Category: Communicable Disease

Blog, Communicable Disease, featured

Donate Blood This Month, Save a Life, Plus Win a Great Trip

When I was in high school I was a volunteer at my local Red Cross donation center. I did a variety of things like give donors cookies and juice after they donated blood, separated the vials (sans any blood) between autologous, directed, and regular blood donations, and also registered donors into the system. I loved every bit of that volunteer work and am always happy to talk about the lifesaving work the American Red Cross does all year long.

Every January since 1970 the American Red Cross has celebrated National Blood Donor Month. This time of year there is always a heightened need for blood donations due to the increase in communicable diseases and also because it is after the holidays when most people put off giving blood. Additionally, inclement weather keeps many away from donation centers. The American Red Cross is asking the public to donate blood, platelets, and plasma. In order to sustain the blood supply for 2600 hospitals, clinics, and cancer centers, 13,000 donations are needed per day during National Blood Donor Month.

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Africa, Blog, Communicable Disease, Frontline Health Workers, HIV / AIDS, Infectious Diseases, Maternal Health

HIV ‘Test and Treat’ Strategy Can Save Lives

By Sydney Rosen, Boston University

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to take a tremendous toll on human health, with 37 million people infected and 1.2 million deaths worldwide in 2014. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the HIV epidemic has been most devastating, more than 25 million people are HIV-infected, about 70 percent of the global total.

But as of 2014, only about 11 million people infected with the virus in Africa were receiving treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART) medications, which can stop the progression of disease and reduce the risk of HIV transmission.

That leaves 14 million people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa untreated. This is partly because, until recently, most countries have provided ART only for patients who reached a specific threshold in HIV disease progression. And starting ART can be a lengthy and complicated process, leading many patients to drop out of care before they even begin treatment.

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Africa, Communicable Disease, Ebola

News About the Success of a New Ebola Vaccine May Be Too Good to Be True

Timothy P Lahey, Dartmouth College

Ebola is on the run: the number of cases dipped below 10 a week recently, and a few days ago investigators announced in the prestigious journal The Lancet that a new Ebola vaccine was “100% effective.”

In response, global health authorities are starting to sound a little giddy. “We believe that the world is on the verge of an efficacious Ebola vaccine,” said Marie Paule Kieny, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) assistant director-general for health systems and innovation (and an author on the study). “It could be a game changer.”

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Africa, Asia, Blog, Charity, Children, Clean Water and Sanitation, Communicable Disease, Education, Food Security, Maternal Health, Poverty, Women and Girls, Women's Rights

International Women’s Day Puts Spotlight on Global Poverty, Gender Inequalities

International Women’s Day Twitter Chat

We will join Global Impact to discuss these aforementioned women’s and girls’ issues on Friday, March 13 at 1 PM EST. Join us using #HerDay2015.

In Ormoc, Philippines women tend to take on village leadership roles to ensure children under five get their scheduled vaccinations and routine check-ups. These women also provide medical information to mothers and families who live deep in the rural parts of Ormoc and have a harder time attaining health services.

1 billion victims of violence

These village leaders are, for all intents and purposes, the lifelines for these rural families to health care. In addition to village leaders, rural health units staffed by volunteer health workers and nutrition scholars are charged with providing essential health care and information to families who otherwise would go without medical care.

“Being a leader makes me happy, but it is difficult,” said Ludivinia Perez, a village leader in Ormoc, Philippines on Leyte island. “I feel good about it. What makes it difficult is if I don’t have enough funds and resources.”

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Jennifer James1 Comment
Blog, Clean Water and Sanitation, Communicable Disease, Family Planning, Frontline Health Workers, HIV / AIDS, Maternal Health, newborn health, Poverty, Water, Women and Girls

5 of Our Partners Who Continue to Work in Haiti #Haiti5Years

In an earlier piece today, How is Haiti Faring Five Years After the Earthquake, development and recovery effort data and details were rather pessimistic. The numbers bear out that while some overall development achievements have been met, there is still a long way to go to help Haiti fully recover. And, yet, there continues to be successes all over Haiti. Our partners are helping to make these successes happen.

SOS Children’s Villages 

On January 10, 2015, SOS Children’s Villages opened its third village for orphaned children in Les Cayes, Haiti. 63 children will be provided a home. For over 30 years, SOS Children’s Villages has provided family-based care and education programs in Santo and Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. Immediately following the earthquake SOS Children’s Villages took in 400 orphaned children and fed 24,000 children every day.

“The biggest challenge for SOS Children’s Villages during the earthquake was to find a way to welcome these children because the village was too small,” said Celigny Darius, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages – Haiti. “We installed temporary houses to enable us to take them in.”

In addition to the opening of its third village, SOS Children’s Villages has invested in six schools to renew education on the island. And 3000 children receive support through their community centers.

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Africa, Blog, Charity, Children, Clean Water and Sanitation, Communicable Disease, Family Planning, Frontline Health Workers, Maternal Health, newborn health, Water, Women and Girls

Our 12 Biggest Highlights of 2014

2014 was a very good year! We partnered with leading NGOs and nonprofits to advance causes that mean the difference between life and death and quality living for the world’s poorest citizens. We traveled around the world to report on water and sanitation, newborns, maternal health, disaster relief, and health workers. We traveled domestically to report on some of our partners’ milestone seminars, conferences, and panels. But most importantly, we kept the momentum going to work collectively as mothers who use social media for good.

We very much look forward to 2015 and what it has in store. Here are our twelve highlight moments of 2014 – in no particular order.

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Action Campaigns, Africa, Blog, Communicable Disease, Malaria/ Tuberculosis

Malaria No More Launches #MalariaSucks Campaign

As you might know last Friday marked World Malaria Day, a day to encourage the global health community, the private sector, governments, NGOs, and everyday, ordinary people to keep up the fight to help defeat malaria. Every minute a child dies of malaria somewhere in the world, most of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, 90% of children who die from malaria live in … Continue reading Malaria No More Launches #MalariaSucks Campaign

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Africa, Asia, Blog, Children, Clean Water and Sanitation, Communicable Disease, Women and Girls

Support Our Partner, End 7

One thing is certain: I do not know how to read a fiscal budget, but I have sat in awe watching experts dissect the President’s budget line by line and then meticulously explain what programs have been cut and programs that have been relatively spared. So, when our partner, End 7, reported that funding for the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Neglected Tropical Disease … Continue reading Support Our Partner, End 7

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Africa, Blog, Communicable Disease

The Face of Neglected Tropical Disease

When we think about diseases in Africa we think about the biggest of them – malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and pneumonia. We forget about the neglected tropical diseases that debilitate so many in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia from intestinal worms to elephantiasis. These diseases are real and they are easily prevented, but as their name suggests, these diseases are nearly neglected. In fact, the WHO Regional … Continue reading The Face of Neglected Tropical Disease

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Africa, Blog, Communicable Disease, Frontline Health Workers, Malaria/ Tuberculosis

Can $1 Really Save a Life?

Can $1 really save a life? Global malaria eradication NGO, Malaria No More, says yes. With Power of One (Po1), Malaria No More’s new, innovative campaign that takes the power of people’s desire to do good coupled with a low price point to online and mobile philanthropy, Malaria No More is on a mission to close the perpetual gaps between malaria testing and treatment in some of … Continue reading Can $1 Really Save a Life?

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Africa, Blog, Communicable Disease, HIV / AIDS, Malaria/ Tuberculosis

George W. Bush Praises Zambia’s HIV/ AIDS National Efforts

In less than a month I will join nine other new media journalists on a reporting trip to Zambia as an International Reporting Zambia Fellow. We will be charged with learning more about HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis and their affects on the  Zambian citizens, report on the problems and Zambia’s national and community-led efforts to combat them. Leading up to, during, and after our trip … Continue reading George W. Bush Praises Zambia’s HIV/ AIDS National Efforts

Jennifer James3 Comments
Africa, Blog, Children, Communicable Disease, Vaccines

GAVI Alliance Publishes 2012 Progress Report

Did you know there are 22 million children who still do not have access to vaccines? This is according to GAVI Alliance’s recently released 2012 Progress Report. Despite the high number of children who are not being vaccinated GAVI met and achieved many global milestones that are highlighted in its 2012 timeline including attracting $38 million US in pledges for childhood immunizations in January and securing … Continue reading GAVI Alliance Publishes 2012 Progress Report

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Asia, Blog, Children, Clean Water and Sanitation, Communicable Disease, Education, Family Planning, Maternal Health, Reporting

Stories, Photos, and Videos from #SocialGoodMomsIndia Trip

Storify by Social Good Moms Fri, Jun 07 2013 12:59:17 Stories, Photos, and Videos from #SocialGoodMomsIndia Trip From May 20 – 24, 2013 Jennifer James, founder of Mom Bloggers for Social Good, and Nicole Melancon, of Third Eye Mom, traveled to Delhi, India to visit Mom Bloggers for Social Good partners to see their work in the field. Here’s who they met along the way. … Continue reading Stories, Photos, and Videos from #SocialGoodMomsIndia Trip

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Blog, Communicable Disease, Malaria/ Tuberculosis

[Photos] An Historical Look at Tuberculosis

Yesterday marked World TB Day. There is still much to be done to eradicate the infectious disease globally. Here in the United States, TB rates remain around 3.4 cases per 100,000 people. And 62% of TB cases in the United States are from foreign-born persons. While tuberculosis was rampant in the early to mid part of the twentieth century in the United States, TB has … Continue reading [Photos] An Historical Look at Tuberculosis

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Africa, Asia, Blog, Communicable Disease

The Plight of Female Frontline Health Workers

We have written at length about the power of frontline health workers from documenting female frontline health workers in Ethiopia to discussing the importance of their work as they provide health care to those without access to health centers and hospitals. While we know that frontline health workers are pivotal to the overall health of a country, it is also important to note that many … Continue reading The Plight of Female Frontline Health Workers

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