Maria José Inés, chief nurse at the Benfica Baixa Health Center in the city of Huambo in Angola, has seen many patients with fever over the years and treated countless malaria patients. In many parts of Africa, a majority of fevers have been more likely due to other pathogens than with malaria parasites, underscoring the need for [...]
Tag archives for Women and Girls
Pic of the Week – USAID Health Huts
A community health hut is an innovative approach to ensure health services for those who don’t have the money or the transportation to travel great distances to see a doctor. USAID supports a nationwide network of nearly 1,500 huts in Senegal, staffed by almost 10,000 volunteers, covering a population of nearly two and a half [...]
Insecticide-treated Mosquito Nets Save Lives
In Africa, malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes that bite predominantly at night. Therefore, sleeping under an insecticide-treated net (ITN) can greatly reduce the risk of infection because ITNs repel mosquitoes and kill those that land on them. Increasing ownership and use of ITNs is a key component of President Malaria Initiative’s (PMI’s) prevention strategy. Launched in [...]
USAID Partners with U.S Army Medical Research Unit to Improve Malaria Diagnosis in Africa
By Rick Scavetta and Chris Thomas Inside Rachuonyo district hospital in Kenya, Simba Mobagi peers through his laboratory’s only microscope at a sick woman’s blood sample. The 33-year-old laboratory technologist’s goal – rapidly identifying malaria parasites. Dozens more samples await his eyes. Each represents a patient suffering outside on wooden benches. Mogabi takes little time [...]
USAID Supports Rural Pakistani Women Farmers
submitted by Chris Thomas The Rural Livelihood Development Program in Balochistan built the capacity of 50 female community organizations to increase crop and livestock productivity, improve on-farm water management, and foster improved market linkages for agricultural inputs and outputs. The program also provides institutional capacity building to 200 community organizations which train women in entrepreneurial [...]
USAID Launches Public-Private Initiative on Newborn Resuscitation
USAID is launching an initiative to reduce infant mortality worldwide by expanding access to high-quality, affordable newborn resuscitation training materials and devices, improving the competence of birth attendants to resuscitate newborns, strengthening health systems, and promoting global commitment and resources for life-saving newborn care. Check out this blog by Dr. George Little of Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock [...]
Home-based Garment Brand Links Women to Better Markets
Women in Pakistan have strong embroidery and garment embellishment skills, passing local traditional styles and techniques from generation to generation. Yet due to their limited mobility, these women have had to accept low compensation for their products at local markets or through sales to intermediaries who buy low and profit from resale in higher-value urban [...]
Increasing the Involvement of Men in Women’s Health
Reducing maternal deaths by 75 percent throughout the world by 2015 will take the involvement of men in countries where it matters most. Many of the countries where USAID works are male dominated cultures. To improve maternal health outcomes for women in developing countries, men must be equal partners since they are the decision makers [...]
This Week at USAID – June 7, 2010
Currently leading the U.S. delegation to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Board meeting in Rome, today Administrator Shah meets with the Executive Director of WFP, Deputy Director Generals of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the President of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Earl Gast will be sworn-in as the new [...]
New Commitment to Helping Women and Children Globally
Great news on maternal and child health today. On behalf of the Gates Foundation, Melinda Gates committed $1.5 billion to support integrated women’s and children’s health programs in developing countries at the Women Deliver Conference in Washington, DC. The United States through the Global Health Initiative shares the goals of the Gates Foundation to improve the health and nutritional status of women and children worldwide. While [...]
