Dear IHD Colleagues,
November greetings! Below is our monthly IHD update outlining recent happenings in the division.
Bold Thinkers at 141st Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association
Nineteen IHD staff from Bethesda, Cambridge, Nigeria, Zambia, and Georgia joined nearly 13,000 national and international physicians, administrators, nurses, educators, researchers, epidemiologists, and related health specialists at the 2013 APHA Meeting and Exposition November 2-6 in Boston to present research and program experience addressing today’s global health challenges. Together with US Health colleagues, nearly 40 Abt presentations were made including 12 IHD presentations at the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in the world.
Delegates from 125 Countries Gather for the 44th Union World Conference on Lung Health
The 44th Union World Conference on Lung Health, held October 30-November 3, 2013, in Paris, France offered a prime opportunity to showcase Abt’s TB capabilities and to increase awareness of the Abt GxAlert Initiative among potential funders and with national TB programs. Abt Associates’ GxAlert, an innovative networking system, housed in a USB drive modem is a low-cost, low-maintenance system that allows rapid reporting of TB and HIV indicators and real-time delivery of disease surveillance data. Representing Abt at the conference were Martha Benezet of IHD and Hugh McDonough and Jeff Takle of Abt’s Client Technology Center. Copies of the GxAlert information sheet were inserted in all 1,000+ conference bags. Contact: Martha_benezet@abtassoc.com
And More on GxAlert…
GxAlert was the featured presentation at the Abt Board of Directors quarterly meeting on November 7 in Cambridge. Leah Ekbladh and Jeff Takle presented “GxAlert: How Innovation Fuels Our Mission in Nigeria” describing the successful pilot and national scale-up of the GxAlert system in Nigeria. Board member response was uniformly positive and enthusiastic about expansion of this innovation. “This is exactly the direction in which Abt should be developing its business for the future,” said Steven Sinding, Board Member and former Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
Moving towards Malaria Elimination: Abt Participates in Pan-African Multilateral Initiative on Malaria
Abt presentations at the 6th Pan-African Multilateral Initiative on Malaria held October 6-11 in Durban, South Africa addressed some of the most pressing issues in malaria control. Twelve Abt U.S. and international staff explained how Abt projects are responding to insecticide resistance and increasing the efficiency and sustainability of prevention programs. Staff shared innovations in indoor residual spraying programs, including mobile payments for workers, electronic data capture, smartphone applications to strengthen environmental compliance, and a mobile insectary model for entomological testing.
Will Africa Experience a Demographic Dividend like that of Asia? Ask Abt’s Jay Gribble
Based on the experience of the Asian Tigers, the demographic dividend is the accelerated economic growth that countries can experience through shifting the age structure of the population so that there are fewer dependents relative to the working age population. With increased investments in health and education, economic plans that create jobs and promote trade, and governance policies that foster an environment that attracts investments, the dividend can pay off. Read more on Jay Gribble’s presentation on the demographic dividend which took place October 15 at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC.
Expanding Coverage of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision through the Private Sector in Namibia
In 2012, Namibia became the first country in the world to cover circumcision through private health insurance as an HIV preventive benefit. WHO and UNAIDS have recommended the scale-up of voluntary medical male circumcision based on the protective effect of the procedure in decreasing the incidence of female-to-male transmission of HIV. A new brief describes how the SHOPS project worked with the public and private sectors in Namibia to standardize the fee for voluntary medical male circumcision and train private providers so that more Namibian men and boys can access this benefit. If fully leveraged, the large private health sector in Namibia can be an active contributor to the national HIV response.
Abt Employee Advisory Council (EAC) – Vote by November 20!
The last day to vote for Bethesda and Africa EAC representatives is November 20. Click here to vote. Results will be announced November 27. For more information on the EAC, visit the EAC page on AGI.
November and Upcoming Events
Nov 10-13 – Third Global Forum: The Global Health Workforce Alliance, Brazil (john_palen@abtassoc.com)
Nov 12-15 – International Conference on Family Planning, Ethiopia (Ayman_Mohsen@abtassoc.com)
Nov 13-17 – American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Washington, DC (nancy_nachbar@abtassoc.com)
SAVE THE DATE!
Dec 3 – World AIDS Day, observance, 9:30-11:30 EST
Dec 19 – Global IHD staff meeting, 9-10:30 EST