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Dec 12, 2014
Health partners unite to build stronger systems for health in Ebola-affected countries
On 10-11 December 2014, Ministers of Health and Finance of Ebola-affected countries, international organizations and development partners assembled for a high-level meeting on how to strengthen systems of health in Ebola-affected countries and agreed on what needs to be done to rebuild and strengthen essential health services in these countries.
Dec 11, 2014
Gavi commits to purchasing Ebola vaccine for affected countries
Plans to purchase millions of doses of an Ebola vaccine to support large-scale vaccination efforts were today agreed by the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Today’s decision means that Gavi will be ready to act as soon as a safe, effective vaccine is recommended for use by the World Health Organization.
Dec 11, 2014
GAVI to buy $300M in Ebola Vaccines, While a Merck Trial is Suspended
In a bid to spur development of an Ebola vaccine, the GAVI Vaccine Alliance, a leading public-private partnership organization, has committed to spend $300 million once the World Health Organization recommends such a product. The non-profit says it will purchase a vaccine and use it to immunize people at risk in affected countries, and may spend another $90 million to offer immunization.
Dec 10, 2014
Tanzania’s Safe Motherhood Text Messaging Service Enters its Third Year with Half a Million Registrants
The Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Baby Text Messaging Service (aka the Wazazi Nipendeni SMS service) is celebrating a milestone while entering its 3rd year. The service served over 500,000 Tanzanian men and women, whom cumulatively received 40 million informative safe motherhood messages and reminders, since its launch
Dec 9, 2014
Scale-up in effective malaria control dramatically reduces deaths
The number of people dying from malaria has fallen dramatically since 2000 and malaria cases are also steadily declining, according to the World malaria report 2014. Between 2000 and 2013, the malaria mortality rate decreased by 47% worldwide and by 54% in the WHO African Region – where about 90% of malaria deaths occur.
Dec 9, 2014
Liberia: ‘Make Immunization Strategies Practical Nationwide’
A prominent Liberian epidemiologist has urged civil society groups to make immunization strategies practical nationwide. Mr. Raymond Toupiley, Data Manager of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) gave the caution last Tuesday at the first General Assembly of the Liberia Immunization Platform (LIP) in Monrovia.
Dec 8, 2014
Roadblocks to public health data sharing
The sharing of public health data, so essential to health care decision-making in the information age, is being held back by multiple barriers, according to a new study published in the journal BMC Public Health.
Dec 5, 2014
10 Apps That Are Reshaping Healthcare In Africa
As mobile penetration and smartphone proliferation continues its unprecedented surge in Africa, its beneficiaries are spreading beyond the confines of social interactions and brand development. The number of health solutions, exploiting this growth, are also on the rise. According to PWC, over three million lives are lost yearly across Africa as a result of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria and pregnancy-related conditions.To help gather our thoughts, here are 10 health apps that are saving millions of lives within Africa.
Dec 5, 2014
Baby’s Necklace Could End Up Being A Life Saver
It’s traditional for newborns in northern India to wear a black thread necklace as a symbol of good health and good fortune, but Vikram’s got a high-tech version. The round pendant on the string is a wearable device called Khushi Baby that carries his vaccination history inside a computerized chip about the size of a dime.
Dec 4, 2014
An Important Step in Congress for Protecting Children’s Health
When we talk about vaccines, we usually talk about impact. We talk about the millions of lives saved; we talk about progress made; and we talk about the healthier world they build. All of that is true and all of that is incredibly important. But today, I want to talk about the critical role that our elected officials play in this story.