Dramatic global health improvements save lives but new threats emerge

This was originally published on the Global Health TV on September 26, 2017.

Over the last decade, we’ve made great progress against diseases and health conditions that can kill people, especially children under 5, but because of political and budget challenges, we risk backsliding on those gains. And we’re facing a tsunami from health issues that do not always kills us – namely, obesity, conflict and mental illness – but cause poor health.

Those are my take-aways from two major reports that came out this month, one tracking how we are doing against the Sustainability Development Goals, particularly in global health, and the other a scientific study focused solely on global health.

“Goalkeepers: The Stories Behind the Data 2017,” a report from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was aimed at last week’s United Nations General Assembly. To draw attention to the report, the Gateses held a high-profile event featuring former President Barack Obama. The report touts the many global health advances that have been made but also cautions about the risks of complacency.

Polio's days are numbered as teams close in on last few cases in 3 countries

This was originally published on Global Health TV on November 23, 2016.

PARIS, France — In 2012, Latif and his colleague were vaccinating children against polio in Pakistan when they were shot by extremists. Latif was shot in the leg. He had 11 metal rods inserted into his leg and was hospitalized for three months. His colleague died. Today, fully recovered and undeterred, Latif (his surname is withheld to protect his security) continues his anti-polio crusade in northwestern Pakistan.

Jim Costello, 73, contracted polio at the age of 15. It paralyzed his upper body: He has triple curvature of the spine, wears a spinal brace and has no use of his arms. His lungs are 75% paralyzed and he uses a medical ventilator for about 18 hours daily. He lives at home in Dublin, Ireland with his wife Delia, “my beloved partner of over 30 years,” on the weekends. During the week, he is in the hospital where he still uses an iron lung. Despite these limitations, he has led a productive life in the retail clothing business and in support of polio survivors. Since 1993, he has served as chairperson and board member of Post-Polio Support Group Ireland

Latif and Costello were two of five people honored as “polio heroes” at a World Polio Day event Oct. 24 at the Pasteur Institute here sponsored by Sanofi Pasteur and Rotary International, two organizations deeply invested in the fight against the disease. Meet Latif in this video and Khuram (an employee of Sanofi Pasteur) in this video (videos from Sanofi Pasteur/AKS Films).

My top 10 communications stories in global health and poverty in 2012

Melinda Gates, Andrew Mitchell and three African heads of state welcome British Prime Minister David Cameron to the podium of the London Family Planning Summit.

This piece was originally published on the Impatient Optimists blog on Dec. 21, 2012.
 
In 2012, global development communication trends continued as in recent years: Non-profits increased their reliance on social media, decreased it on traditional media and looked for creative ways to call attention to their issues, change policy and raise money. Several global events provided unique opportunities to cast a spotlight on food security, family planning, and AIDS.

As a global development communicator, I track trends in development communication. For the last two years I have shared my personal, subjective take on what I consider the top global development communication stories of the year. Here’s my take on 2012, in no particular order:

Faith-based organizations believe in family planning

British Prime Minister David Cameron speaking at the London Summit.

This article was originally published on Impatient Optimists on July 19, 2012.
 
Faith-based organizations (FBOs) were well represented at last week’s London Summit on Family Planning thanks to the summit organizers, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the British government. Ten faith leaders participated and, like most of the delegates, they thought the summit was a smashing success by securing financial commitments to reach an additional 120 million women and girls with voluntary family planning services.

Gary Darmstadt, head of the foundation’s Family Health Division, made clear his belief that FBOs are “critical to family planning” in a post-summit blog, pointing out that FBOs “provide up to 40 percent of the total healthcare in many countries in Africa.” It may be even higher than that in some countries.

“The only way the ambitious goals in child health and family planning can be reached is to mobilize the faith community along with other stakeholders, an ‘all hands-on-deck’ approach,” said Ray Martin, executive director of Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH) . “Often the hardest-to-reach populations in rural areas and the urban poor are the ones most likely to be reachable by FBOs.”

Faith-based organizations hope to have a positive impact at London Family Planning Summit

Three African presidents and Melinda Gates at Family Planning Summit.

This article was originally published in the "On Faith" section of the Washington Post on July 10, 2012. 

When the British government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation bring together governments, donors, civil society, the private sector and the research and development community in London on July 11 for a major summit that hopes to rekindle the neglected embers of family planning, there will be one constituency there that might surprise some people — people of faith, including Christians (Catholics, mainline Protestants, and evangelicals), Muslims and other faiths.

These religious leaders are working to mobilize the faith community to work with governments, donors and other secular partners to bring family planning back as a major force in maternal, child and community health, something that has been downplayed the past two decades, in part because AIDS and other health issues took precedence, and in part because of the religious and political sensitivities to sexuality and family planning.

This faith support for family planning ranges from progressive Christians to Catholics and evangelicals.

NGOs can also contribute to innovative financing

DKT advertises IUDs in Indonesia.

NOTE: This blog was originally published on Impatient Optimists, the blog of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Feb. 2, 2012.

In difficult economic times like these, governments are looking for ways to cut their budgets. Foreign aid is often an easy target. Innovative financing—the idea of using a range of non-traditional tools such as micro-contributions, taxes, and public-private partnerships—has developed over the last 10 years as an alternative to traditional donor aid. Innovative financing mechanisms have raised $2 billion over three years, according to a 2010 report, mostly for health.

Most innovative financing has originated with governments—such as UNITAID and the International Finance Facility for Immunization—and private sector efforts such as Project RED, which engages in “cause marketing.”

But NGOs can also play a role. In fact, they have already been doing this through social entrepreneurs like Muhammad Yunnus (Grameen Bank), Bill Drayton (Ashoka), and Jacqueline Novogratz (Acumen Fund).

Top Ten Global Development Communications Stories of 2011

The first ladies of Kenya and South Africa tweeting for the first time at the Social Good Summit in New York.

This was originally posted to the Impatient Optimists, the blog of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Dec. 21, 2011.

 

As was the case in 2010, global development non-profits continued their love affair with social media, finding Twitter, Facebook and the like amazing tools for communicating and advocating on a wide range of global issues. From global health to climate change to political systems, we’ve seen health improved, lives saved, policies changed, and governments overturned when we harness these new information pathways effectively.

Based on the 11,196 non-profit professionals surveyed in the 3^rd Annual Non-Profit Social Network Benchmark Report,  the Facebook average member community size increased 161 percent in 2011, and the average Twitter base was up 2 percent. International groups reported the highest use of Facebook up by a whopping 97 percent, and nearly double the number of Twitter followers as compared to all non-profits. As a global health and development communicator, I’ve been tracking the incredible progression of how health and development organizations use both new and traditional media to connect, engage, and inspire.

It’s why I’ve created my very own Top 10 list of favorite global development communication picks of 2011. Now, on to my other subjective picks for 2011 (and, yes, the Gates Foundation is on the list!) in no particular order:

New campaign aims to reach Americans to give unvaccinated kids a Shot@Life

NEW YORK — Did you know that in developing countries a child dies every 20 seconds from diseases that are entirely preventable with vaccines? Did you know that the number of children dying every year from these preventable diseases is nearly equivalent to half the children entering kindergarten in the U.S.?

Those are a few of the points driven home yesterday at the official launch of Shot@Life, a new United Nations Foundation campaign directed at the U.S. public and Congress, at a luncheon here on the first day of the U.N. High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases.  

 Some of these facts were new to me even though I have been working in global health for almost 20 years, and not all of it was bad. For example, I learned that 80% of the world’s children are vaccinated. That was wonderful to hear.

But the flip side is that, in 2011, one in five children does not have access to the immunizations they need, and that translates into 1.7 million children dying from diseases that have all but disappeared in the U.S. The UNICEF representative at the launch called this “The Last Quintile,” and it will undoubtedly be the toughest quintile.