Taking Technology for Granted

Posted by Mara Gordon
Lilongwe, Malawi
February 24, 2011

A healthcare facility in
Lilongwe Dstrict in Malawi.
(Photo: Mara Gordon/GHC)

In 2010, the Foundation and Global Health Corps (GHC) partnered to increase health services and contribute to a strong and lasting health workforce in the sub-Saharan African country of Malawi. GHC placed two fellows in the capital city of Lilongwe to provide valuable capacity to support the Foundation's work in HIV prevention, care, and treatment services for women, children, and families in the country.

One of the fellows, Mara Gordon, recently blogged on the GHC website about the disparity in technology between the United States and Malawi. She identified the challenge that it presents when trying to offer basic healthcare services to the nation's 15 million citizens, and what steps are being taken to overcome those challenges.

Click past the jump to read Mara's blog.

What We’re Reading: Proposed U.S. Budget Cuts Could Result in More Infant Infections

Posted by Robert Yule
Washington, D.C.
February 24, 2011

Photo: Benjamin Myers

This week Foundation President and CEO Charles Lyons spoke to Voice of America about Saturday’s budget vote by the U.S. House of Representatives. The budget passed by the House would cut more than $800 million in funding for global HIV/AIDS programs, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund.

Read more about Lyons' interview and the Foundation's response to the budget vote after the jump.

The Future of HIV/AIDS in International Development Programs

Posted by Charles Lyons
Washington, D.C.
February 17, 2011

Rajiv Shah at NIH. (Photo: USAID)

In the face of uncertain funding for critical HIV/AIDS programs, the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Rajiv Shah, presented a road map for the future of global health and international development programs.

Shah delivered the David E. Barmes Global Health Lecture earlier this week at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to a room full of scientists, researchers, and innovators. He highlighted the important role science plays in global health development, and outlined an ambitious agenda for the next five years to expand global health breakthroughs and improve health outcomes worldwide.

What We're Reading: Congressional Spending Cuts Threaten Global Health Programs

Posted by Jen Pollakusky
Washington, D.C.
February 15, 2011

U.S. Capitol Building

This week, the buzz in Washington, D.C. and on Capitol Hill is all about the budget.

Last Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives released a new spending proposal for this fiscal year, which includes significant cuts to foreign aid – including more than $500 million in cuts for global HIV and AIDS programs.

The proposed cuts have brought out many voices in support of continued and increased foreign aid funding, including former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson in the Huffington Post, and Washington Post op-ed columnist Michael Gerson.

Click past the jump for links to both articles as well as a link to contact your U.S. representative and urge him or her to support children and families with HIV.

Smart Investments in the Fight against HIV and AIDS

Posted by Jen Pollakusky
Washington, D.C.
February 14, 2011

Dr. Anja Giphart (Photo: EGPAF/Jen Pollakusky)

How will the U.S. continue to lead the largest, most comprehensive initiative to combat HIV and AIDS worldwide, while addressing the current economic realities here and abroad?

This was the question posed last week in Washington, D.C., at a meeting attended by the Foundation and convened by the U.S. Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC).

The answer: by making smarter investments in programs that we know are working.

In a day-long meeting last week, a group of panelists, including the Foundation's Vice President of Program Implementation Dr. Anja Giphart, examined how to ensure programs like PEPFAR spend U.S. dollars efficiently and effectively, while saving the most possible lives.

Continue past the jump to read more about the meeting and Dr. Giphart's presentation, which highlighted the impact of successful HIV prevention programs.

Study in JAMA Explains Why HIV-Exposed Infants Are More Prone to Other Life-Threatening Illnesses

Posted by Dr. Jeffrey Safrit
Los Angeles, California
February 10, 2011

(Photo: EGPAF/Mia Collis)

A new study has just published results on additional potential risks to HIV-exposed infants in Africa.

Even if those infants remain HIV-free, they are more susceptible to a host of other serious illnesses, and thus more likely to die in their first year of life without timely vaccinations.

The study was published earlier this week in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and one of its authors, Dr. Anneke Hesseling, was a recipient of the Foundation’s International Leadership Award (ILA).

Continue past the jump to read more about the study.