Study shows that AD syringes help stem infections from vaccination shots
The Measles Initiative and the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) announced today that infections resulting from the re-use of syringes for immunizations have been reduced to practically zero in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study released in the Supplement of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. “The use of AD syringes is the best way of ensuring that children receive their shots safely, with no risk of contracting an infection due to contaminated devices,” said Dr. Edward Hoekstra, Senior Health Specialist at UNICEF and main author of the study. “This is an encouraging step in reaching high health standards in some of the world’s poorest countries.”
Pakistan faces pressure to meet polio goals
Pakistani officials reportedly have received warnings from European and World Bank leaders that the country’s citizens may soon face travel restrictions if Pakistan fails to meet polio-eradication goals by 2012. Pakistan is one of only four countries where polio remains endemic, and it has reported the largest number of cases so far in 2011.
Daughters of Indian sex workers unite
A filmmaker discusses the stories from the lives of sex workers and their daughters in an infamous brothel in the Indian state of Bihar that dates back some 300 years. This article and a related documentary look at Naseema, a girl raised amid the world of the brothel, but who was sent to school by the woman who raised her. Naseema has founded a group that works to free trafficked women, offers prostitutes alternative forms of employment, persuades sex workers to send their children to school and publishes a handwritten monthly magazine.
Drug to prevent postpartum hemorrhaging raises hopes, concerns
The use of misoprostol to help prevent postpartum bleeding is gaining support in Africa as a means to address what is the leading cause of maternal death in developing countries. Misoprostol use has drawn criticism — if administered improperly the drug can rupture the uterus, and it can be used to induce abortion — but traditional birth attendants who participated in a Mozambique trial reported positive results.
Report: Rise in anti-malaria funding is paying off
New drugs, vaccines and technologies will be enlisted within a few years in the global fight against malaria as a result of the increase in funding for research of the disease since the 1990s, according to a report released Tuesday. “In the coming years, the fruits of this unprecedented investment in malaria research and development could save hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives,” said an official with Roll Back Malaria, which commissioned the report.
Preventing AIDS in children, keeping mothers alive
The head of the U.S.’ anti-AIDS program said Tuesday said that an infusion of $75 million — in addition to $300 million already pledged — could help “eliminate new HIV-infected children by 2015 and keep mothers alive.” The remarks by Eric Goosby, which come on the heels of a high-level UN meeting on HIV/AIDS, said that the U.S. could help prevent mother-to-child transmission, and still save money, by coordinating its work with the the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Build demand to increase reach of vaccination programs
A lack of information on the health benefits of vaccination continues to keep families in many developing countries from taking part in available programs. Offering direct incentives and building public awareness could significantly impact participation rates, Charles Kenny writes.
More midwives are needed in South Africa
The presence of more than 120 midwives at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in Umlazi in South Africa has helped to significantly improve maternal care and reduce both infant and maternal mortality rates, but health advocates worry that a countrywide shortage of qualified personnel will make it hard to replicate the success.
UN Foundation to launch global vaccines campaign
On the heels of donations of $4.3 billion to help the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization save the lives of more than 4 million children by 2015, the United Nations Foundation next September will launch a new global vaccines campaign to mobilize Americans to help vaccinate the world’s poor children against deadly diseases such as hepatitis B, whooping cough, measles and polio. Some 2 million children die annually from diseases that are preventable through vaccines, writes Gro Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization and member of the UN Foundation board of directors.
