities hosting soccer matches this summer.

These reports serve as reminders that mass gatherings, even of sportsmen, can spell danger for participants and fans alike. These events are, moreover, virtual breeding grounds for another invisible threat: pathogens.

The less-publicized public health risks inherent in occasions similar to the Olympic Games are familiar to virtually every global health organization. The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains a Global Alert and Response page dedicated to mitigating risks associated with mass gatherings, which top officials consider “a stress test for public health.”

Even nations with well-established health services and fully-briefed support staff can be overwhelmed by the burden associated with an unexpected outbreak in a mass gathering situation. Not only do gatherings draw visitors from a variety of geographic areas (read: different regions of germs) but they are also, by nature, densely packed and fraught with opportunities for transmission.

WHO officials employ the International Health Regulations to govern disease surveillance programs in the 196 countries that have agreed to certain legal rights and obligations described in the regulations in applicable circumstances. Should unexpected cases of influenza, polio or respiratory illness surface, Russia and Brazil will undertake highly targeted, pre-mediated actions to prevent a public health nightmare.

Unfortunately, very real risks to traveler and fan health go generally unmentioned by the press, whose stories generally touch on political and public interest stories associated with the Olympic Games and the World Cup. Any participant in 2014’s festivities should ensure that they are up-to-date with annual and seasonal vaccines, including the flu and measles.

Appropriate action and active awareness will spell gold for Russia and Brazil, nations hoping to leave a positive public health legacy on the landscape of sports history.

– Casey Ernstes

Sources: CBS News, The Huffington Post, The New York Time, The World Health Organization

Photo: The Age

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Why the GHIC Should be on Your Calendar

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On April 12, students, professionals and policy makers will come together for the Global Health and Innovation Conference (GHIC).  Taking place on campus at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, the conference will discuss methods and means of global healthcare development.

Topics to be addressed at GHIC range from the Key Note Address “Reducing Toxins to Protect Health: A Global Concern” to business innovations in healthcare delivery to student-researched projects about environmental sustainability.  By casting such a wide net of current and prospective advocates and leaders, the conference truly offers a diverse range of perspectives and solutions.

The conference is, furthermore, sponsored annually by Unite for Sight.  Unite for Sight is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing quality eye care for those who are prevented access to such care.  The organization has helped over 1.7 million patients and performed 66,000 sight-restoring operations worldwide.  As such a dynamic agency for global healthcare, Unite for Sight has hosted the GHIC for the past 11 years.

Past reviews of the conference are overwhelmingly positive.  CNN has called the Global Health and Innovation Conference a “Meeting of Minds,” and as speakers vary from CEOs to undergraduate students, such a convergence seems apt.  The Consortium of Universities for Global Health has even dubbed the conference a “must attend” event.  With such strong praise, it is no wonder the conference is now officially the largest global health conference in the world.

There is something intriguing and engaging for all global health advocates at the conference.  Exhibitions by graduate programs in Public Health and International Affairs, such as Brandeis University’s Keller School of Social Policy and Management, offer wonderful opportunities to learn more about making global development into a professional goal.  Interactive workshops in sustainable architecture and global health writing are also sure to be great draws.

– Taylor Diamond

Sources: Unite for Sight, Consortium of Universities for Global Health
Photo: Pragzter

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4 Impassioned Humanitarian Leaders

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Below is a list of four impassioned humanitarian leaders who are fighting to make the world a better place.

1. George Soros

George Soros has given billions of dollars over the years to humanitarian organizations. He is the financier and founder of the Open Society Foundation, an international foundation that promotes the expansion of human rights and democracy throughout the third world.

Founded in 1998, the group funds and has helped institute health and educational programs while also being driven to provide “greater fairness in political, legal and economic systems” throughout the world. The program touts initiatives such as the Burma Project, which promotes freedom of expression, as well as helping suppressed minority and political groups communicate their human right grievances in the political repressive nation of Burma.

The foundations has various programs throughout countless countries promoting freedom of expression and basic human rights.

2. Jon Hunstman

Jon Hunstman Sr. began his humanitarian activities after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1993. Founder of the successful Huntsman Corporation, his donations have accounted for billions of dollars. He founded the Hunstman Cancer institute, a non-profit research company that builds hospitals and develops new cancer fighting techniques.

The Hunstman Corporation regularly donates money to education institutions as well.

For example, the foundation donated 26 million dollars to Utah State University to help expand the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. They donated another 2 million dollars to enact the Hunstman Awards for Excellence in Education that reward exceptional school teachers and volunteers.

The foundation believes a strong domestic educational system will help enact significant positive change in America.

3. Tegla Laroupe

Female Kenyan runner Tegla Laroupe came to prominence in 2003 after winning 2 interntional half-marathons, attaining multiple world marathon records, and countless other titles. After retiring from marathon running, she devoted all her time to affect change in devastated communities throughout the world.

In 2003, she established the Tegla Lorupe Peace Foundation, an organization based around helping housing projects and educating children orphaned by political violence. The foundation has built schools throughout Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Southern Sudan.

The organization raises money through various programs, such as the Peace Races. The Moroto-Uganda Peace Race was held in the Moroto district of Uganda and helped raise money for orphaned children in the volatile region plagued by an unstable political situation and “banditry.”

4. Bill Gates

Bill Gates, founder of computer software powerhouse Microsoft, has spent his days of retirement giving back. He founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which spends most of their efforts fighting poverty and health risks such as malaria. The organization tackles grave crises through 4 major program initiatives.

The Global Development Division deals with food insecurity throughout impoverished communities, as well as sanitation and housing. The Global Health Division, furthermore, promotes technological and scientific studies such as vaccines and medical treatments throughout the developing world.

Their foundation also tackles domestic issues through the United States Division through supporting higher level education and high school.

The Global Policy & Advocacy Division is, in fact, the strategic portion of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which works to help advance their policies through national and international frameworks.

– Joseph Abay

Sources: Open Society Foundations (OSF), Huntsman Corporation, Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Photo: Channels

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Revolutionize Healthcare, Revolutionize the World

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In order to improve and manage community health, health advocates help organize a plethora of services ranging from health events to educational experiences. Advocates come in many different forms and settings. For instance, health advocates are generally doctors and nurses though other health advocates may come from a different professional background, such as social work. However, health advocates can also come from a background unrelated to medicine, so long as the individual is burgeoning with a passion that centers on raising awareness of health-related issues.

Individuals who work as health advocates will typically aid clients in improving their health care experience by ensuring that clients not only learn about but also have an opportunity to access available programs and resources. According to SoCal Health Advocates, individuals in this field often endeavor to improve the lives of clients by breaking down barriers that prevent people from access to quality healthcare in order to prevent serious illness or prevent relapses.

However, health advocacy is not limited to only physical health. Due to its nature of stigmatization, great effort has been expended into improving mental health advocacy as well. According to the World Health Organization, it is crucial for advocacy efforts to continue educating the public about mental illness in order to truly revolutionize not only the manner in which mental health is perceived but also improve access to mental health treatments.

As part of its mental health advocacy efforts, the WHO has created MiNDbank, an online resource that has pooled together information regarding global policies and services regarding mental health. One of the goals of MiNDbank is to facilitate open debate and discussion about mental health topics in order to promote human rights for mental health patients as well as improving the mental healthcare system as a whole.

It is imperative for advocates to work towards eliminating the stigma and ignorance regarding mental illness, particularly since individuals with mental disabilities are subject to maltreatment and discrimination on a daily basis. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, legal institutions have been unable to protect the basic human rights of these individuals.

Although the United States struggles with the burden of a stigmatized and under-funded mental healthcare system, many countries, lack adequate mental health facilities due to even greater stigma and a general lack of awareness. Therefore, mental health advocates strive to inform society about mental illness in order to reverse the disagreeable image of mental health patients, and ultimately, construct a more efficient, more understanding and more accessible global mental healthcare system.

– Phoebe Pradhan

Sources: SoCal Health Advocates, World Health Organization
Photo: IIR Healthcare

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5 Most Common Neglected Tropical Diseases

5 Most Common Neglected Tropical Diseases
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affect 1 billion people, or one out of every six individuals, every year. Half a million people die from NTD related effects, the majority of whom are impoverished children, women and persons with disability. Although methods of prevention and treatment are available, these diseases remain extremely common in parts of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The following list of NTDs represents approximately 90% of the global NTD burden, along with methods of treatment and prevention.

1. Onchocerciasis

Also known as “river blindness,” this disease is transmitted via black flies carrying the onchocerca volvulus parasite. The parasite causes debilitating itching and upon reaching the eyes, visual impairment and eventually blindness. It is the second leading cause of infection-induced blindness, behind Trachoma, with 37 million people infected with the disease.

A single, annual dose of Mectizan controls the disease and relieves symptoms. Some countries in Latin America successfully eliminated disease transmission after administering the drug for twenty years which lends hope to its possible elimination in the African continent.

2. Trachoma

One of the oldest infectious diseases known to mankind and the leading source of global blindness, is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. Eye-seeking flies transmit the disease from an infected person’s eye discharge to uninfected hosts.

Repeated infections result in a scarred interior eyelid thereby forcing eyelashes to turn inward thus scratching the cornea, all of which is followed by blindness. It affects about 21.4 million people, of whom 1.2 million are blind.

It is hyperendemic in remote poor rural areas of Africa, Central and South America, Australia and the Middle East.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the SAFE strategy (Surgery, Antibiotic treatment, Face washing and Environmental changes) to limit its spread.

3. Schistosomiasis

Or, snail fever, is a parasitic disease transmitted by freshwater snails to bathing or swimming humans. Urniary schistosomiasis progressively damages the bladder, ureters and kidneys. Intestinal schistosomiasis enlarges the liver and spleen, damages the intestines and creates hypertension of the abdominal blood vessels. It affects 200 million people, and in children can impair growth and cognitive development.

A single dose of praziquantel with repeated community distribution treats and controls the disease.

4. Soil-transmitted helminthes

Affects more than 880 million children around the world. The intestinal worms may result in diarrhea, abdominal pain, anemia, general malaise and severe infection can impair growth and cognitive development.

Improved sanitation, health education and the periodic administration of anthelminthics to at-risk groups limits the rate of transmission.

5. Lymphatic filariasis (LF)

Also known as elephantiasis, is a mosquito-borne disease which results in painful swelling of the limbs and genitals. Over 120 million people are currently infected and nearly 1.4 billion people are at risk in 73 countries.

The WHO recommends yearly large-scale Mectizan and albendazole doses for four to six years to interrupt transmission.

This information was compiled from the Neglected Tropical Disease NGDO Network, World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control.

– Emily Bajet

Sources: Neglected Tropical Diseases (NGDO) Network, WHO, WHO Programmes, Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)
Photo: Bullion Street

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Sanitation and Poverty

Sanitation and Poverty
Two and a half billion people – over a third of the entire world’s population – have no access to adequate sanitation facilities, which leads to the rapid spread of disease and heightened child mortality rates. Most commonly, poor sanitation practices lead to diarrhea: little more than an annoying byproduct of bad hygiene practices for first-world residents, it is often fatal in developing countries. In fact, it is estimated that 5,000 children die daily from complications related to the ailment. Consequently, one person dies every minute due to the lack of basic sanitation.

Why is the lack of well-formulated means of sanitation such a large problem in modern times, when technology has reached such an advanced stage? One reason is the negative stigma associated with it: the discussion of toilets simply feels dirty or inappropriate and is not as popular nor does it appear at first glance as urgent as, for example, the issue of access to drinking water. However, the two are related and equally pressing; disease control is an impossible goal without proper sanitation adjustments. In many places around the third world, toilet stalls are completely nonexistent. Essentially, this means that people are forced to defecate in public, populated areas, leaving waste behind which will remain on the ground spreading disease. Just a gram of human feces may contain as much as ten million viruses and a hundred parasite eggs.

Besides the obvious health benefits, according to the World Health Organization (WHO,) improved sanitation in developing countries would provide $9 economic benefit per $1 spent. The year of 2008 was dubbed by WHO as the International Year of Sanitation. Through various conferences and seminars, five key principles of sanitation were determined: 1. Sanitation is vital for human health. 2. It generates economic benefits. 3. It contributes to dignity and social development. 4. It helps the environment, and most importantly. 5. It IS achievable. South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are two regions most affected by poor sanitation practices. Coincidentally, they are also the two areas with the highest death rates from various diseases. It is especially prevalent in rural areas, where open defecation is six times more likely and use of unimproved sanitation is four times higher than in urban areas. Being one of the 2015 Millennium Goals, improved sanitation should not be taken for granted. To heighten the quality of sanitation is to improve the quality of life as well as economic efficiency for millions of individuals worldwide. In this day and age, no one should have to defecate publicly; not only for reasons of dignity and civility, but also due to personal awareness and dedication towards reducing of the spread of deadly disease.

– Natalia Isaeva

 

Sources: The Global Poverty Project, World Health Organization: International Year of Sanitation, UNICEF: Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation

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Big Impact of Baby Footprints

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In one of the largest countries in Africa, a new program is working to change the outcome of premature births with a simple footprint.  Tanzania is home to an estimated 46,218,000 people who earn an average of $570 per year.  With about one third of its people living below the national poverty line, Tanzania is regarded as a ‘developing country.’  The term ‘developing country’ is described by Princeton as “a nation with a low level of material well-being.”  A common reality in developing countries is the limited or complete lack of access to medical assistance, whether a hospital, pharmaceuticals or a birth attendant.

The latter is an issue that can have devastating consequences.  In low-income countries, about 40% of births are unattended by a trained, medical professional.  Whether or not they are equipped with modern tools and resources, a trained professional is better able to determine the dangers and necessary steps to take before, during, and after birth, especially regarding premature babies.  Of the approximately 10% of infants worldwide born prematurely each year, about one million die, with over 80% of those deaths occurring in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

At present, Dr. Joanna Schellenberg and a team at Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) in Tanzania are researching a strategy with the potential to have a global impact.  The research began by attempting to solve how to reduce premature infant deaths without requiring entire health systems to be constructed (and funded) first. This is especially important since one of the greatest obstacles facing health care in rural areas is the absence of equipment.  However, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 75% of preterm infant deaths could be prevented without the use of intensive care and modern resources.  Premature infant weights are under 5lb 5oz, yet since scales cannot be assumed to be available, the IHI team came up with another measurement: the size of a baby’s footprint.

Volunteer health workers visit villages with a laminated card picturing two footprints.  The health workers measure infants’ feet against the pictures and determine how to proceed based on their size.  If the infant’s footprint is the same size or larger than the bigger footprint, then the child is not premature.  If the footprint is between the two sizes, it may be premature but not necessarily in danger.

Health workers then proceed with suggestions on how to promote infant health such as holding the child skin-to-skin for warmth, or how to breastfeed effectively.  Finally, if the footprint is smaller than both samples, about 67mm or less, the mother is directed to the nearest health center where the infant can receive potentially life-saving care.

The strategy just described is called “Mtunze Mtoto Mchanga” which translates to “Protect the newborn baby,” a concept that local women have been quick to support.  With the persistent visits and encouragement by the project’s health workers, support has grown into a greater compliance by the public. Though the project will continue for another six months before clear results are available, the team is already poised to implement it throughout Tanzania.

The laminated-card system is not only relatively simple to duplicate, it also demonstrates potential self-sufficiency amongst rural women.  Moreover, once the procedure and subsequent actions are ingrained, the individuals could monitor their babies themselves without the need for health workers help with premature birth testing.

The versatility of the project only heightens anticipation for the results of the study.  If successful, the IHI project could mean saving up to three-quarters of a million infants each year with just a footprint.

– Katey Baker-Smith

Sources: World Health Organization, Princeton University, United Nations Data, The World Bank, BBC
Photo: Giphy.com

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Rwanda Redefines HIV Care

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In a country where just 20 years ago, genocide claimed nearly one million lives, the Rwandan government has revamped HIV treatment for the poor by reforming the standards of successful care.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are now over 7.5 million people receiving antiretroviral therapy, 150 times as many as a decade ago. Medications have become easier to manage and overall, more effective, forcing some patients to take no more than one pill each day. Also, HIV testing has become much more widely available and the virus is being detected at an earlier stage before the circumstances are too dire.

In Rwanda, many HIV patients are taking their medications as directed, medication which suppresses the virus in their bodies to the point where it is essentially non-detectable. Success here is achieved when the HIV positive individual can earn a living, support their family and care for their community no differently than uninfected individuals. Furthermore, patients who would have previously been hospitalized with severe complications of HIV are now receiving regular preventive care.

The steps forward being taken in this small country are undeniable. Compared with 54 percent of medical patients worldwide, 91 percent of Rwandan patients who require HIV medications have access to life-saving treatment. Even more encouraging, 98 percent of women undergo HIV testing during their prenatal visits. In a country with only one doctor for every 17,000 people, nurses and community health workers have been trained to provide HIV services that were before, only available from physicians. Aggressive media campaigns by the government and other international organizations remind and encourage the public to “Know Your Status” while targeted outreach programs concurrently focus on the high-risk groups.

Rwanda is one of the first sub-Saharan countries to nearly eradicate the transmission of HIV from mothers to their newborns. Due to this, the number of new HIV cases has been cut in half during the last decade, and perhaps soon, it will fulfill the dream of accomplishing an “AIDS free generation.”

– Sonia Aviv

Sources: The Atlantic, The World Bank, BWH Global Health
Photo: AIDS Health

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WISH Summit Innovates Health Care Systems

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The inaugural World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) – a conglomeration of entrepreneurs, business leaders, academics and technicians in the health space – convened last week in Qatar. As its title suggests, WISH serves as an arena for international delegates to create and implement innovative, nontraditional solutions to pressing issues in global health.

One participant, Londoner Lord Darzi of Denham (chairman of the Institute of Global Innovation at Imperial College), succinctly stated after the announcement of the Summit that “WISH is about action.”

Qatar’s newfound consideration as a hub for frontline innovation- principally through the Qatar Foundation- landed the nation the opportunity to host the prestigious two-day summit event. The Foundation has been on the forefront of the nation’s “visionary national health strategy” and initiated a first-of-its-kind investigation into the healthcare systems of eight major world players, the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, India and Qatar. The Global Innovation Diffusion Report, unveiled on the second day of the summit, presented a well-researched report card of how each nation fosters and incorporates innovation to maximize health outcomes for their citizens.

The report noted both victories and areas in need of improvement for the eight nations of study. Each succeeded on a general level in identifying and addressing doctors and involving patients in treatment. Unfortunately, however, every nation but Qatar fell short in matching research-based suggestions with real changes in the health care space. Expert assessments of appropriate technological or practical innovations were ignored for different reasons in each nation.

In Spain and the United Kingdom, the least innovative countries, funds for research and development are scarce. New ideas simply cannot get off the ground because there is no money to put wind in their sails to begin with. Australia, Brazil and South Africa were slightly more successful than their European counterparts, but need to improve incentives for academics and policymakers who spread innovation. The United States and India showed a consistent, but small, gap between the ideal and reality.

The thorough case study concluded that innovation is most successfully spurred in the United States when incorporated into (or alongside) insurance and the accompanying payment system. Incidentally, the report identified the rollout of Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) programs as a major success for the U.S. in terms of innovation implementation. PCMH programs encourage primary care providers to tailor payments around patient outcomes and foster cooperation between medical and social services.

Moving forward, hot areas of progress for medical innovation will likely include: the application of mobile technology to share and store medical information; policymaking that encourages clinicians to adopt new ways of working; mobilization of resources to allow coordination between researchers and clinicians; and the development of an “innovation culture” and leadership among front line health care professionals.

Delegates representing our nation will undoubtedly confer about these recent findings and carve out a designated space for innovation in discussions touching on future policies, programs and technologies.

– Casey Ernstes

Sources: Gulf News, NCQA, PR News Wire, World Innovation Summit for Health: Home, World Innovation Summit for Health: Global Diffusion
Photo: Vintage 3D