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News from PATH: Updates and resources for global health colleagues
 

A shot at good health

  A baby receives hepatitis B vaccination.

 

More than 85 percent of newborns in Vietnam’s Hai Duong province now receive a lifesaving dose of hepatitis B vaccine within their first day of life. Since 2009, PATH has worked with Vietnam’s National Expand Program on Immunization to reinvigorate its hepatitis B birth-dose program and provide infants with important protection from the disease.

The birth dose reaches infants within the critical 24 hours after birth and protects them from most hepatitis B infections that are passed from mother to child. PATH is applying our model in two additional provinces, helping to ensure even more families can raise children free from hepatitis B. Read more on our blog.

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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Convenient injectable contraceptives will reach up to 3 million women. PATH and our partners are collaborating to reach women in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia with a contraceptive packaged in the prefilled, autodisable Uniject™ injection system. The project is designed to expand women’s family planning options in even the most remote regions.

New vaccine technology protects backyard poultry, helps rural poor. A fast-dissolving vaccine tablet developed by PATH and the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines will help people in low-resource settings immunize their chickens against Newcastle disease. The technology targets one of the biggest threats to rural poultry and protects an important livelihood for the world’s poor.

Project explores vaccines to protect newborns through maternal immunization. PATH is collaborating with vaccine developer Novavax, Inc. to advance the clinical development of a vaccine candidate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that could be given to pregnant women to protect their children from the common virus. No vaccine yet exists for RSV.

New vaccine would protect Africans against other meningitis strains. PATH is partnering with the Serum Institute of India, Ltd.—manufacturer of the successful MenAfriVac™ meningitis A vaccine—to produce an effective, affordable vaccine for protection against other strains of the bacterium. The project builds on the successful introduction of MenAfriVac in Africa.

Low-cost pneumococcal vaccine could help stop leading childhood killer. PATH is supporting the clinical development and licensure of a new conjugate vaccine that protects against severe pneumonia and other pneumococcal diseases at an affordable price. Pneumonia is the leading cause of death among young children.

Tanzanians with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) receive crucial support. PATH is strengthening Tanzanian health workers’ abilities to diagnose and treat patients with MDR-TB, a growing global threat. Nearly three-fourths of patients at the country’s national TB hospital received successful treatment, and district-level health staff now are trained to better manage these complex cases.

PATH launches first project in Myanmar. Our new work in Myanmar, also known as Burma, focuses on improving newborn health in three townships in Yangon. In addition, PATH is exploring the introduction of vaccines and other technologies to improve maternal and child health and nutrition.

Global Campaign for Microbicides to close. For nearly 15 years the campaign, housed at PATH, championed the ethical development of and access to microbicides and other HIV prevention options, especially for women. PATH will host a selection of the campaign’s resources on our website.

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NEW RESOURCES

PATH’s 2011 annual report showcases how we are pioneering solutions and delivering lifesaving results.

The July issue of Directions in Global Health highlights PATH’s work to reduce the global burden of HIV/AIDS.

A new PATH website focuses on technologies for reproductive health and features in-depth information on the Woman’s Condom.

A fact sheet provides an overview of a new PATH project to boost the health and development of young children affected by HIV/AIDS in Kenya and Mozambique.

An advocacy fact sheet provides a snapshot of our programs that tackle the leading causes of childhood illness and death: diarrheal disease, pneumonia, and malaria.

A training course provides global health practitioners with the basic tools and concepts necessary to plan an advocacy initiative.

A fact sheet describes our work in Vietnam to create sustainable access to family planning methods.

A brochure describes how PATH and our partners are expanding HIV services in Democratic Republic of Congo, while two success stories feature the role of Congolese communities in promoting behavior change and the innovative use of mobile services to improve access and reduce stigma.

A fact sheet highlights PATH’s strategic approach to improving sanitation in low-resource settings.

PATH’s comprehensive toolkit to help developing countries plan for and purchase reproductive health supplies is now available in Spanish.

A fact sheet shares tools and lessons learned from a successful project in Cambodia to expand use of a ceramic water pot and provide more people with safe drinking water. Sign up on our website to receive PATH’s newest materials about safe water, including a magazine that summarizes five years of learning.

View these new resources and more in our online publications catalog.

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ADVOCACY AND POLICY NOTES

Congressional briefing evaluates President’s Malaria Initiative. Bipartisan political support and continued funding for malaria-control programs are imperative for fighting the disease, malaria experts told members of Congress during the briefing hosted by PATH and our partners. Panelists highlighted dramatic gains toward reducing malaria but said new tools and investments are also needed for long-term success.

PATH joins call for child survival. PATH and other international groups and leaders signed a commitment to accelerate access to existing interventions for treating diarrheal disease and pneumonia to end preventable child deaths.

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LEADERSHIP UPDATES

Dr. Ponni Subbiah is the new leader of PATH’s drug development program, which is based on our affiliation with OneWorld Health. Dr. Subbiah most recently was vice president of global access within the Emerging Markets Business Unit at Pfizer Inc.

David Wu will join PATH in September as our chief development officer, a newly created position. He is currently the vice president of External Relations at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo.

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Uniject is a trademark of BD. MenAfriVac is a trademark of Serum Institute of India Ltd.

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August 2012

 

IN THIS ISSUE

 

ON OUR BLOG

 

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

PATH Vice President Dr. Jacqueline Sherris receives Seattle magazine’s Global Health Award for her work in cervical cancer prevention.

PATH is awarded a Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development seed grant to develop a low-cost strip test to screen pregnant women for gestational diabetes within minutes.

 

 

CONFERENCE APPEARANCES

2012 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting
September 23–25
New York, NY

8th Annual Respiratory Syncytial Virus Symposium
September 27–30
Santa Fe, NM

 

 

IN THE NEWS

Is the end of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sight?, asks Steve Davis, PATH’s president and CEO, in the Huffington Post.

Global Washington profiles PATH’s Dr. Michael Free, vice president and senior advisor for technologies and leader of our Technology Solutions program.

The Seattle Times writes about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's new birth-control initiative and PATH's perspective on the effort.

Kaitlin Christenson, director of the Global Health Technologies Coalition housed at PATH, writes in the ONE Blog about the United States’ key role in HIV/AIDS research.

Dr. John Boslego, head of PATH’s Vaccine Development program, describes his program’s work in the journal Human Vaccines.

 

 

OTHER PATH LINKS

Interact with PATH on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Learn about PATH’s work in action.

View employment opportunities at PATH and follow our jobs stream on Twitter.

Email us with your postal address to subscribe to PATH’s print newsletter, Directions in Global Health.

Sign up for PATH’s other e-newsletters.

 

Photo: PATH/Vu Minh Huong.

 

 
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