Solutions for Climate Change and Food Security to be Highlighted at South-South Expo 2011

Seeking to showcase successful Southern solutions to the complex challenges facing the South today, the GSSD Expo 2011 will focus on the urgent crisis of food insecurity in the South, a development challenge that cross-cuts virtually all of the significant development challenges of today

The Global South-South Development Expo (GSSD Expo) is the FIRST EVER Expo solely from the South and for the South. It showcases successful Southern-grown development solutions (SDSs) to address the need to meet Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

With much of the world's population chronically hungry owing to extreme poverty, food insecurity is a particularly grave challenge, one that exacerbates and is exacerbated by the critical challenges of climate change, lack of access to education and social safety nets, and HIV/AIDS and other global health pandemics.

Please join us at the Global South-South Development (GSSD) Expo for a thought-provoking discussion on Global Health, Agriculture and Food Security co-hosted by FHI 360 and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

This Solution Exchange Forum will feature national and regional solutions, responses and innovative policies, to health and nutrition issues related to food insecurity and agriculture, infectious and non-communicable diseases, including outreach and delivery mechanisms, bio-agricultural health products and techniques for increasing access to health information, and ways of exchanging effective solutions across regions through South-South and triangular cooperation.

Our efforts to find solutions to the complex development challenges facing the South require collective action and broad-based partnerships. The strength of the GSSD Expo is that it showcases concrete development solutions in the most pivotal areas, thus further promoting critical sharing and exchange of solutions across the global South.

With continued support from the international development community, we are confident that the GSSD Expo 2011 will serve as a powerful platform from which to support the implementation and scaling up of successful solutions and strengthen efforts to achieve internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is a partner of the UNDP on the South-South Global Assets and Technology Exchange (SS-Gate) Track V - Global Health.

For more information, please contact the GSSD Expo Secretariat:
Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, UNDP
304 East 45th Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10017 USA
Telephone: +1 212 906 6392
Fax: +1 212 906 6429
E-mail: gssdexpo.secretariat@undp.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.southsouthexpo.org

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Countries of the Americas Advance toward Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis

Washington, D.C., Dec. 1, 2011 (PAHO/WHO) — A handful of countries in the Americas appear to have virtually eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis, according to a new report from the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). But the goal of hemisphere-wide elimination requires stepped-up action in countries and population groups where progress is lagging, the report says.

“The Americas is the first region in the world to set its sights on eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis through simultaneous efforts in a joint framework,” said PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses. “This new report shows how much progress has been made but also suggests there is a lot of work that still needs to be done.”

An estimated 5,000 children become infected with HIV in the Americas each year, most through mother-to-child transmission, and between 164,000 and 344,000 babies are born with congenital syphilis. If untreated, the conditions can produce miscarriages, fetal death, premature birth, stillbirth, newborn death, low birth weight, and congenital infection with different degrees of severity. These imply major human, social and economic costs.

The countries of the Americas have collectively committed to the goal of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis as public health problems by 2015, by improving the quality of care for pregnant women and babies, including wider and timelier treatment for HIV and syphilis. The report released today assesses progress in the Region’s countries in implementing such efforts to advance toward elimination.

According to the report, Canada, Cuba, Antigua and Barbuda, the United States, and the British territory of Anguilla have all reported reduced rates of mother-to-child (“vertical”) transmission of HIV to less than 2 percent and have reduced pediatric HIV cases to no more than 0.3 per 1,000 live births, while also reducing congenital syphilis cases to no more than 0.5 per 1,000 births. These levels are considered low enough to no longer constitute public health problems, although experts say sustained efforts are needed to keep these rates low. PAHO, UNAIDS, and UNICEF have begun developing a certification process to validate countries’ progress toward elimination.

At the regional level, the report estimates the rate of mother-to-child transmission in Latin America and the Caribbean at 15 percent, significantly higher than the 2 percent rate needed to achieve elimination but lower than the 35 percent transmission rate that would occur without public health interventions. To further reduce rates, countries need to increase HIV testing in pregnant women, provide wider coverage with antiretroviral drugs for mothers and infants, and increase early diagnosis of exposed infants. Countries with the highest rates of mother-to-child transmission should rapidly scale up action in these areas, through joint efforts between health authorities, international agen­cies, academia, civil society, and other partners, says the report.

Other challenges and achievements highlighted in the report include:

• Rates of HIV screening for pregnant women are increasing in most countries and range from 21 percent in Guatemala to 97-98 percent in Canada and the United States. In Latin America, HIV screening rates are much lower for women from remote rural and indigenous areas than for urban women.
• On average, 61 percent of women receiving prenatal care in the Americas were screened for syphilis in 2010. To increase screening, the report urges wider use of rapid tests in primary health care settings.
• Coverage with antiretroviral medication increased in Latin America and the Caribbean from about 50 percent of HIV-positive pregnant women in 2005 to 61 percent in 2010.
• The percentage of pregnant women diagnosed with syphilis who receive appropriate treatment ranges from under 15 percent in El Salvador to 100 percent in Chile, Cuba, Guyana, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela (among 18 reporting countries).
• Most countries report access to prenatal care at 80 percent or better (that is, pregnant women have at least one visit with a skilled antenatal care attendant). However, early access is not necessarily the norm, and shortages of supplies and medications (HIV and syphilis tests, antiretrovirals and penicillin) often compromise the quality of care.
• Skilled attendance at birth ranges from 26 percent to 100 percent, with half of countries reporting 99 percent coverage or better. Countries with the lowest rates include Haiti (26 percent), French Guiana (49 percent), Guatemala (51 percent), Honduras (67 percent), Bolivia (65 percent), and Ecuador (71 percent).
• Indigenous women have consistently lower rates of access to prenatal care and delivery by skilled birth attendants, as indicated by data from Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Peru.
• In most countries for which data are available, less than half of youths aged 15 to 24 know how to prevent sexual transmission of HIV and also reject major misconceptions about HIV transmission.
• The percentage of unmet need for family planning/contraception ranges from a low of 6.6 percent in North America to over 20 percent in Haiti, Guatemala, Belize, Bolivia and the Caribbean overall.

The PAHO/WHO report recommends stepped-up efforts to overcome challenges in the delivery of prenatal and childbirth care and to eliminate geographic, social, economic and cultural barriers to early access to quality care.

It also recommends strengthening of surveillance and information systems related to HIV and syphilis among women and babies to eliminate data gaps, noting that many countries and territories in the hemisphere have not reported on key indicators of progress toward elimination.

Links

• 2010 Situation Analysis: Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Congenital Syphilis in the Americas
• Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis Elimination Initiative: www.paho.org/eliminationinitiative
• PAHO World AIDS Day page
• PAHO HIV-STI website: www.paho.org/HIV
• “Unparalleled global progress in HIV response but sustained investment vital” (WHO news release)
• WHO fact sheet on HIV
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Third Ibero-American Contest for Good Health Promotion Practices in School Settings

Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is pleased to announce that registration to the Third Ibero-American for Good Health Promotion Practices in School Settings will remain open through January 31, 2012.

The  contest objectives are:• To identify and encourage good practices in school environments in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
• To promote horizontal cooperation between countries through the exchange of experiences and lessons learned in school-based health promotion.
• To strengthen work by the health-promoting school networks at the national level.

Who can participate?All schools or educational institutions (public or private; preschool, primary or secondary levels; rural or urban) from the countries in the Americas or Spain are eligible to participate.  Schools must have developed experiences in school-based health promotion or have implemented the Health Promoting School Strategy in one of the established categories of the contest.

National and international Health Promoting School Networks are also invited to participate in this contest under a special category for this group.

Registration period
• The period for registering and submitting experiences will remain open until 6:00pm (Bogotá/Washington time, GMT−5) Tuesday, January 31st 2012.

Prizes• A commemorative plaque for each winner
• Each winning experience at the international level will be documented and shared throughout the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization communication channels
• More prizes and special awards will be given at the national level

How can I obtain the registration form?
Contest rules
 School registration form
 Registration form for School Networks

How can I submit the registration form?
Once the form has been completed, please only use one of these two options below to send the registration form. Within 48 hours, you will receive an email notification to confirm that the form has been received.

Where can I request assistance if necessary?
For further information, please send an email to: concursoiberoamericano2011@gmail.com  j

Puerto Rico Presents Pilot Project for the Prevention and Control of Dengue

PAHO.Press Releases.23 november 2011. On the occasion of the official visit to Puerto Rico by Dr. Jon K. Andrus, Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the Department of Health held a special presentation of the Dengue Pilot Project, funded with federal funds allocated by the CDC to the Department of Health of Puerto Rico. The project has the active participation of Dr. Concepción Quiñones Longo, Acting Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico.

Photo of the presentation of the Pilot Project for Prevention and Control of Dengue in Puerto Rico. Office of Disaster Preparedness and Response Public Health, Department of Health of Puerto Rico.

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Caribbean conference on forging a sustainable response to the regional HIV epidemic

WHO News. Monday November 21, 2011 marked the last day of the 2011 Caribbean HIV conference. Under the theme “Strengthening evidence to achieve sustainable action”, this important conference brought together more than 2700 stakeholders on November 18-21, in Nassau, The Bahamas, to focus on forging a sustainable response to the HIV epidemic in the region.

 

This event was the third Caribbean HIV conference in the past decade and was designed to build on successes of the previous events. This year’s conference highlighted two critical and related issues affecting the HIV response in the region: sustainability and the importance of evidence in guiding strategies to attain this goal.

Presentations and discussions broached issues such as the evidence of progress made in the Caribbean, the challenges in the region to sustain the response, and critical evidence-based interventions to attain HIV-free generations. (Please download the newsletter  highlighting discussions on sustainability.)

 The conference reviewed the high rates of HIV infection among certain key populations like men who have sex with men and sex workers, as well as gender relations that increase vulnerability and risk, and limited strategic information. Countries  and delegates were urged to increase domestic allocations for HIV services and programs, strengthen regional solidarity in resource allocation so that countries that are worse off will not be left behind, address inefficiencies, strengthen public health leadership and public-private partnerships, focus on evidence-based interventions, and renew emphasis on surveillance of new infections.

Through the Caribbean HIV Office (PHCO), PAHO has been actively involved in the organization of this important event. PAHO staff Dr. Noreen Jack was a member of the organizing committee and the PHCO team, and HIV advisors from the regional and country offices contributed to the agenda through presentations in plenary sessions related to sustainability of the response, poster presentations, and the coordination of four special sessions on Men’s Health and HIV,  Strengthening Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Linkages in the Caribbean, HIV Drug Resistance Prevention and Monitoring, and a special session on Small Island States’ Challenges to Strengthen the HIV Response, with keynote speaker the Honorable Prime Minister of St. Maarten, Sara Wescot-Williams.
 

USAID Grants PAHO $5 Million to Improve Health in Latin America and the Caribbean

Washington, D.C., 21 November 2011 (PAHO/WHO) The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed an agreement today with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) that provides $5 million to improve health in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a focus on maternal and neonatal health and tuberculosis (TB). Under the agreement, USAID will provide an estimated $5,041,913 over the next three years to support PAHO/WHO technical cooperation in the following areas: Improving health services for TB and maternal and neonatal health, through the use of evidence-based neonatal interventions, improved planning and policies, stepped-up responses to multi-drug-resistant (MDR) and extremely multi-drug-resistant (XDR) TB, and stronger routine systems for implementing DOTS (directly observed treatment short-course) for TB. Building competencies in the health workforce, with a focus on midwifery, prevention and control of MDR and XDR-TB, and health sector leadership. Strengthening health information systems, including systems that incorporate gender and ethnic perspectives as well as systems for surveillance of congenital syphilis diagnosis and treatment, and for epidemiological surveillance of MDR-TB. Improving the capacity of national health authorities to carry out essential public health functions, including by monitoring and evaluating their functions and performance. The agreement also provides support for efforts to eliminate onchocerciasis (river blindness) and for prevention and control of malaria in Haiti. Today’s agreement builds on a 20-year partnership between USAID and PAHO/WHO that has produced significant progress in areas including essential public health functions, health systems and services, health information systems, and surveillance and healthcare practices in maternal health, among other areas. In the area of newborn health, for example, USAID support was critical to the development of the Interagency Neonatal Strategic Consensus and PAHO’s Regional Strategy and Action Plan within the Continuum of Maternal, Newborn and Child Care. Based on these frameworks, national neonatal action plans have been developed and are being implemented in countries including Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and the Dominican Republic. “We are extremely grateful to the United States for this important funding, but also for the very close relationship we have with USAID, which has made this such an exceptional collaboration,” said PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses. “Both technically and in terms of funding, it is truly a pillar of PAHO’s strategic plan.”

First Regional Forum on Human Resources for Health and Indigenous People: The Challenge of Interculturality

PAHO.On 21-23 November 2011, Panama City will host the First Regional Forum on Human Resources for Health and Indigenous Peoples: The Challenge of Interculturality. The forum is a joint initiative of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Health Canada, the Fondo Indígena and the Inter-American Development Bank, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Panama.

You can follow the event live via webcast on November 21 and 22 (8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Washington DC time) at:http://www.livestream.com/paho

Interpretation into English is available at: https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.B8CD32A3FA5D970A769D8C9BEAF7ED&sid=1110

More information (in Spanish) is available at:http://www.paho.org/pueblosindigenas

Mobile phones:promising tool for immunization programs

PAHO/november 18. Cell phones and other mobile devices are being used to improve vaccine coverage and data collection by a growing number of immunization programs in the Region of the Americas, according to a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) expert on immunization. 

PAHO/WHO is collecting examples of these experiences as part of its efforts to promote exchange of information and best practices in ‘mHealth’ among its member countries, said PAHO/WHO Immunization Advisor Dr. Carolina Danovaro in a presentation to the mHealth Working Group, which met at PAHO/WHO headquarters on Nov. 18.

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the United States and Uruguay are among the countries in the Americas that are using devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones in their immunization programs. The countries are at different stages in their use of these technologies, ranging from pilot projects focused on improving management of the vaccine cold chain and supplies, to comprehensive electronic patient records systems.

Mobile technologies have proven useful in allowing health care workers to record vaccine doses at the time of delivery or to report suspected adverse events at the time of detection, thereby reducing delays and errors that are common in manual/paper reporting systems. Text messaging is being used to send parents reminders about upcoming vaccine appointments or missed or delayed doses.

Among the demonstrated benefits of using mobile technologies in immunization, said Danovaro, are:

• Improved collection of data for surveillance and planning through better quality and timeliness of reporting.
• More effective individualized follow-up of immunization schedules.
• Enhanced monitoring of events supposedly attributable to vaccines and immunization (ESAVI).
• More accessible training and continuing education.

Participants in the mHealth meeting noted that there are some important challenges to the use of mobile technologies in immunization. These include the relatively short life of mobile technologies, which can make it difficult to plan and fully implement projects before a given technology becomes obsolete. Others noted that some health care workers may resist adopting new, unfamiliar technologies. Danovaro said that, to address this issue, implementation strategies need to include hands-on, participatory training for those in the field.

Also during the meeting, PAHO Knowledge Transfer Specialist Ana Lucia Ruggerio presented the new regional Strategy and Plan of Action on eHealth, approved by ministers of health from throughout the Americas during PAHO’s Directing Council meeting in September.

The mHealth Working Group is a collaborative forum for sharing and synthesizing knowledge on the use of mobile technologies in health. It seeks to frame mobile technology within a larger global health strategy, applying public health standards and practices and promoting approaches that are appropriate, evidence-based, interoperable and scalable in resource-poor settings. Facilitated and supported by the K4Health Project, the group has more than 500 members representing over 150 organizations worldwide.

The mHealth Working Group holds regular meetings in Washington, D.C., to discuss promising approaches, challenges, and lessons learned. Meetings from previous meeting and more information about the group are on the mHealth Toolkit page. Those interested in receiving future announcements may join the listserv at knowledge-gateway.org/mhealth.

LINKS:

• “Integrating ICTs into the Immunization Program,” PAHO Immunization Newsletter, December 2010.
• mHealth Working Group
• 2011 mHealth Summit (Dec. 5-7 in Washington, D.C.)
• K4Health – Knowledge for Health
• K4Health eToolkits

From Chile, Alternative Treatments for Diseases of Aging

PAHO.17 november. Researchers at the Center for Aging and Regeneration at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (CARE Chile UC) are studying new alternative therapies for chronic degenerative diseases, based on naturally occurring substances that could result in treatments available sooner and at lower cost than mainstream pharmaceuticals.

The new therapies target age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer and are based on substances including St. John’s wort, a Chilean alga, and a botanical extract used in traditional medicine in India and China.

Dr. Nibaldo Inestrosa, Director of CARE Chile’s, described the center’s research priorities during a presentation at Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) headquarters on Nov. 17.

Dr. Inestrosa, a Chilean neurochemist who began working on Alzheimers in 2000, said CARE Chile brings together interdisciplinary teams of scientists and biomedical professionals to carry out basic and applied biomedical research. The center currently is focused on four main lines of investigation: an Asian botanical extract for treatment of muscular dystrophy, a Chilean alga-based drug to treat diabetes and insulin resistance, natural compounds—including lithium—for prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s and memory loss, and use of an existing hypertension drug to treat cancer.

By focusing on natural substances, CARE Chile’s research promises to make new treatments available faster than is possible through traditional processes of pharmaceutical research and development.

Dr. Inestrosa described the center’s efforts as “part of a global movement to seek new compounds” for treatment of diseases that have a growing public health impact as populations age.

Chile UC currently has eight senior researchers, 13 post-doctoral researchers, and more than 30 doctoral students in its PhD program in molecular biology.

The center holds one patent and has several others pending. Dr. Inestrosa was the 2008 winner of Chile’s National Award for Natural Sciences.

CARE Chile UC was founded in 2008 with support from Chile’s National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT), which promotes scientific and technological education and training and works to strengthen and develop Chile’s capacities in basic and applied science and technology.

Links

• Interview with Dr. Inestrosa
• Center for Aging and Regeneration (CARE Chile UC) www.carechileuc.cl

Over 100,000 primary care providers sign up to adopt electronic health records through their Regional Extension Centers

November 17, 2011 WASHINGTON, DC – The HHS Office for the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology announced today that more than 100,000 primary care providers are adopting certified Electronic Health Records (EHRs) to help improve their quality of care and ultimately lower health care costs. This commitment by more than one-third of all primary care providers nationwide to work with their Regional Extension Center (REC) to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs as a way to transition from paper records to certified EHRs, representing a major step toward broader and more meaningful use of health IT.

Designed to jump start EHR adoption, the Health Information Technology Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, part of the Recovery Act, created a nationwide network of RECs comprised of local nonprofits, to provide guidance and resources to help eligible professionals make the transition from paper records to certified EHRs. Eligible providers that meet meaningful use of certified EHRs criteria may be eligible for incentive payments under the Recovery Act.

The 62 RECs focus on assisting primary care providers and those providers serving traditionally medically underserved populations as they take part in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs and meaningfully use EHRs in ways that can reduce health care costs, increase patient safety, and improve the overall quality of patient care. These providers face challenges in EHR adoption including tight budgets, over-stretched health information technology staff, and limited broadband access.

“The RECs are playing an integral role in helping providers on the path to EHR adoption,” said Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. “This compelling milestone demonstrates strong interest in adoption and meaningful use among community health centers, small practices, and rural providers that can lead to improvements in health and healthcare.”

One-half of the providers committed to making the transition to certified EHRs are in small group practices or consortia of small group practices. The remaining providers focus on the underserved with 18 percent in community health centers, 11 percent in public hospitals, and 21 percent in other underserved settings, such as critical access hospitals, rural health clinics, and practices in medically underserved areas.

RECs serve the majority of primary care providers in small practices in rural areas. Today’s figures include over half of the targeted 1,776 critical access and rural hospitals in 41 states and throughout Indian Country.

A complete listing of REC grant recipients and additional information about Regional Extension Centers may be found at http://www.HealthIT.hhs.gov/REC/.

For more information about how health IT can lead to safer, better, and more efficient health care, visit http://www.healthit.gov/.

For information about the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, see http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms.

For information about HHS Recovery Act health IT programs, see http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/announcements/by_topic.html#hit.