This week, April 1-7, is National Public Health Week here in the United States. This week is sponsored by the American Public Health Association and is part of a national effort to focus on the achievements of public health and the most important health issues currently being faced by the country. There are events going on all over the country as well as daily themes and the option to put on your own event or become an overall partner in NPHW. National Public Health Week has been an annual event since 1995 and the APHA picks a new theme each year that focuses on a specific health issue in America. This year's theme is "Public Health is ROI [Return on Investment]: Save Lives, Save Money." According to the official NPHW website, "The 2013 NPHW theme was developed to highlight the value of prevention and the importance of well-supported public health systems in preventing disease, saving lives and curbing health care spending." Check out the NPHW website here to find an event near you! Cheers to public health and prevention efforts worldwide!
Decreased Prevalence of Malaria in Ghana
Ghana’s prevalence of malaria is on the decline and it’s believed that the distribution of long-lasting, insecticide-treated mosquito nets are behind the decrease.
Mr Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey, Communications Officer of the National Malaria Control Programme of the Ministry of Health, reported that deaths among children under five decreased slightly, from 1,539 in 2011 to 1,129 in 2012. Deaths among pregnant women dropped from 918 in 2011 to 476 in 2012. Additionally, in-patient death cases at hospitals decreased from 3,259 in 2011 to 2,815 in 2012. Mr. Gakpey believes that the mosquito nets are responsible for the majority of the decline of malaria deaths and that the country would have seen an even greater decrease if not for the tendency of malaria to be over diagnosed.
In 2012 Ghana began a countrywide campaign to reach universal coverage of two people per mosquito net, a campaign that reached 24 million people in Ghana. In 2008 only 38% of households in the Ashanti, Central, and Upper West Regions owned mosquito nets but in 2012 that number increased to 86%. Mr Gakpey said that the Ministry of Health will make sure that this progress is sustained and that antenatal and child welfare clinics as well as schools will be targeted sites for distribution of the longer-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets this year.
This decrease in malaria deaths in Ghana comes right on the cusp of International Malaria Month, which is during the month of April, with World Malaria Day on April 25.
Read it here.
Looking Forward to Future Containers
While our most recent container is en route to Ghana we have already begun working on organizing our next containers with our partners at MedWish International. Although still very early in the planning stage we are very excited for this next shipment! We hope to ship within the coming month and look forward to the wonderful equipment and supplies that are sure to fill the container.
Next Container Shipped to Ghana!
With the hard work of our wonderful partners at MedWish International and Missionary Expediters, MedPLUS Connect shipped our next container to Ghana! This container is heading to the Sisala West and Tumu District Hospitals and holds 13,814 pounds of medical equipment and supplies! In addition to the women's health and OBGYN focus we discussed last week this container also includes equipment such as crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, IV poles, and crash carts. We were also able to send several nebulizers and pulse oximeters. We are so excited that this container is now en route to Ghana!
IV poles and wheelchairs included in this container.
Focusing on Women's Health on International Women's Day
"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization, but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights" -Gloria Steinem Every year on March 8 people around the world celebrate International Women’s Day. This day both celebrates the great achievements women have made so far and draws attention to the global challenges women still face, according to internationalwomensday.com, a website dedicated to supporting International Women’s Day and promoting the causes behind it. Today MedPLUS Connect is considering both the progress that has been made and the progress that is still to come for women’s health in developing countries.
Coinciding with International Women’s Day and a focus on women’s health, our current container to the Sisala West and Tumu District Hospitals has an OBGYN emphasis. Included in the supplies on this container are speculums, handheld fetal dopplers, and labor and delivery beds. It is our hope that these supplies, in addition to the general medical equipment such as gauze, gloves, and sutures, will help improve the health of both women and their children throughout Tumu and the Sisala West district.
Next Container Staged
This past week I visited MedWish International to see the items that we're sending on our next container. Due to the hard work of our wonderful partners the container is fully staged and ready to ship by mid-March! This container will be going to the Sisala West and Tumu District Hospitals and includes a wide range of equipment including an ultrasound machine, pulse oximeter, and mixed medical supplies. We are very excited that all of these supplies will be on their way to Ghana soon!
Furniture and Supplies Purchased for Nutrition Center
Last week our In Country Director, Ackom, traveled to Tamale to meet Patience Gaa, the Nutrition Officer who will be in charge of programs for the Nutrition Center, to purchase furniture and supplies for the center. With the help of Dr. Ziem from the Tamale Rotary Club, Ackom and Patience were able to purchase a fridge for food preparation and storage, plastic tables and chairs for nutrition education meetings, measuring bowls and cooking utensils. Patience and Kofi were also able to purchase blankets that will keep malnourished patients warm while being treated at the center. Patience then traveled from Tamale to Lawra to bring all of the supplies to the Nutrition Center. We are so excited to be one step closer to having the Nutrition Center ready to open!
IV poles and wheelchairs included in this container.
Fridge and tables for the Nutrition Center.
Plastic chairs for the Nutrition Center.
Seeking Computer Donations
MedPLUS Connect is seeking computer donations! We are looking for both desktop and laptop computers for our future container that is destined for both Sisala West and Tumu Hospitals. The laptops will help field workers keep track of patient's health information and enable them to continue their education. The desktop computers will be used at the hospitals and local health centers to improve patient care and keep track of patient's information as well. These computers will be invaluable to Sisala West or Tumu. If you have any computers you would like to donate please contact us at director@medplusconnect.org. These donations are tax exempt and we will gladly provide you with a donation receipt immediately after donation. Unfortunately, we can not accept a donation of a computer older than 5 years due to the limited opportunity for repairs in case of any problems. Thank you so much for your consideration.
Two Studies Produce New Lifesaving Information on the Treatment of Malnutrition
More than 20 million children worldwide are affected by malnutrition and over one million children die each year. That’s why the fact that two studies recently produced the first new information about the causes and treatment of malnutrition is so important.
Both of these studies were initiated due to a disturbing observation. Although enriched peanut butter, also known as therapeutic food, is the best-known method for treating malnutrition, some children were dying despite having received it. Other children were failing to weight gain as much as they should have. Scientists have believed these results were due to infections or unusual conditions in the stomach- now they have two studies to prove it.
The first study showed that simply giving an antibiotic the usual treatment regimen can save tens of thousands of lives. Incorporating either amoxicillin or cefdinir as part of the treatment for malnutrition helps prevent and fight of the infections that malnourished children are more likely to catch. The results from the studies were so effective that the World Health Organization will most likely recommend greater use of antibiotics in their recommendations for treating malnutrition, to be published next month. Using antibiotics for just a week helped produce greater weight gain and improved children’s chance of survival.
The study involved 2,767 children with severe malnutrition who were randomized to receive either a placebo or antibiotic with their therapeutic food. 7.4% of the children taking placebo died, compared to 4.1% of children taking cefdinir and 4.8% of children taking amoxicillin. This translates into 2-3 lives saved per every 100 children treated. In a million children this could mean saving more than 20,000 lives. And just a weeklong treatment with antibiotics is unlikely to produce antibiotic resistance.
The second study showed that kwashikor, a form of malnutrition that is perplexingly only developed by some children with malnutrition, may be caused by an imbalance of bacteria in the stomach. The study showed that the use of therapeutic food helped improve this condition and reduce malnutrition.
This study looked at twins 3 years and younger, some with kwashikor and some without. They found that children with kwashikor had a less diverse system of bacteria in the stomach than the healthy children. When fed the therapeutic food, the microbiome in the children with kwashikor improved and diversified but the improvement disappeared when the therapeutic food was stopped. The study showed that for the improvement to last, the regimen of therapeutic foods must be continued for longer than the couple of months that is currently recommended.
Both of these studies, although researching different aspects of malnutrition, produced new information that will be invaluable to improving the treatment of malnutrition, saving thousands of children’s lives worldwide.
Read the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/health/antibiotics-can-save-lives-of-severely-malnourished-children-studies-find.html?_r=1&
A Year in Review: MedPLUS Connect in 2012
During our 2011-2012 shipment season MedPLUS Connect sent a total of 5 containers to the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions. With these five containers and the help from our wonderful partners at MedWish International and Missionary Expediters, we shipped a total of 73,429 pounds, 197,721 examination and surgical gloves, and 69 hospital beds.
This year also marked the beginning of “regional shipments.” With these shipments we work with the Regional Health Directorate in Ghana to build containers of supplies requested by many different hospitals and health centers in that region. The greatest benefit of sending a regional shipment is our ability to reach small rural health centers and clinics. With the provision of much needed medical supplies and equipment these clinics are able to expand into primary providers which helps eliminate the long commutes that sick patients often have to make to receive care. In 2012 we were able to send two regional containers to the Northern Region and one regional container to the Upper East. We also expanded our partner hospitals to include Tumu District Hospital in the Upper West and Bole District Hospital in the Northern Region.
The regional shipments were so successful last year that we are sending two more regional containers in 2013! One will go to the Northern Region and one to the Upper East Region. We will also continue to expand by sending three containers to new hospitals in the Upper West and Upper East Regions. Last year saw much progress for MedPLUS Connect and we are very excited for this upcoming year!
Our Partner Hospitals
Welcome Isha!
MedPLUS is excited to announce that we have a new intern! Isha Sharma is a Junior at Case Western University. She is studying Global Health, Medical Anthropology, and Public Policy and ultimately hopes to attend medical and/or law school. She has already had some great ideas for MedPLUS and we are very excited to have her join our team!
Gains and Losses in Polio Eradication
In February of 2012 the World Health Organization removed India from the list of countries endemic with Polio, one of the great global health achievements of the year. Since 1988 the incidence of polio has decreased by 99% and there were only 223 cases of polio reported in 2012. Only 6 of these cases came from countries other than the three remaining endemic countries. Globally, this is the lowest number of cases in a 1 year period in 10 years.
Despite being removed from the list of endemic countries, strenuous surveillance programs and large-scale vaccination campaigns continue in India to make sure transmission isn’t reestablished. Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan are the remaining three countries with transmission of the wild poliovirus and Nigeria and Pakistan are considered to be the two countries that will present the biggest challenge to complete polio eradication.
Angola, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are three countries with previously eliminated polio that showed transmission in 2012, accounting for the 6 cases mentioned above. The reestablishment of transmission in these three countries has some worried that the time for completely eradicating polio may have passed and that polio could come back in full force. Thus, the continued efforts to eradicate polio are of heightened importance. According to Dr. Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control, “’If we fail to get over the finish line, we will need to continue expensive control measures for the indefinite future…More importantly, without eradication, a resurgence of polio could paralyze more than 200,000 children worldwide every year within a decade.”’
Read the CDC update here: http://www.cdc.gov/polio/updates/
A Year in Review: Strides in Global Health
2012 saw many momentous advances in global health, the first of which happened in the first month of the year.
- In January India no longer had active transmission of polio- leaving only 3 countries in which the disease is still endemic.
- In March, WHO and UNICEF announced that the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water had been met. In the decade between 1990 and 2010, over two billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources.
- In July WHO issued its first guidance on the use of HIV medication, or antiretrovirals (ARVs), as a means of protection against HIV. Clinical trials showed that using ARVs in HIV-negative people can reduce the risk of HIV infection by up to 75%.
- In the last 10 years the mortality rate in children under 5 decreased from 12 million to 6.9 million children. Although progress is increasing, there is still a defecit before the MDG of reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds by 2015 can be reached.
- In December the 100 millionth person was vaccinated with an innovative, affordable meningitis vaccine. This vaccine has been highly effective in reducing the prevalence of meningitis in 9 countries throughout Africa where meningitis has been a heavy burden.
- Other landmarks in global health during 2012 included the introduction of a new tool to help countries improve mental health care, renewed focus on increasing access to family planning, and the creation of a global monitoring framework to fight non-communicable diseases, which are increasingly becoming a problem in low and middle income countries.
Last year was an exciting year for the field of global health- we’re hoping 2013 will be even more successful!
See even more advancements in public health here: http://www.who.int/features/2012/year_review/en/index.html
Nutrition Center So Close to Being Finished!
Last week our in country director, Ackom, visited Lawra to see how the nutrition center's construction was progressing. We are so excited to announce that the workmanship is excellent quality and the center is closer than ever to being finished! Although the process has faced many delays, from the rainy season to being unable to truck wood in, the nutrition center is now almost complete and will be able to begin treating patients in the very near future. Ackom will also soon travel to Tamale to help make purchases for the nutrition center in partnership with the Tamale Rotary Club. Here are a few pictures of the center from Ackom’s trip:
Election Day in Ghana!
In the US, today is a day of remembrance for the events that took place in Pearl Harbor in 1941. But today in Ghana marks new beginnings: Its election day in Ghana and the entire country is taking part. Many take off work and travel to their hometowns and villages to cast their vote. Campaigning for president is a long intensive effort, just as it is in the US, and we saw many signs and billboards promoting candidates when we were in Ghana this summer.
Voting took place at over 26,000 polling stations where voters were choosing a president from 8 potential candidates. Among the candidates is President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who was sworn in as president when the current president, John Evans Atta Mills, died suddenly in July of this year. The main contender against the incumbent president is Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who ran in 2008 and lost to President Mills.
The other presidential candidates include: Dr. Henry Herbert Lartey of the Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Mr. Akwesi Addai Odike of the United Front Party (UFP), Mr. Hassan Ayariga of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Dr. Michael Abu Sakara Forster of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), and Jacob Isaac Osei-Yeboah, an Independent Candidate.
In addition to the presidency, voters also voted on candidates for Parliament. There were 1,332 candidates, including 134 women, competing for 275 seats.
The election today used a biometric registration and verification process- a first in Ghana’s voting history. Although voting was peaceful, there were widespread problems with many of the verification machines, which prevented voters in those polling stations from actually being able to vote.
The polls officially closed at 17:00 today and the country (and world) will know who the new president is within 72 hours.
Read the article here.
World AIDS Day- PEPFAR Blueprint for an "AIDS-free Generation"
Today is World AIDS Day. Earlier this week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released PEPFAR’s (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) “blueprint for the AIDS-free generation.”
Earlier in November Secretary Clinton stated: "The goal of an AIDS-free generation may be ambitious, but it is possible with the knowledge and interventions we have right now. And that is something we’ve never been able to say without qualification before. Imagine what the world will look like when we succeed."
“Now, make no mistake about it: HIV may well be with us into the future. But the disease that it causes need not be. We can reach a point where virtually no children are born with the virus, and as these children become teenagers and adults, they are at a far lower risk of becoming infected than they are today. And if they do acquire HIV, they have access to treatment that helps prevent them from not only from developing AIDS, but from and passing the virus on to others.“ This is what Clinton foresees as an AIDS-free generation to be.
Secretary Clinton’s revealing of the PEPFAR blueprint comes on the heels of the UNAIDS announcement of a drop of 50% or more in the number of new HIV infections in 25 countries. Secretary Clinton also announced that the number of people being treated for HIV/AIDS is now at 5.1 million, a 200% increase since 2008. If the number of new infections continues decreasing and the number of people being treated for HIV continues increasing eventually we will be treating more people that are becoming infected. “That will be the tipping point,” states Clinton. “We will then get ahead of the pandemic, and an AIDS-free generation will be in our sight.”
To achieve this goal, PEPFAR’s blueprint is founded on the following principles:
- Make strategic, scientifically sound investments to rapidly scale-up core HIV prevention, treatment and care interventions and maximize impact.
- Work with partner countries, donor nations, civil society, people living with HIV, faith-based organizations, the private sector, foundations and multilateral institutions to effectively mobilize, coordinate and efficiently utilize resources to expand high-impact strategies, saving more lives sooner.
- Focus on women and girls to increase gender equality in HIV services.
- End stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and key populations, improving their access to, and uptake of, comprehensive HIV services.
- Set benchmarks for outcomes and programmatic efficiencies through regularly assessed planning and reporting processes to ensure goals are being met.
Using these principles, PEPFAR’s blueprint is built on several road maps—the Road Map for Saving Lives; the Road Map for Smart Investments; the Road Map for Shared Responsibility; and the Road Map for Driving Results with Science—that each “contain specific goals and comprehensive action and implementation steps” towards an AIDS-free generation.
Also, we just sent out our holiday newsletter today! If you aren’t signed up to receive newsletters but would like to please visit our website at www.medplusconnect.org and enter your email in the box on the right hand side. Or send me an email at director@medplusconnect.org and I can sign you up! For those of you who missed this newsletter you can still view it here.
See the PEPFAR Blueprint Factsheet here: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/11/201195.htm
Read the entire PEPFAR Blueprint here: http://www.pepfar.gov/documents/organization/201386.pdf
Read Hillary Clinton’s entire speech on the PEPFAR Blueprint here: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/11/201198.htm
New UNAIDS Report Shows Significant Drop in HIV
The latest UNAIDS report illustrates hopeful progress towards reducing the burden of HIV/AIDS. The report found a significant drop in the number of new HIV infections in children- a decrease of 24% from the number of new infections in 2009. A high number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa also showed a major drop in total new infections. According to Michel Sidibé, the executive director of UNAIDS, “Twenty-five countries have reduced the number of new infections by more than 50%.’”
In addition to preventing new HIV infections, sub-Saharan Africa has also decreased AIDS related deaths and increased the number of people being treated for HIV/AIDS. In just two years the number of people receiving antiretroviral treatment in sub-Saharan Africa increased by 59%.
However there are still approximately 7 million people who need treatment and aren’t receiving it. And globally there are 34 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Despite the hurdles the UN remains hopeful that they can reach their goal of reducing HIV transmission in half by 2015. According to Dr Manica Balasegaram, the Executive Director of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders Access Campaign, ‘"Scaling up HIV treatment to 15 million people from 8 million today is feasible and has the crucial triple benefit of reducing illness, reducing death, and reducing the risk of transmission."’
Michel Sidibé stated: “The pace of progress is quickening—what used to take a decade is now being achieved in 24 months.”’
Read about the UNAIDS Report here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health20409360#utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
iGive Offering Extra $5 to MedPLUS Connect for Every New Member
For every new member that signs up for iGive this week, iGive is giving MedPLUS Connect an extra $5! iGive is a search engine that that allows you to earn money for your chosen cause simply by searching and shopping on the internet. And its completely free to sign up! iGive helps make shopping a form of giving and makes every purchase count. The average iGive shopper raises $30-60 per year for their cause and some can raise much more! If you want to sign up for iGive and help support MedPLUS while doing your holiday shopping follow this link: http://iGive.com/welcome/lp2/wr15.cfm?c=44595&m=793980
Large Grant Awarded to Decrease Child Mortality in Ghana
Reducing child mortality and improving maternal health are both millennium development goals and are receiving an increasing amount of attention. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently awarded $5 million to a nonprofit in Massachusetts that focuses on improving both goals by increasing the number of new mothers in Ghana to deliver in hospitals. Ghana suffers from high rates of infant mortality that can be substantially decreased by having women deliver with trained personnel and having newborns seen by a doctor within 2 days of birth. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the nonprofit that received the grant, supports and facilitates meetings between expert committees and village chiefs to promote this idea and find ways to overcome the obstacles that prevent women from delivering in clinics or hospitals. Some of these obstacles are physical, such as poor roads, while others are more complex. For instance, in many Ghanaian communities there are prejudices against women or newborns leaving the house. Educating communities has helped turn many into advocates for clinic delivery and developed creative solutions to overcoming burdens. Dr. Barker, Vice President of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, set up a meeting in one village to find a way of getting women to hospitals when they did not have enough money. He predicted that the villagers would pool their money together to fund the initiative. “Instead, local minibus-taxi drivers proposed a deal: They would carry the women at no charge if, once they arrived, they were allowed to jump the line for paying passengers headed back home.”
Check out the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/health/gates-foundation-backs-hospital-transportation-for-expectant-mothers.html?ref=health
In the Children's Ward at Lawra District Hospital
Update from the Executive Director
I hope everyone has stayed safe during Sandy! Here is an update on what I’ve been working on recently.
Right now, we are preparing for our next set of shipments coming up this year. We are very excited to send 5 shipments between now and the summer of 2013! These shipments will be going to the Upper West, Upper East, and Northern Regions.
One of our volunteers has recently visited several hospitals that received supplies from our most recent Upper East shipment. We are also getting updates on the nutrition center and anxiously awaiting its opening. I’ve been getting our Fall newsletter ready which will have more information so be on the lookout for it in your inboxes this week!
Our interns are hard at work researching medical supplies and planning fundraisers. I would also like to thank everyone who has been using iGive. During this past month we have raised enough to purchase a box of exam gloves for one of our shipments! So thank you!