, , , , , ,

Ebola Virus Disease is Back

Ebola Virus DiseaseImagine traveling 1,316 kilometers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Uganda seeking medical help for your nine-year-old daughter who seems to have been infected with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

On August 29, 2019, a nine-year-old girl from the DRC was exposed and later developed symptoms of this rare and fatal disease. She was identified at the Mpondwe-Kasindi border point and then sent to an Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC) in Bwera, Uganda. Sadly, not too long after her arrival, the child passed away.

This sporadic epidemic has come back yet again and bigger than last time. This disease has infected the North Kivu Province and has caused more than 2,200 cases, along with 1,500 deaths just this year. Thus, making this the second-largest outbreak in history following behind the 2014-2016 outbreak that killed about 11,000 people. As of September 4, 2019, a total of 3,054 Ebola Virus Disease cases were reported. Out of that total number of cases, 2,945 of them were confirmed reports and the rest of the 109 were probable cases. Overall, 2,052 of those people died.

This disease has had a total of 25 outbreaks since its first flare-up in the Ebola River in 1967. It has plagued countries spanning from the West to sub-Saharan Africa and has a 25 to 90 percent fatality rate. Even though reports are coming from 29 different health zones, the majority of these cases are coming from the health zones of Beni, Kalunguta, Manima and Mambasa. About 17 of these 29 health zones have reported new cases stating that 58 percent of probable and confirmed cases are female (1,772), 28 percent are children under the age of 18 (865) and 5 percent (156) are health workers.

This 2019 case is different because of the way that Ebola Virus Disease is affecting an area of the country that is undergoing conflict and receiving an influx of immigrants. The nation’s “political instability,” random acts of violence and “limited infrastructure” also contribute to the restricted efforts to end the outbreak.  As of June 2019, the disease started its expansion to Uganda, with four cases confirmed near the eastern border shared with DRC, South Kivu Province and Rwanda borders. The World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative of Uganda, Yonas Tegegn, stated that whoever came into contact with the nine-year-old patient had to be vaccinated.

Out of the five Congolese who had contact with the little girl, four of them have been sent back to their country for “proper follow-ups.” Another 8,000 people were vaccinated against Ebola due to “high-risk areas in the country.”  Overall, 200,000 people in DRC have been vaccinated against EVD along with “health workers in surrounding countries.” With this being said, there is no official vaccination that is known to effectively protect people from this disease. Therefore an “effective experimental vaccine” has been found suitable enough for use. Also, a therapeutic treatment has shown “great effectiveness” in the early stages of the virus.

Ugandan authorities have taken matters into their own hands, strengthened border controls and banned public gatherings in areas that have been affected by EVD. According to the August 5, 2019 risk assessment, the national and regional levels are at higher risk of contracting EVD while the global level risk is low.

The Solutions

The World Health Organization (WHO) is doing everything they can to prevent the international spread of this disease. They have implemented the International Health Regulations (2005) to “prevent, protect against, control and provide international responses” to the spread of EVD.

This operational concept includes “specific procedures for disease surveillance,” notifying and reporting public health events and risks to other WHO countries, fast risk assessments, acting as a determinant as to whether or not an event is considered to be a public health emergency and coordinating international responses.

WHO also partnered up with the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) to ensure that proper “technical expertise” and skills are on the ground helping people that need it most. GOARN is a group of institutions and networks that use human and technical resources to “constantly alert” one another to rapidly identify, confirm and respond to “outbreaks of international importance.”  WHO and GOARN have responded to over 50 events around the world with 400 specialists “providing field support” to 40 countries.

– Isabella Gonzalez Montilla
Photo: Flickr

, , , , ,

The Future of Peek: Vision Health for All

The Future of PeekThe world is experiencing a vision crisis. In total, over 200 million people around the world are visually impaired, and 7 million people develop blindness every single year. One-third of those who seek help and health care for their eyes are unable to obtain it. Developing countries are the most at risk, with 90 percent of individuals suffering from vision impairment living in underdeveloped nations. The organization Peek is seeking to change this, and the future of Peek could mean health care for everyone.

What is Peek?

Peek is proof that great things often come from small ideas. The organization began as a simple, developing research project in the International Centre for Eye Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Now, Peek consists of two entities: The Peek Vision Foundation, an official charity in the United Kingdom, and Peek Vision Ltd, a manufacturing company that develops medical devices for people all over the world.

Peek began with smartphone apps and hardware that provided affordable and accessible eye examination kits that could be used in every home, school and community. This hardware, the Portable Eye Examination Kit (PEEK), was used in 50 schools in Kenya in 2015 to evaluate 20,000 children who otherwise would have been left in the dark concerning their eye health. Further, Peek’s individual products, Peek Acuity, the smartphone app that examines vision, and Peek Retina, a portable ophthalmoscope that captures detailed images of the retina, are currently being used in over 150 countries around the world.

The Future of Peek

Now, Peek is moving beyond portable eye examination kits and onto how technology can play a role in making sure health care is readily available for everyone, everywhere. Concerning Peek’s future journey, Daisy Barton, head of communications and PR at Peek, wrote, “Today, we’ve moved beyond developing and validating our basic technology to building software systems that capture the information from smartphone-based eye health screening and surveys. To bring better vision and health to everybody, we need to understand where people fall through the gaps when trying to access eye care and how eye care providers can ensure their systems improve.”

Their smartphone-based eye care kits laid the foundation and proved that there was a viable way to test vision anywhere in the world using only a smartphone. Now, Peek is building upon that foundation to ensure nobody gets left behind when it comes to vision health.

Tracking Universal Health Care

Universal health coverage seems like a tall order, but Peek is following the lead of organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Goals for Sustainable Development to make it possible. For example, officials from the WHO along with the United Nations are working to develop specific indicators of health that enable different countries to mark their growth and advancements along their journeys toward universal health care. These indicators cover a variety of topics concerning different aspects of health. While the official list of indicators will not be announced until later in 2019, a preliminary list announced that there would be at least two indicators involving eye health.

Part of the struggle in making universal health care a reality is the impracticality of measuring every single aspect of a country’s health coverage; however, Peek is playing an important role in overcoming this challenge. Peek is using their smartphone-based software to provide countries and organizations with raw data that can be used to help develop certain health care indicators. This data allows health services to analyze and evaluate statistics pertinent to making universal health care a reality. Barton said this information includes “who is attending treatment, where they are based, and what the outcome is.”

Peek, along with the development of the rapid assessment of avoidable blindness eye health survey, is using and developing advanced technology and software to measure the aforementioned vision indicators as well as to develop treatments in a cost-effective, accurate and practical way. Their work will be fundamental in ensuring universal health care and improved vision worldwide.

With members of Peek all over the world, and offices in England, Pakistan, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Botswana, it is only a matter of time before Peek’s vision of eye care and universal health care is achieved. The future of Peek along with their groundbreaking work will ensure that those who so often fall between the cracks will no longer be left behind.

– Melissa Quist
Photo: Flickr

, , , ,

PIVOT: Health Outcomes in Madagascar

Health Outcomes in Madagascar

Off the coast of Mozambique, 80 percent of Madagascar’s population lives in extreme poverty. In these conditions, malnutrition thrives, increasing the population’s susceptibility to diseases that are no longer fatal elsewhere, like tuberculosis and diarrhea. USAID estimates that 100 children in Madagascar die daily from common preventable diseases. One NGO, PIVOT, is trying to make a difference in health outcomes in Madagascar.

Health Care in Madagascar

In 2014, Madagascar boasted the lowest reported per capita health spending in the entire world, $13.56. Even though the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights declared health to be a basic human right, 50 percent of children suffer from chronic malnutrition and one in seven children die before the age of five in Madagascar. Further contributing to poor health outcomes in Madagascar, the country’s national health policy often demands that patients locate drugs and the money to pay for all services before seeking treatment.

Such a policy, with no possibility of delayed payment, often disincentives impoverished people who need care from seeking treatment. Health policies like this, coupled with poor a transportation infrastructure, make delivery and distribution of medical care and supplies very challenging. In rural villages in Madagascar, community health clinics are often a two to 12 hour hike depending upon the village. For those struggling with illness, such a hike is often not an option.

PIVOT’s Solution

In southeastern Madagascar in the Ifanadiana district, PIVOT “combines accessible and comprehensive health care services with rigorous scientific research to save lives and break cycles of poverty and disease.”After they establish a model health system in this district, they hope to export it to all of Madagascar and eventually resource poor areas all over the world.

Located in a mountainous rain-forested area in the Vatovavy-Fitovinany region of southeastern Madagascar, the Ifanadiana district is home to over 200,000 people. In 2014, Ifanadiana’s mortality rate for children under the age of five was more than double the rate for the rest of the country — coming in at 1,044 per 100,000 live births. PIVOT selected the Ifanadiana, saying, “if we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.”

Partnered with the Madagascar Ministry of Health, Partners in Health, Centre Val Bio and Harvard Medical School, PIVOT began in January 2014 to establish a model health district in Ifanadiana. While many of these partners seem logical, dealing with humans has been a change for Centre Val Bio, formerly a biodiversity research lab who was central to establishing the Ranomafana National Park in Ifanadiana. Madagascar is known for its extreme biodiversity; species live there who live nowhere else in the world.

Targeted at improving health outcomes in Madagascar, PIVOT’s model health district consists of a clinical program within a tiered system of community health centers, regional centers and hospital care. Their clinical programs include Emergency, Patient Accompaniment, Malnutrition, Tuberculosis, Maternal Health and Child Health. Within this clinical structure, PIVOT is pursuing an aggressive data collection program. The health indicators they are focusing on are focusing on Maternal Mortality, Under-Five Mortality, Lifetime Fertility, Composite Coverage Index and the Percentage of People Covered by PIVOT.

As of 2017, PIVOT was reaching 37 percent of the Ifanadiana district. By 2018, they were covering 61 percent of the population and as of 2019, 70 percent benefited from their services. PIVOT hopes that 2022 will mark complete coverage and a total implementation of Ifanadiana as a model health district under PIVOT’s protocols. PIVOT’s own data suggests that from 2014 to 2017 they oversaw a decline in both the maternal mortality rate and the under 5 mortality rate. The maternal mortality rate declined from 1,044 to 828 and the under 5 mortality rate fell from 136 to 114.

Working with the Ministry of Health, PIVOT is helping to implement pilot fee exemption programs. According to their data, only one-third of patients accessed facilities where point-of-service fees were in place; however, with the introduction of fee exemptions the use of healthcare increased by 65 percent for all patients, 52 percent for children and 25 percent for maternity consultations. The fee exemption pilot program cost on average 0.60 USD per patient. Currently, external donor support is essential to the survival of these programs.

Due to a successful democratic election in 2014, international sanctions were lifted which in turn opened the door to increased health spending from national and international sources. PIVOT seems to be making a difference in the Ifanadiana district, and hopefully their revolutionary model health district will spread to the rest of the country reshaping health outcomes in Madagascar as a whole.

– Sarah Boyer
Photo: Flickr

, , , , , , , ,

New HIV Drug Implemented In Kenya

HIV Drug Implemented in Kenya
In 2017, there were approximately 36.9 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Additionally, 6.1 million of those with HIV were located in western and central Africa. Kenya, a country in eastern Africa, had approximately 1.5 million people living with HIV/AIDs in 2017. That same year, an HIV drug implemented in Kenya started to successfully combat this deadly immune system virus. Unitaid and the Kenyan government simultaneously introduced it to the country.

Dolutegravir and Antiretroviral Therapy

The new HIV/AIDS drug, Dolutegravir or DTG, received approval in 2014 and is the most recent and effective antiretroviral drug used in the treatment against HIV/AIDs. DTG has been the drug of choice in high-income countries for its antiresistance properties, few side effects and easy one pill a day treatment. In 2015, the World Health Organization recommended this drug replace other first-line regimens for adults and adolescents. Recently this drug was not available in low-income countries, like Kenya, because of its high cost.

In 2018, only 62 percent of people with HIV/AIDs had access to antiretroviral therapy, which was an increase from the previous year. This corresponds to the 23.3 million people who were able to receive treatment, however, approximately 14.6 million people could not access treatment. In Kenya, 75 percent of adults with HIV/AIDs received treatment in 2018, which increased from 2016, when only 64 percent of people received treatment. One reason for the increase in HIV/AIDs testing is the partnerships between the government of Kenya and Unitaid that began in 2017 which introduced the generic brand of DTG.

Now, the generic brand of this life-saving drug has been available to people in Kenya since early 2018. This new HIV drug implemented in Kenya has the potential to make life-saving drugs more accessible to those who would normally not be able to afford it. In 2017, a number of nonprofits including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Unitaid, USAID, PEPFAR and others agreed to a pricing agreement to help make the drug more affordable in developing countries. This pricing agreement would allow public sector purchases at $75 per person, per year.

Side Effects of Other Drugs

Before the introduction of DTG, the first-line drug in Kenya was Efavirenz, an antiretroviral medication with side effects for some users including nausea, dizziness, rash and headaches. When the pricing agreement first emerged, the Kenyan Ministry of Health decided that the first round of DTG it distributed would go to 27,000 people who suffered the negative side effects from efavirenz. Then, the Ministry of Health assigned various other health clinics to receive the drug until it could become available to the entire country.

The number of new HIV/AIDs diagnoses in Kenya has halved over the last decade to approximately 80,000 people a year. The new HIV drug implemented in Kenya will only help decrease the number of people suffering from HIV/AIDs. Comprehensive sex education, HIV/AIDs testing centers and the continuation of drug pricing agreements will help alleviate the prevalence of HIV in developing countries, like Kenya.

– Hayley Jellison
Photo: Flickr

, , , , , , ,

5 Global Health care Organizations Everyone Should Know

five global healthcare organizationsIn 2017, the World Health Organization and the World Bank have reported at least half of the world’s population does not have access to essential health services, such as medical care and health care. WHO and the World Bank have also reported this causes millions to live in extreme poverty, as they must pay out-of-pocket health care expenses. Although this is a global and life-threatening problem, there are many nongovernmental organizations dedicated to providing care to those who in need. Here are five global health care organizations you should know, all of which accept donations.

5 Global Health Care Organizations Everyone Should Know

  1. Doctors of the World
    Doctors of the World is an international human rights nonprofit committed to providing long-term medical care to those who cannot afford it. With over 400 programs in more than 80 countries, this organization is located in war zones, refugee camps and even rural communities. Doctors of the World successfully provides emergency and long-term medical care to those who greatly need it. In doing so, this organization treats those afflicted by poverty, disease, armed conflict, natural disasters or chronic, structural disparities. Doctors of the World helps treat 1.6 million people each year.
  2. Medic Mobile
    Medic Mobile is a nonprofit organization that strives to improve health care for those living in hard to reach communities. To do so, Medic Mobile builds software to ensure health care workers being able to deliver equitable care to communities everywhere around the world. Moreover, the organization is the core contributor to the Community Health Toolkit. CHT is a software that helps health workers deliver medical items safely, track outbreaks of disease faster, treat illnesses door to door, keep stock of essential medicines and communicate emergencies. Medic Mobile now impacts 14 countries in Africa and Asia, having trained and equipped 24,463 health workers.
  3. International Medical Corps
    International Medic Corps is a nonprofit organization with a mission based on improving the quality of life by saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs. Based in the United States and the United Kingdom, International Medic Corps offers training and health care to local populations. The organization also provides medical assistance to those at the most risk. In 2017, International Medic Corps estimated it performed 4.8 million medical consultations, benefitting 8 million people directly and 50 million people indirectly.
  4. Mothers 2 Mothers
    Mothers 2 Mothers is a unique nonprofit organization dedicated to employ, train and help to empower HIV-positive women as community health workers in Africa. The “Mentor Mothers” work in local African communities and understaffed health facilities. They provide advice, essential health education and support to other HIV-positive mothers on how to protect their babies from HIV infection. Mothers 2 Mothers also works to ensure women and families are getting proper health advice and medication, are linked to the right clinical services and are supported on their treatment journey. Since 2001, Mothers 2 Mothers has reached over 10.5 million women and children. In 2017, the organization reported it had served 1 in 6 of the world’s HIV-positive women.
  5. Mercy Ships
    Mercy Ships is an organization committed to helping those struggling without medical services in Africa. To do so, the organization uses the Africa Mercy, a floating hospital ship with volunteer medical teams and sterile operating rooms. As a result, Mercy Ships directly aids those who would otherwise receive no care. Aboard the Africa Mercy, medical treatments are free of charge, such as removing tumors, correcting clefts and straightening legs. Since being founded in 1978, Mercy Ships has reported it has performed more than 100,000 surgeries.

Access to medical care and healthcare are necessary, affecting global health, economy and living conditions. To learn more about any of these five global healthcare organizations, visit their sites. All five global healthcare organizations accept donations to continue providing much needed medical and healthcare. While a country’s infrastructure may not currently be equipped to meet the needs of its population, NGOs, such as these, can make a significant difference.

– Natalie Chen
Photo: Flickr

, , , , , , ,

How Mental Health in Developing Countries is Improving

Mental Health in Developing Countries
Due to conflict, poverty and disease, mental health is a serious issue that might not be addressed in some areas around the globe. However, six different projects in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Vietnam, Pakistan and Haiti are examples of how mental health is improving in developing countries.

Kenya: Africa Mental Health Foundation (AMHF)

In 2004, Professor David Ndetei founded AMHF in hopes to improve the mental health of underprivileged individuals in Kenya. He heavily invested in training psychiatrists in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Nairobi in order to ensure high-quality mental health care for patients. A previous project that AMHF completed was The Kenya Integrated Intervention Model For Dialogue and Screening (KIDS). This program focused on treating mental illnesses in children and adolescents and preventing further mental health problems in adulthood.

Zimbabwe: The Friendship Bench

According to facts and figures supported by The Friendship Bench, one in four Zimbabweans suffers from common mental disorders. Poverty, marital problems and HIV all play a role in rising mental illness in Zimbabwe. The Friendship Bench attempts to combat kufungisisa, kusuwisisa and moyo unorwadza, which are all Shona terms for anxiety and depression, by employing lay health workers. These workers, also known as community grandmothers, speak with patients in casual and comfortable environments, provide home visits and offer support via mobile phones and tablets.

The Friendship Bench also has a key focus in community activation. After patients complete their therapy treatments, they are referred to a post-therapy support group with others who suffer from similar disorders. The effectiveness of The Friendship Bench proves to be successful — an assessment after six months of treatment and therapy groups resulted in the prevalence of depression decreasing by 10 percent in Zimbabwe.

Uganda: Group Support Psychotherapy

Although Uganda has been acknowledged for HIV/AIDS treatment and awareness efforts in recent years, the mental health implications of being diagnosed and the stigmas surrounding these diseases need improvement. Funded by Grand Challenges Canada and conceptualized by Dr. Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu, the Group Support Psychotherapy program helps treat depression in HIV/AIDS patients by implementing positive coping skills and helping patients obtain a liveable income.

The results of this program are impressive. After 6 months it was reported that an astounding 85 percent of patients claimed to have recovered from their depression. They also reported positive changes in terms of self-esteem and their ability to function in social situations.

Vietnam: Frugal Innovations – Promoting Mental Health Among Adults and Children

According to a 2011 study conducted by the World Health Organization, Vietnam ranked last among 144 low and middle-income countries on the basis of access to mental health treatment. The Frugal Innovations project, led by Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, launched this two-year pilot program to assist low-income adults in Vietnam. Two methods were performed in this project: community health workers were trained to help those suffering from anxiety and depression and coaching via telephone to help families with children who suffer from behavioral difficulties.

The pilot program was deemed a success. With further funding, this program will expand across nine provinces in Vietnam and offer child and family-focused components of treatment. If this program continues to succeed, an estimated 4,250 Vietnamese citizens with depression will have access to treatment.

Pakistan: Family Networks for Kids (FaNS)

Family Networks for Kids, created by The Human Development Research Foundation (HDRF), helps children through mental health treatment and helps families of these children cope with the stigma and other challenges that come along with mental disorders. These treatments are technologically based, through tablets that provide interactive activities for children to complete. This technology is also beneficial for the entire family. Parents or other guardians can answer questions through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR), which helps identify developmental disorders in children. This saves time and money by families not having to visit a doctor.

An assessment of this program showed positive results from participating children. Children that finished treatments reportedly had an increase in engagement with school and societal functions and improved self-care. With further training and funding, HDRF hopes to continue the FaNS program and help an estimated 3,000 more children and adults with mental health treatment.

Haiti: Zanmi Lasante

The biggest health care provider in Haiti, Zanmi Lasante, was founded in 1983. However, mental health treatment was not a key focus of this organization until the catastrophic earthquake that occurred in 2010. Four core issues focused on the most were depression, epilepsy, psychotic disorders and mental illnesses in children and adolescents.

Mental health treatment through Zanmi Lasante is normally offered through primary care services. Traditional healers, community health workers, psychologists, social workers, nurses and physicians are all employed through the organization for mental health treatments towards patients.

Leaps and Bounds

These six projects display how much mental health has improved in developing countries. Thousands of adults and children have been diagnosed and treated with various mental disorders due to these initiatives, benefiting from the expertise of trained professionals and generous amounts of funding. Due to their successes, these projects will continue to expand and help more people in need of treatment.

– Maddison Hines
Photo: Pixabay
, , , ,

Student Organizations Can Improve Global Health

Student Organizations Can Improve Global Health
Many of the health crises in the world today are not only preventable but often man-made. However, disease outbreaks, conflict-created health emergencies and inefficient healthcare systems continue into 2019. Though there are very real threats to global health, there are also organizations working tirelessly to tackle these global health challenges. The efforts of internationally-focused college clubs, like GlobeMed at the University of Denver and Global Medical Training at the University of California, Berkeley, demonstrate that student organizations can improve global health.

GlobeMed at the University of Denver

GlobeMed at the University of Denver started in 2011 and is one of 50 college chapters across the U.S. The broader organization focuses on health disparities across the world by encouraging each chapter to partner with a grassroots health organization to work on local community health projects. GlobeMed at DU partners with Buddhism for Social Development Action (BSDA) in Kampong Cham, Cambodia, an organization started by Buddhist monks with the intention of bettering their community.

Jakob Allen, a Global Health Unit Coordinator for GlobeMed at DU, told The Borgen Project that their co-founders, Victor Roy and Peter Luckow, “realized that the key to sustainable project implementation was to listen and form a relationship with the local community. Too many NGOs today do not assume the population they are working with knows what is best for their community; GlobeMed at DU works to shatter this fallacy by working with our partners to find out what the community believes to be the best solution,” said Allen. “We then work to help make their visions a reality.”

How GlobeMed at DU Helps

Currently, GlobeMed at DU has two active microloan income generation projects, Chicken Raising Project (CRP) and Financing Futures (FF). The money generated by GlobeMed at DU goes towards financing these current projects, which were decided upon by BSDA with input from the community, according to Allen.

The beneficiaries of CRP are families with at least one member living with HIV/AIDS. Allen told The Borgen Project that the goal is to provide each family with a loan to purchase chickens and supplies, “thus enabling sick beneficiaries to cover their own medical transportation costs and receive appropriate treatment.” For the Financing Futures project, the beneficiaries are families with school-aged children. The intention of this project is to provide families with a microloan to start or expand a current business. The reduced cost to run the business encourages families to send the children to school.

Daniel Rinner, a Global Health Unit Coordinator for GlobeMed at DU, told The Borgen Project it is extremely important for GlobeMed at DU that health is not thought of solely in terms of medicine and healthcare institutions. “We also have to consider the social determinants of health: why certain health problems exist in the locations and communities that they do,” said Rinner. “We’ve had chapter meetings on how we can analyze gun violence as a public health issue and how Puerto Rico’s economic and political circumstances coincided with Hurricane Maria to create a public health disaster in our own country, for example,” Rinner added.

The ability to think critically regarding the larger dynamics of globalization and poverty and then utilize this knowledge in local communities is one of the reasons student organizations can improve global health.

Global Medical Training: University of California, Berkeley

Another example of how student organizations can improve global health is Global Medical Training (GMT) at the University of California, Berkeley. GMT is a national organization offering the opportunity to go to Latin American countries and experience “hands-on” clinical work for college students interested in policy or health care careers, according to Angela H. Kwon, President of U.C. Berkeley’s GMT chapter.

Andrew Paul Rosenzweig, Vice President of U.C. Berkeley’s GMT chapter, told The Borgen Project their goal is to reach communities with little access to healthcare. “Many Latin American countries’ health care is focused in populated cities, so we provide more rural communities with these resources,” said Rosenzweig.

In addition to providing healthcare resources to rural Latin American countries, GMT at U.C. Berkeley focuses on implementing public health and sustainability projects. “We recognize the limitations of being in a host country for only a week at a time…[so] the goal of these [public health] projects is prevention rather than treatment,” said Rosenzweig. “Educating individuals on how to live healthier lives can have tremendous impacts on not only their own life but the lives of their family and community.” GMT has worked with rural Latin American communities to teach the significance of healthy eating, reproductive health, dental hygiene and hypertension.

GMT: A Piece of a Larger Movement

When asked whether the “hands-on” approach of GMT at U.C. Berkeley has been successful in creating change in Latin American countries, Kwon told The Borgen Project that this “would be an overstatement. It’s only a very tiny step and the beginning [of] a bigger movement, which is sustainability and health equity.” Though Kwon stated that week-long trips to rural areas do not create immediate or lasting effects, she claimed “it’s a start and any contribution can help. It’s like a ripple effect.”

Kwon added, “Of course, as college students, our knowledge of medicine is limited but…we’re educating future practitioners or professionals about global health and sustainability. Although cliché, we’re making a difference in the patient’s day by providing them with answers, medication and showing them that we care.”

GlobeMed at DU and GMT at U.C. Berkeley’s efforts, with their dedication to education and prevention, understanding of the larger dynamics of poverty, and care for international communities, are a perfect example on how student organizations can improve global health.

– Kara Roberts
Photo: Flickr

, , ,

Younger Generations Stand up to End HIV in Fiji

HIV in Fiji
Fiji, a country located in the South Pacific, consists of 300 islands and has a current population of over 914,000 people. Although Fiji has one of the lowest prevalence of HIV in the world, HIV cases and the risk of HIV are consistently increasing. Luckily, young people are educating themselves in order to fight against HIV in the country. They are becoming involved in this topic and trying to achieve the United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS.

Meeting in Suva

In October 2018, according to The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), 24 teenagers attended the meeting in Suva, Fiji, desiring to distinguish the factors that would put young people at risk of HIV.

Fiji’s Global HIV/AIDS Progress report states that less than 1,000 people were living with HIV in 2014 in the country. Out of the age group between 15 and 49 years old, around 0.1 percent had a virus. Despite these statistics, HIV cases are beginning to increase as there were 68 new HIV cases in 2014 and 50 more in 2015.

In a hope to prevent any further new cases, especially in younger generations, teenagers who attended the meeting identified what could possibly risk the youth’s health regarding HIV.

UNAIDS states that attendees noticed and appreciated the steps Fiji has taken to reduce the risk of HIV, including policies created in order to establish a clearer access to HIV services for young people. Yet, the participants identified that Fiji needs to address the lack of access to condoms, harm reduction programs, stigma and discrimination.

Youth Knowledge on AIDS

A representative of Reproductive Family Health Association, Swastika Devi states that while many younger generations are quite aware of how HIV is prevented and transmitted “many of them are not aware that antiretroviral treatment exists.” This is why they desire to get and share access to this information as well as a program to attain it. Although about 300 people in people are receiving the antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Fiji, young people might not be aware of this.

Youth that attended this meeting suggested and agreed to not only conduct a youth advocacy network regarding sex education and reproductive health but they also desired to involve youth leaders from certain communities and areas that deal with HIV to increase advocacy and engagement in fighting against this epidemic. They have connected with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Fiji as well as Fiji’s World AIDS Day.

The UNAIDS Country Director in Fiji, Renata Ram, has also desired for youths to get involved in eradicating the HIV epidemic. She states that because this epidemic is affecting younger generations, they should be involved and lead their own communities to help those that are affected.

Inter-faith Strategy on HIV and AIDS

Fiji already had a strategy regarding the reduction of HIV prevalence called Fiji’s Inter-faith Strategy on HIV and AIDS. This strategy was active from 2013 to 2017. It involved faith-based responses to this epidemic that aimed to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS but also cared for and supported those that were affected. The strategy included involving organizations that are faith-based in order to eliminate HIV infections, discrimination and AIDS-related deaths as well as creating strategies and actions to achieve all these goals.

Despite the fact that Fiji has one of the lowest HIV prevalence in the world, this is still a growing epidemic in this country and this problem cannot be ignored. Luckily, young generations have every desire to end HIV in Fiji, and they want to help those affected with this disease. Fighting against HIV in Fiji within younger generations is not only helping to better the country, but also better the future.

– Charlene Frett
Photo: Flickr

, , , ,

How Glasko Smith Kline Fights Poverty Through Global Healthcare

Glasko Smith Kline Fights Poverty
Around the world, health challenges are coupled with extreme poverty. Those who live in and experience extreme poverty are more likely to suffer from diseases and lack equipment to fend off and eradicate those diseases. However, organizations are working to provide vaccinations and medications globally to those in need. An excellent example of one such organization is Glasko Smith Kline — a group who fights poverty through global healthcare.

What is Glasko Smith Kline?

Glasko Smith Kline (GSK) is a “science-led global healthcare company with a special purpose: to help people do more, feel better, live longer.” The company hopes to be innovative in their methods of healthcare by trying to reach as many people as possible. Glasko Smith Kline Fights Poverty through three areas of research and development in pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines and consumer healthcare products.

In the pharmaceutical arena, GSK is currently working on new medicines for HIV diseases and oncology. The organization has been a leader in respiratory disease for over forty years and has strengthened its repertoire of medications in recent years. GSK has an extensive portfolio for their vaccinations — they deliver two million vaccine doses per day to over 160 countries. Lastly, the consumer health care business focuses on oral health, pain relief, respiratory, nutrition and skin health. GSK leads in both over-the counter healthcare companies worldwide and rankings within the Wellness category in 36 markets.

GSK championed the effort to develop the first ever malaria vaccination, which took approximately thirty years to develop. Although preventative efforts have decreased the number of African children dying from malaria, vaccinations continue to decrease the mortality rate.

First Steps Towards Change

As of 2017, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi were set to begin the pilot vaccine with young children the following year. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) goal is to eradicate malaria by 2040, and as WHO works to implement these vaccines, GSK will eventually work to analyze the vaccine’s effectiveness and side effects. These findings will compliment the pilot evaluation data.

According to Access to Medicine Foundation’s index of drug companies, Glasko Smith Kline ranks first out of drug-making companies in its availability to developing companies. This nonprofit also reports that GSK’s major strength is research, and that its development projects are in need of further attention.

GSK and Save the Children

Glasko Smith Kline Fights Poverty in partnership with an organization called Save the Children. Save the Children advocates for children’s rights, basic needs and human rights. This organization works towards increased education, lower mortality rates and better health for the most vulnerable of human beings.

Save the Children recognizes that poverty is a common cause that effects a child’s future; therefore, the organization works to give a child a healthy start to life. The goal of the global partnership between GSK and Save the Children is to combine their expertise of global health and children rights to provide resources to save the lives of one million of the world’s poorest children.

Overall, Glasko Smith Kline Fights Poverty through multiple avenues. They utilize their strengths in consumer healthcare, vaccinations and medications, research breakthrough finds, and deliver these solutions to the people who are most in need. Also, by collaborating with other organizations, GSK is able to expand its reach to eradicate poverty through their passion for global healthcare.

– Jenna Walmer
Photo: Flickr