This issue of PATH’s programmatic
e-newsletter spotlights our newest publications, program announcements, and advocacy news.
New publications and
resources
The new website for the Center for Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Global Health, a
collaboration between PATH and the University of Washington, highlights the center’s core activities, staff, resources, and funding opportunities for improving essential
diagnostic tests for point of care in low-resource settings around the world.
An interactive database tool helps public health programs manage their inventory of national cold chain equipment for safe vaccine storage and
transport.
A policy brief discusses PATH’s work in India to converge services for HIV and reproductive health.
Guidelines developed by PATH in partnership with the GAVI Alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO) assist Eastern
European countries with introducing rotavirus
vaccines.
A set of fact sheets explains our work to develop new vaccines against rotavirus, influenza, pneumonia, and two of the leading bacterial causes of
diarrheal disease.
A report details cost and financing issues related to adopting a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in developing
countries.
A fact sheet details the Infant and Young Child Nutrition Project and offers an overview of key interventions for improving children’s nutrition.
Program announcements
Research into the health consequences of gender-based violence receives broad exposure. A landmark study about violence against women around
the world, coauthored by the World Health Organization, PATH, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is highlighted in the April 5,
2008, issue of The
Lancet (subscription required for full text).
Center issues “human
challenge” to accelerate malaria vaccine development. The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and Seattle Biomedical Research Institute
are establishing a human challenge center to test the
safety and efficacy of malaria vaccine candidates in humans.
New findings support alternatives to Pap test for cervical cancer screening. Simple, visual inspections
of women can be equally as effective as expensive Pap testing, according to key results from eight years of studies by PATH and our partners in the Alliance for Cervical Cancer
Prevention.
More countries
train with state-of-the-art tools for malaria control spraying. PATH and our partners in the Zambian government taught malaria program staff
from Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe how to use geographic information systems (GIS) technology on handheld computers for planning and monitoring
indoor residual spraying initiatives. Read more about PATH’s malaria control efforts in Zambia and how GIS has enhanced Zambia’s indoor residual spraying program.
Tuberculosis (TB)-HIV services expand to
the Spice Islands. PATH is now working in Zanzibar, an archipelago of Tanzania off the country’s mainland, to integrate TB and HIV
services for more effective diagnosis and treatment. In March, PATH and our partners trained facility health workers at TB clinics in Tanzania about
providing comprehensive care and treatment to patients with TB and HIV under one roof. Learn more about PATH’s efforts to stop TB.
Advocacy and policy notes
Vaccine development gains support in PEPFAR bill. PATH and the Global Health Technologies Coalition
applaud Senator John Kerry and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for their support of vaccine development in an amendment to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
reauthorization bill. Language approved by the committee would accelerate access to new, lifesaving vaccines in developing countries. While the House bill did not include similar language, advocates for the amendment will be seeking inclusion of the language
in the final Senate bill and conference report.
PATH challenges assumptions about breastfeeding and HIV/AIDS. A new policy brief
describes key issues in the debate on breastfeeding by
HIV-positive mothers and recommends extended support for new HIV-positive mothers and adoption of WHO guidelines to maximize newborn HIV-free
survival.
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