USAID's Office of Health, Infectious Diseases and Nutrition (HIDN) Monthly Update - October/November 2005

The last issue of USAID's HIDN Monthly Update was in October/November 2005. For USAID's current global health e-newsletter, please subscribe to Global Health News.

Table of Contents

• A. New Information
  • USAID Preparedness Planning Pays Off in Jordan Bombings
  • USAID Staff Member Elected Chair of Stop TB Partnership Board
  • New USAID-Supported Research Shows Infection Prevention Agent Can Reduce Newborn Deaths
  • USAID Announces $2.5 Million for Polio Eradication in Indonesia in 2006
    
    
• B. Upcoming Meetings
  • Health Technologies in USAID
    
    
• C. News and Events
  • Avian Influenza
  • President Bush Outlines Pandemic Influenza Preparations and Response
  • President Bush Seeks $7 Billion for Avian Flu
  • Testimony of Administrator Natsios on Avian Influenza
  • Avian Flu is Top Health Priority Says Administrator Natsios
  • USAID Fact Sheet: Preventing Avian and Pandemic Influenza
  • Officials Outline U.S. Efforts To Prepare for Potential Pandemic
  • View USAID’s Most Recent Developments and Actions on Avian Influenza
  • U.S. Response to Avian Influenza
    
    
  • Malaria
  • Letter to the Editor: Malaria Editorial Was Unfair to USAID
  • Letter to the Editor: USAID Isn’t Against Using DDT in Worldwide Malaria Battle
  • Statement by USAID Administrator Andrew S. Natsios Regarding the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Commitment to Malaria Research
  • Statement by Administrator Natsios on the President's Malaria Initiative
  • On-the-Record Briefing by Administrator Natsios on the President’s Initiatives to Combat Malaria and Support Education in Africa
  • Battling Malaria in Africa, USAID Anticipates Nearly $100 Million Award for Widescale Spraying Program
  • USAID Fact Sheet: Accelerating the Fight Against Malaria
    
    
  • Other News and Events
  • USAID Staff Help in Nigeria's Immunization
  • USAID Fights Cholera, Malaria in Senegal
  • Orthopedic Clinic Aids Injured Afghans
  • USAID, Nonprofit Agree to Promote International Volunteer Service

• D. Global Health Employment Opportunities
• Health Strategic Objective (SO) Team Leader
• Senior Technical Advisor: Family Planning
• Senior Technical Advisor: Family Planning/HIV Integration
• Senior Technical Advisor: Population and Reproductive Health

A. New Information

• USAID Preparedness Planning Pays Off in Jordan Bombings
  Fifty-seven people died and scores were injured last week in the coordinated and near simultaneous bombings on the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS, and Days Inn hotels in Amman, Jordan.
  
  
• USAID Staff Member Elected Chair of Stop TB Partnership Board
  On November 10, 2005 at the semiannual meeting of the Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board, Global Health staff member and USAID board representative Irene Koek was elected Board Chair for a two-year term.
  
  
• New USAID-Supported Research Shows Infection Prevention Agent Can Reduce Newborn Deaths
  Nearly one-third of neonatal deaths in developing countries are caused by infections and occur within the first few days of birth. As many births still occur at home, USAID has been working to develop approaches to prevent newborn death and treat severe illness in low-resource settings.
  
  
• USAID Announces $2.5 Million for Polio Eradication in Indonesia in 2006
  During his recent visit to Asia with Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, Global Health Assistant Administrator Kent Hill announced USAID plans to commit an additional $2.5 million in 2006 to help eradicate polio in Indonesia, which experienced a sudden resurgence of the disease following an outbreak in April 2005.

B. Upcoming Meetings

• Health Technologies in USAID
  Presenting 18 years of diagnostic development under the HealthTech Program: Lessons Learned and the Road Ahead. Featuring Matthew Steele, PhD with HealthTech/PATH and taking place December 5th from 12:00-1:30pm at USAID in the Ronald Reagan Building, Room 4.08 e/f. Please RSVP by contacting Patricia Paredes Jodrey at pparedes@usaid.gov or 202-712-0785.

C. News and Events

Avian Influenza

• President Bush Outlines Pandemic Influenza Preparations and Response
  Speaking at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, President Bush announced key elements of the U.S. Government’s response strategy: "Our strategy is designed to meet three critical goals: First, we must detect outbreaks that occur anywhere in the world; second, we must protect the American people by stockpiling vaccines and antiviral drugs, and improve our ability to rapidly produce new vaccines against a pandemic strain; and, third, we must be ready to respond at the federal, state and local levels in the event that a pandemic reaches our shores."
  
  
• President Bush Seeks $7 Billion for Avian Flu
  President Bush on November 1 asked Congress for $7.1 billion in emergency funding to fight avian flu and a possible human pandemic. This includes about $2.2 billion to purchase vaccines and antiviral drugs and $2.8 billion to urgently develop technologies for new vaccines.
  
  
• Testimony of Administrator Natsios on Avian Influenza
  Read a transcript of Administrator Natsios' testimony on November 9, 2005 before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
  
  
• Avian Flu is Top Health Priority Says Administrator Natsios
  In a worldwide message to employees, USAID Administrator Natsios said that crafting an effective and coordinated response to the threat of avian and pandemic influenza is currently the top global health priority for the agency.
  
  
• USAID Fact Sheet: Preventing Avian and Pandemic Influenza
  Administrator Natsios has declared avian influenza a top priority for the Agency and stressed the importance of an early and effective response. USAID is fully engaged in the U.S. Government’s response to this threat by supporting prevention and containment efforts in affected countries and by working with developing nations around the globe to prepare for a possible pandemic.
  
  
• Officials Outline U.S. Efforts To Prepare for Potential Pandemic
  Bush administration officials on November 9 recapped U.S. Government efforts to prepare for a potential human pandemic of avian influenza, or bird flu.
  
  
• View USAID’s Most Recent Developments and Actions on Avian Influenza
  USAID is fully engaged in the U.S. Government's response to the avian influenza threat by supporting prevention and containment efforts in affected countries and by working with developing nations around the globe to prepare for a possible pandemic.
  
  
• U.S. Response to Avian Influenza
  Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt briefed Administrator Andrew S. Natsios and senior USAID staff at a meeting in Washington on September 19 on the federal response to avian influenza.

Malaria

• Letter to the Editor: Malaria Editorial Was Unfair to USAID
  In a letter to the Los Angeles Times published on November 26, USAID Assistant Administrator Kent R. Hill's wrote, "Your November 13 editorial, 'A historic opportunity,' raises the specter of malaria's devastation but unfairly details efforts of the U.S. Agency for International Development."
  
  
• Letter to the Editor: USAID Isn’t Against Using DDT in Worldwide Malaria Battle
  Assistant Administrator Hill responded to Paul Driessen’s November 2 opinion article in The Hill titled "USAID Could Stop This Epidemic" and said it "misrepresents the U.S. Agency for International Development’s support for indoor residual spraying to control malaria, as well as the United States government’s position on the use of DDT internationally."
  
  
• Statement by USAID Administrator Andrew S. Natsios Regarding the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Commitment to Malaria Research
  "Today, I'd like to applaud the efforts of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for accelerating malaria research and development with a commitment of $258.3 million to support discovery of a malaria vaccine, new drugs, and improved mosquito control."
  
  
• Statement by Administrator Natsios on the President's Malaria Initiative
  "I welcome President Bush's new Initiative on Malaria, which will dramatically increase malaria funding in selected countries and will allow us to make a qualitative leap in the fight against malaria."
  
  
• On-the-Record Briefing by Administrator Natsios on the President’s Initiatives to Combat Malaria and Support Education in Africa
  At the U.S. Department of State on June 30, USAID Administrator Natsios said, “One of the biggest killers in Africa is malaria. Because we have virtually eliminated malaria in the United States over the last century and a half, people here and in Europe don't think about this as a disease much...”
  
  
• Battling Malaria in Africa, USAID Anticipates Nearly $100 Million Award for Widescale Spraying Program
  As part of the President's Malaria Initiative, USAID announced on November 18 that it is seeking input from interested organizations regarding their ability to implement a major public health program to fight malaria in Africa.
  
  
• USAID Fact Sheet: Accelerating the Fight Against Malaria
  USAID has been a leader in the global effort to control malaria since the 1950s and is the U.S. Government’s lead agency for implementing malaria prevention and treatment programs in affected countries overseas.

Other News and Events

• USAID Staff Help in Nigeria's Immunization
  In an unprecedented event, more than one-third of USAID/Nigeria’s staff participated in the September 17–20 round of the 2005 National Immunization Days for polio eradication.
  
  
• USAID Fights Cholera, Malaria in Senegal
  Torrential rains in September led to the worst floods in 20 years, causing an outbreak of cholera and other waterborne diseases in Senegal. An outbreak of malaria is feared, and efforts are underway to prevent it.
  
  
• Orthopedic Clinic Aids Injured Afghans
  Focused largely on Afghans who have been maimed by land mines, Kabul Orthopedic provides rehabilitation therapy, massage, mental health treatment, and other services, all free of charge, to more than 10,000 disabled patients a year.
  
  
• USAID, Nonprofit Agree to Promote International Volunteer Service
  The Office of Volunteers for Prosperity (VfP) at USAID and the nonprofit Operation HOPE Inc. (HOPE) have agreed to promote international volunteer service by American professionals in developing countries.

D. Global Health Employment Opportunities

• Health Strategic Objective (SO) Team Leader
  This position is for USAID activity in Iraq and is short-term technical assistance over three to five years. The Health SO Team Leader will support the Chief of Party (COP) of a five-year multimillion dollar project in setting up a monitoring and evaluation system and services pertaining to USAID/Iraq's SO 2 Health component.
  
  
• Senior Technical Advisor: Family Planning
  The Office of Population and Reproductive Health (PRH) in USAID’s Bureau for Global Health seeks a senior technical advisor who will co-lead the Office’s Initiative to Reposition Family Planning in Africa and serve as the Technical Advisor for the Office’s Bringing Information to Decision Makers for Global Effectiveness (BRIDGE) cooperative agreement.
  
  
• Senior Technical Advisor: Family Planning/HIV Integration
  This contractor shall provide HIV/AIDS technical guidance to the Office of Population and Reproductive Health (PRH) within the Service Delivery Improvement (SDI) Division at USAID headquarters. The primary intent is to coordinate and oversee family planning and HIV/AIDS integration activities.
  
  
• Senior Technical Advisor: Population and Reproductive Health
  Working in USAID's Bureau for Global Health, Office of Population and Reproductive Health, the Advisor will expand and manage private sector activities, provide support to the field, and scaleup existing partnerships, along with other responsibilities mentioned in the position description.

If you have questions or comments, please contact Chris Thomas at ChThomas@usaid.gov.

Access earlier editions of the HIDN Monthly Update.