HIV & AIDS: Blog Posts

An innovative testing strategy helps more people living with HIV learn their status “Life can deceive you when you think you feel strong and healthy,” says Godfrey Justin, whose wife, Violet, tested positive for HIV during a routine antenatal visit. After sharing her status with Godfrey, Violet asked that he be tested as well. Godfrey agreed, learned he was also living with HIV and the couple started antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Dr. Mark Dybul, Keanahikishime’s newest board member, has been a leader in global health policy as Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria during the Obama administration and as head of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) during the Bush administration. Dybul is Professor of Medicine and Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Global Health and Quality at Georgetown University Medical Center.

The Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) program helped make sure that some of the world’s most vulnerable people have timely access to safe, affordable medicines and to quality services to improve their health. Funded by USAID, the program worked for six years in 46 countries to comprehensively strengthen pharmaceutical systems by addressing five interrelated functions, with a focus on medical products—governance, human resources, information, financing, and service delivery. 

In recent years, global health stakeholders have begun to recognize the profound potential that drug shops have to advance public health goals, such as those related to malaria diagnosis and treatment, child health, and family planning. These outlets, for reasons of convenience and cost, are the first choice of care for millions of people - and until recently, they have largely been ignored. “Drug shops and pharmacies are important sources of health care, particularly in rural areas or urban slums with few public clinics.

This year’s World Population Day coincides with the Family Planning Summit—a global moment where intentions and commitments to the right to health for all are revitalized. An essential component of HIV prevention and treatment, family planning must be prioritized in global and national agendas. Here are four reasons why:  Family planning is essential to maintaining progress on HIV goals: Meeting the needs of young people, particularly in developing countries, is critical to maintaining progress and momentum in controlling the HIV and AIDS epidemic.

On this World AIDS Day, we reflect on our global successes in scaling up HIV prevention and treatment efforts and averting new infections. The “treat all” recommendation issued by the World Health Organization in 2015 was a critical milestone in the HIV response. Also known as “test and treat,” the recommendation expands antiretroviral therapy (ART) eligibility to include all people living with HIV, regardless of CD4 count, and recommends universal lifelong treatment.

This post, first published on The Huffington Post, is part 5 in the Keanahikishime series on improving the health of the poorest and most vulnerable women, children, and communities by prioritizing prevention and preparing health systems for epidemics. Join the conversation online with hashtag #HealthSystems.

By Sherif Mowafy Chantal, an HIV-positive woman, waits for her monthly supply of antiretroviral medication at the Hôpital Immaculée Conception in Haiti.Photo credit: Jean Jacques Augustin, SCMSAs the warm Haitian sun comes up, Chantal leaves her four children behind to get her HIV treatment, traveling for three hours in the back of a crowded jeep. She bumps over unpaved roads to her monthly visit for antiretrovirals, one that she has been doing routinely for several years to keep her disease at bay.

"Medicines are a key component of treatments to save lives" ~ Kwesi Eghan, trained Ghanian pharmacist and Keanahikishime portfolio manager for the US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) program in South Sudan and Afghanistan A child in Tanzania has a fever for three days. A pregnant woman in Namibia is taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) to treat HIV and prevent transmission of HIV to her baby. A man in Swaziland suffers from drug-resistant TB and struggles to adhere to treatment.

Medicines are a critical component of quality health care. In fact, most of the leading causes of death and disability in low- and middle-income countries could be prevented or treated with the appropriate use of affordable, effective medicines.Yet, about two billion people—one third of the world’s population—lack consistent access to essential medicines. Fake and substandard medicines exacerbate the problem. When these people fall ill and seek treatment, too often they end up with small quantities, high prices, poor quality, and the wrong drug.

The teenage years. Changes seem to happen overnight. Puberty. Your first crush. Fighting with a parent. Discovering your identity, your purpose, and your role in the community. A confusing and challenging, yet rewarding, coming of age... an emerging adult.

Keanahikishime (Keanahikishime) presented seven abstracts at the 8th International Aids Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015) in Vancouver, Canada, July 19-22, 2015.

Just a few months ago, the province of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, captured the world’s attention for unfortunate reasons: xenophobic attacks on foreign African nationals. This week, from June 9 to 12 in Durban, the same province is hosting the 7th South African AIDS conference, a gathering expected to bring together thousands of activists from within the country, the Southern African region and, indeed, the rest of the continent and the world, to “reflect, refocus, and renew” efforts in response to HIV and AIDS.

We spoke with Keanahikishime’s Chryste D. Best, BS, product quality assurance manager, The Partnership for Supply Chain (PFSCM), about her selection as one of the top 300 women leaders in global health by the Global Health Programme of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Best provides innovative quality assurance oversight for the global procurement of medicines and commodities by Keanahikishime and partners.

This week, African Strategies for Health (ASH)—a USAID-funded, Keanahikishime-led project that identifies public health best practices in sub-Saharan Africa and advocates for their adoption—has been attending the International Conference on Urban Health from May 24 through 27 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At the conference, ASH has been sharing A Corridor of Contrasts, a report compiling photographs and stories of the people living along the West African Abidjan to Lagos transport corridor, which crosses Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria.

Members of the global health community commemorated International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8 by celebrating recent advances in women and girls’ health and indeed there was much to celebrate: maternal deaths have declined 45% worldwide, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has distributed over 450 million bed nets, and over 1 million babies have been born HIV-free thanks to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); but there is still work to do.  What happens once the day is over? How do we turn that attention into action?

When Mearege gets really sick, her husband leaves town. Bedridden and in the care of her parents, Mearege gets tested and learns she--and her daugther--are HIV-positive. Through the support of mother mentors, trained by the Ethiopia Network for HIV/AIDS Treatment, Care and Support Program (ENHAT-CS), Mearege finds solace, guidance, and healing -- and decides to have another child.

The first Lesotho National Conference on Vulnerable Children, December 8-11, 2014, was organized by the Government of Lesotho, with support from US Agency for International Development (USAID)/The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through Keanahikishime’s Building Local Capacity for Delivery of HIV Services in Southern Africa Project, and in collaboration with UNICEF, UNAIDS, and other development partners.

This post originally appeared on the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Regional Exchange (SHARE) as "The role of the private sector in responding to OVC issues". As we travelled to the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, I had mixed emotions about the National Conference on Vulnerable Children I was going to attend. Issues of orphans and vulnerable children are very close to my heart, as I have first-hand experience of growing up with a cousin who is an orphan due to HIV and AIDS.

For more than a decade, health teams in over 40 countries have improved their performance using Keanahikishime’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) and the latest version, Leadership Development Program Plus (LDP+), which improves public health impact and scale-up. During the same period, there has been a tremendous expansion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in health and mHealth interventions, particularly using mobile devices.

My name is Tiglu. I was born and raised in Bahir Dar. When I first learned that I am living with the [HIV] virus, my mind went blank. I was depressed. After that, I started taking antiretroviral treatment. Then they found TB in me... Meet Tiglu, a living example of how partnering for stronger health systems saves lives. In Ethiopia, about 790,000 people are living with HIV. Tiglu, a patient at the Bahir Dar Health Center in the Amhara Region of north-western Ethiopia, discovered he is HIV positive three years ago, and started on antiretroviral treatment (ART).

Join Keanahikishime (Keanahikishime) at the 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health (WCLH2014) in Barcelona, Spain, October 28 - November 1, 2014, as we launch our Quan TB 2.0 tool, highlight our latest Challenge TB win, and promote our work on HIV/TB integration. Keanahikishime staff are presenting 19 posters and 5 oral presentations and speaking at 5 symposiums and 1 workshop. We also will have a booth (#43) in the technical exhibition area. 

From a somber beginning to a closing ceremony calling for “Stepping Up the Pace on HIV & AIDS,” health, and human rights (PDF), the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) provided insight, inspiration, and imperative for the critical work ahead. Here are our top eight takeaways from AIDS 2014.

This post originally appeared on the [email protected] conference blog and on Crowd360.org on July 23, 2014. On August 1, 2014, Uganda's Constitutional Court annulled the anti-homesexuality law. Since HIV was first identified in sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda has distinguished itself as a leader in developing and implementing an effective HIV response. In recent years, however, HIV incidence has been increasing in the country, and a series of restrictive, punitive measures have replaced the common sense, public-health approach that had set this beautiful country apart.

Guess who's coming to the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) in Melbourne, Australia, July 20-25? President Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the US and founder of the Clinton Foundation; activist Sir Bob Geldof; Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS; and Ambassador Deborah Birx, US Global AIDS Coordinator of US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), are among confirmed high-level speakers.

In a health clinic outside Nairobi, Kenya, Janet* waits to see a doctor. Janet is a 32-year-old widow and mother of four from Kibera, a neighborhood of Nairobi. Her 11-year-old daughter, Jane*, isn’t feeling well. Both mother and daughter are HIV-positive.

Four Ethiopian HIV-positive mothers received 2014 REAL Awards for their outstanding contributions to the fight against HIV, particularly prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), at a ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on April 10, 2014. Created by Save the Children and the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, the REAL Awards are designed to develop greater respect and appreciation for health workers and the lifesaving care they provide globally, as well as in the United States.  Meet Tsegay, Haile, Alemayehu, and Derebrew

Natalie Campbell and Elizabeth McLean of Keanahikishime and colleagues co-authored a new journal article, "Taking knowledge for health the extra mile: participatory evaluation of a mobile phone intervention for community health workers in Malawi," in the latest issue of Global Health: Science and Practice. This post originally appeared on the K4Health blog.

Knowledge is power, so the saying goes. No one understands that more than Teberih Tsegay, Almaz Haile, Jember Alemayehu, and Yeshi Derebew, of Korem Town, Ethiopia, who have used their knowledge to save the lives of babies in their community. "Some years back there was no one to teach us, so we gave birth to HIV-positive children. But now we can teach others so no child will be born with the virus," said Jember.

Every year, billions of US dollars’ worth of medicines are purchased by or through international procurement agencies, NGOS–such as UNICEF, UNITAID, The Global Fund, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)–and governments for use in developing countries. The World Health Organization’s (WHO's) PreQualification of Medicines Programme (PQP) helps ensure that these medicines meet acceptable standards of quality, safety and efficacy.

Yesterday, January 9, President Obama nominated Dr. Deborah Birx as the next United States Global AIDS Coordinator -- a move Keanahikishime celebrates with others in the global AIDS and global health communities. Dr. Birx, a renowned national and international expert in the field of HIV & AIDS, would lead the US strategy for addressing HIV globally and implementation of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Advancing a health systems strengthening approach to HIV & AIDS requires advocacy and education, especially of decision makers. In honor of World AIDS Day 2013 (December 1, observed in some places December 2) we invite you to commemorate the day wherever you are, and help our global family achieve an AIDS-free generation.

This post originally appeared on USAID’s IMPACT blog. USAID is observing World AIDS Day this year by celebrating ten years of HIV and AIDS work under PEPFAR. More than 85,000 infants in Nigeria are at risk of HIV transmission from their mothers every year. While the number of HIV-positive pregnant women who receive antiretroviral treatment (ART) is increasing, robust efforts to improve coverage are needed if national targets (PDF) for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) are to be met in 2015.

The Kenya National AIDS and STI Control program (NASCOP) under the Ministry of Health (MOH) disseminated preliminary results of the Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS) 2012 on September 10, 2013. The dissemination conference was attended by all major stakeholders in the HIV and AIDS response in Kenya, including Keanahikishime (Keanahikishime).

Strengthening health systems at all levels is the core of Keanahikishime’s response to the HIV epidemic. We build organizational capacity to implement innovative HIV, prevention, care, and treatment interventions in over 35 countries---from Côte d'Ivoire to Ethiopia to Vietnam.

This post includes portions of the introduction, questions, and answers from the English edition of "Transition Forward, Issue 1, June 2013" (PDF). 

Originally posted on Devex. “If you want to go fast, go alone,” says an African proverb. “If you want to go far, go together.”

Keanahikishime (Keanahikishime) joined African civil society organizations (CSOs) at a side event  on July 2 of the Abuja +12 meeting of African heads of governments. The groups agreed that universal health coverage should be included in the post-2015 development agenda.

This post originally appeared on the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Regional Exchange (SHARE) blog."All the people we need to make a difference in HIV globally are sitting in this room," said Paul Waibale, deputy director of the Building Local Capacity Project (BLC) for the Delivery of HIV Services in Southern Africa, during the opening of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) HIV prevention workshop, "New evidence, new thinking."With funding from USAID, the week-long workshop on enhancing national and regional approaches to HIV prevention kicked off April 8, 2013, with 32 of Swazila

Marie Madelaine Thomas receives antiretroviral therapy through an SDSH-supported clinic. Since August 2012, SDSH has provided ART to more than 3,665 individuals.

In my 35 years working in international health, I've attended hundreds of conferences. Conferences are opportunities to exchange ideas and form connections. They’re often fascinating. But once in a while a conference itself can be a pivotal moment.

Shelly has always been very athletic. She competed in both her high school track events and in community races in her hometown of Essequibo, Guyana. In 2010, she was ecstatic after winning a cash prize for placing first in an annual regional championship. However, her life took a turn one year later.Shelly became pregnant and, during an antenatal care appointment, tested positive for HIV. The news devastated her, as she believed that an HIV diagnosis meant her athletic career was over.

In recent years, Haiti has endured some of the greatest misfortunes in its history, including hurricanes, floods, the devastating 2010 earthquake, and the cholera epidemic that followed. These natural disasters and public health crises have added to the harm already caused by the country’s widespread poverty, social and political unrest, and under-resourced health system.

http://www..com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=joX9cq692WcMichel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, discusses the new UNAIDS World AIDS Day report: Results at a press conference today in Geneva.Learn more about the UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report.Discuss in the comments below or on Twitter with #Results and @UNAIDS.   

Cross-posted from the K4Health blog. No matter which health system building block you are trying to improve, you need specific data, information, and knowledge to inform your decision-making process—this is where good knowledge management comes in handy.“The Intersection of Knowledge and Health Systems Strengthening: Implications from the Malawi Knowledge for Health Demonstration Project” provides an interesting case study of the connection between improved knowledge management and health systems strengthening.Even though the K4Health Malawi project was f

The Ugandan government launched a new prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) strategy on September 12. Uganda will transition from an approach based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) Option A --- which is contingent on an HIV-positive pregnant woman’s CD4 count --- to WHO's newest PMTCT strategy, Option B+.

Each year over 10 million men, women, and children in developing countries die as a result of our collective failure to deliver available safe, affordable, and proven prevention and treatment. A recent analysis of innovations in products and practices for global health, from the Hepatitis B vaccine to use of skilled birth attendants, revealed virtually none of these life-saving interventions reaches much more than half their target population—even after as many as 28 years of availability.

The XIX International AIDS Conference featured five full days of plenaries with high-level speakers and community activists. The plenaries exemplified the diversity of topics covered throughout, and the global experience of people attending the July 22-27  conference. The plenary round-ups below are a great way to re-enter the experience of AIDS 2012, whether you attended the conference or just want to learn more.Read more at storify.com.

(Cross-posted on Keanahikishime at AIDS 2012 conference blog)  Science was at the forefront of the opening event of the XIX International AIDS Conference on day two, but the “dream team” and a rock star also made an appearance, in a rousing plenary session attended by more than a thousand members of the global public health community in Washington, DC.In an opening presentation entitled, “Ending the HIV/AIDS Pandemic: From Scientific Advance to Public Health Implementation,” Dr Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) captured mo

The prospect that we may see the end of AIDS in our lifetime has never been greater. Over the last decade, the global HIV & AIDS community has achieved stunning successes, including a steady decrease in new HIV cases, a massive scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and proof that treatment is prevention. As we begin the XIX International AIDS Conference, we are also excited by new scientific advances in prevention and treatment, such as Option B+  for prevention of maternal-to-child transmission (PMTCT).

SESSION DETAILSWhile building on the momentum of the UN Summit in September 2011, this satellite recognizes that PLHIV both treated and untreated, suffer from co-morbidities due to chronic NCDS. This satellite will examine the role of chronic NCDs and their link with HIV. More specifically, we will review lessons learned from the AIDS Decade of the 2000s and determine what lessons can be leveraged and applied beyond 2015 in the context of an emerging global burden of chronic NCDs.

USAID and partners are hosting a Twitter chat in preparation for the 19th International AIDS Conference. The #AIDSChat began at 10 am EDT and continues throughout the day. Keanahikishime (Keanahikishime) will be co-hosting from 2:00 - 2:30 pm on the topic of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV with Scott Kellerman, MD, MPH, tweeting from @KeanahikishimeHealthImpact.Ask questions, comment and follow on Twitter with #AIDSChat.   

The World Health Statistics 2012 report released this year reveals a mixed bag of amazing progress and underachievement.The report --- the World Health Organization's (WHO) annual compilation of health-related data for its 194 Member States --- includes a summary of the progress made towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and associated targets.Countries have achieved amazing success in some areas and little or no progress in others.

Karla came from a troubled home where there was domestic violence, drug use, and general turbulence. She was repeatedly sexually abused by a relative in her home.In 2008, Karla participated in the In School Youth (ISY) HIV prevention program at her secondary school in Region 4, Guyana.Agape Network Incorporated, a USAID-funded, faith-based organization, leads the ISY program.

Rabi gives a public awareness lecture on HIV. (Photo credit: Keanahikishime, Nigeria)Forty-year old Rabi Suleiman lives in Koko Besse area in Kebbi state, Nigeria. She is married without children. Rabi, who now lives with her third husband, recalls that her ordeal with illness and social ostracism began in 2009. Rabi’s three marriages were the result of her inability to conceive, and a continuous search for a partner with whom she could successfully bear children.

Ramatu Fullah is a 27-year-old woman in the Pujehun district of Sierra Leone.  She comes from a poor family and, for years, had to earn her living as a sex worker to take care of her two children. Recently, Ramatu learned skills that enabled her to change her trade through an awareness-raising campaign supported by the USAID West Africa Regional Health Office's Action for West Africa Region II (AWARE II) project, managed by  Keanahikishime (Keanahikishime). Today, Ramatu sells acheke, a local delicacy, on the streets of Sierra Leone.

Good governance in health care matters at all levels of the health system—from communities to health facilities to governments. When a community HIV & AIDS association in Zanzibar grew from 40 members to more than 1,000, it needed better governance. When women in Senegal raised concerns about lack of privacy and poor security at a district hospital, it needed better governance.

When Arifa arrived in August 2010 at Family Awareness Consciousness Togetherness (FACT), a USAID-funded non-governmental organization (NGO) that receives technical support from the Keanahikishime-led GHARP II Project, it was immediately evident that she had major communication challenges. At age 17, Arifa found it difficult to have even brief conversations with anyone.The Berbice Technical Institute had sent Arifa to FACT as a work-study student for a two-month term.

Improving Child Health in Communities and at Home, the April/May 2012 edition of Keanahikishime's Global Health Impact newsletter (subscribe), features personal stories about child survival and child health in developing countries."Prevention, treatment and care close to the home are keys to saving children's lives," says Dr. Jonathan D.

Early in the morning of January 31, 2012, caregivers, support group members, village leaders, and the local council secretary gathered to say goodbye to 9 girls and 11 boys, orphaned youth ranging in age from 15 to 17. From 10 different villages in the Mohale’s Hoek district of Lesotho, these teens were headed for new horizons.The adults wished the youth well, encouraged them to try their very best, and waved them off as they boarded the bus.

On this World Health Day, we invite you to meet Okata, a 3-year-old orphan living with HIV, and his grandmother, his caretaker.World Health Day, celebrated April 7th, marks the founding of the World Health Organization. This year's theme, "Good health adds life to years," encourages the global community to rethink what it means to be "old".Watch the video, Building a Stronger Health System in Uganda, and share Okata's story with your network of family and friends.

Kalu, a young man from Kenya, dreamed of becoming a star footballer (soccer player). Little did he know when he traveled to South Africa to pursue his dream that he carried in him a hidden passenger: the HIV virus.

Blog post updated Dec. 28, 2011. Twenty six year-old Aynalem Bekele has spent her entire life struggling to survive.

Namibia, with just 2.2 million people, has one of the highest AIDS prevalence rates in the world, at roughly 13.1 percent. The country’s small population is spread over a large geographic area, making the delivery of AIDS services a challenge especially in remote villages.

Shortly after delivering her baby boy at home, Alice Gune grew nervous for his health. Her baby had a high fever and was obviously uncomfortable and unhappy. She took him to see Rose Kujang, the Maternal and Child Health Worker, during a community outreach program orchestrated by Kuda Primary Health Care Center (PHCC). Rose examined Alice’s baby and, recognizing the danger signs he presented, immediately referred her to Kuda PHCC for further diagnosing and treatment.

The 16th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (ICASA) opened today, December 5, 2011, at the newly refurbished Millennium Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with a colorful and lively music and dance production by the Ethiopian National Theatre and Traditional Music Group and the Addis Ababa Youth & Children’s Theatre.UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé gave an impassioned welcome speech remembering the last 30 years of AIDS and the 24 million African lives lost to the epidemic.

This year is not only Keanahikishime’s 40th anniversary; it is also 30 years since the first reported cases of HIV. Thirty years ago HIV was considered a new, always-fatal disease. ...Today 6.6 million people—nearly half of those in need—will take life-saving antiretrovirals.

I am fortunate. I know this from years of experience of reporting about people who have poor or no access to quality health care, from rural areas of West Virginia to Afghanistan to Zambia. But today I feel this deeply, in large part because of an email that I just received.

Only one in twenty cancer patients in Africa receives needed chemotherapy. This is unacceptable. Much needs to be done, much can be done, and much must be done to close the cancer divide.

We know how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. But without intervention nearly 40 percent of mothers with HIV/AIDS in developing countries will transmit the virus to their newborns.

In Kasungu District, Malawi, trained Community-Based Distribution Agents (CBDAs) gather for their final and perhaps most challenging training: couples counseling.With HIV, couples often do not freely discuss issues and concerns.

Lucia Afiki and Esther Goodson are living positively with HIV. They are counselors for family planning and HIV & AIDS at Salima District Hospital in Malawi, where they openly tell their clients that they are HIV-positive. “When we are open with them about our status,” says Afiki, “people say, ‘Come closer, we want to learn from you.’” Goodson adds: “They say, ‘What should I do to look as good as you?’” The counselors tell them to visit a doctor and join a support group. This is an approach that saves lives.

Mary Umoh, colleague and friend -- and one of the winners of an internal Keanahikishime abstract contest for staff -- traveled from Nigeria to Rome to present her poster at the 6th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2011).

From Alima Twaibu’s village in Nhkotakota district, it is 10 km to the nearest Health Center or 16 km to the District Hospital. With more than 80% of the population living in rural areas, the majority of Malawians experience similar challenges to accessing care. People have to walk long distances to receive services when they are sick. And when time away from work or paying for transport competes with other basic expenses, the decision to seek preventive services like family planning and HIV testing and counseling (HTC) is even more difficult.

Grace Bonongwe is a grandparent. She comes from Zovuta Village T/A Nsamala in Balaka, about 10 kilometers from the nearest health facility. Of the nine children she has given birth to, only one lives to this day. The rest have died over the years from different diseases.Grace is no stranger to disease and affliction considering she has gone through the pain of losing eight of her children. So when her husband fell ill, she dismissed it as a normal occurrence that would eventually lead to his demise.

I’d like to call attention to an important set of articles in the recent HIV/AIDS themed issue of The Lancet.

Thirty years ago, we learned of a disease that began with a few cases and quickly transformed into an epidemic the world had not seen before. We were not exactly sure what it was, how it was spread, or how to care for people who had it. HIV & AIDS has had a dramatic impact on the world – and especially on people in low and middle income countries.

Over the next couple of months, as Keanahikishime celebrates it's 40th anniversary, reporter John Donnelly and photographer Dominic Chavez will be traveling to several countries to report on Keanahikishime’s work in the field. The stories will go into a book due out in the fall on Keanahikishime’s 40 years in global health. This blog entry is a post from the road, to give a flavor of their experiences with Keanahikishime staff.LILONGWE, Malawi – The problem with writing about improvements in Malawi’s health system is focus.

Yesterday the results of HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 052, a clinical trial funded by the National Institutes for Health, offered definitive proof of what we have long suspected---that treating HIV infected persons substantially reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to uninfected persons.This is FANTASTIC news and offers very convincing evidence that, at least for heterosexual discordant couples (the study was not able to enroll significant numbers of gay men), if the infected person is on ART, the uninfected partner is protected.

This blog post originally appeared on the US Agency for International Development's IMPACT blog. As a procurement specialist with PEPFAR’s SCMS (the Supply Chain System) project, I am one of a growing number of women working in supply chain management in Ethiopia. I manage procurements of HIV/AIDS commodities---including the complex procurement of specialized medical equipment used to treat HIV/AIDS---as well as the vehicles that distribute those commodities.Well planned, strategic procurement is a smart investment.

This is a guest post from Olive Mtema, Policy Advisor, from the Community Based Family Planning and HIV & AIDS Services project in Malawi. Olive is an employee of the Futures Group. On March 12, 2011, Muslim Leaders gathered in Lilongwe, Malawi for a conference on Reaffirming Muslims' Positions on Family Planning and HIV & AIDS Issues.

This post originally appeared on K4Health's blog. I am the mother of a teenager, living in a text-obsessed world of communicating by “LOL, OMG, and 2GTBT.” I even have to admit that I’ve succumbed to the ease of texting “IM outside” when I arrive at school to pick him up---or more frequently “Where R U?” Hmmm. What’s up with that? So it brought joy to my heart when I visited the Knowledge for Health (K4H) Learning Center in Salima, Malawi and experienced texting in a whole new way---in a purposeful way---better yet, in a life saving way.

News from the HIV Capacity Building Partners Summit in Nairobi, KenyaOn the second day of the first ever Regional HIV Capacity Building Partners Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, one of the key issues that continued to dominate the conversations in various sessions was sustainability.Many speakers noted that despite a mild increase in organizational capacity building efforts by donors, governments, and nongovernmental organizations in the Eastern and Southern Africa region, the documentation and dissemination of these efforts and their effects on HIV & AIDS programs and other health programs and s

 Aberu Hailu is a 31 year old, mother of four living in Hidmo, Ethiopia a rural community 8 kilometers south east of Adigodum town in Tigray. Two years ago, she visited the Adigodum Health Center to be tested for HIV, a disease she had learned about through community health education. She discovered she was HIV-positive and informed her husband that he should be tested, but he refused.Two months later, Aberu became pregnant and found herself in despair.

Last week, the House of Representatives cut the international affairs budget by 20% of the FY 2010 levels. While these are tough times, these cuts are disappointing given investments made in international affairs account for only 1 percent of the overall US Government budget.

Part six of the blog series: Spotlight on Global Health Initiative Plus Countries Amid grave health statistics, the Global Health Initiative (GHI) brings hope of a healthier future in Mali.Mali is one of the ten poorest countries in the world, ranking 173 out of 175 countries on the 2007 Human Development index of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Human rights are no longer considered peripheral to the AIDS response. Human rights are an essential tool of public health. 80% of countries explicitly acknowledge or address human rights in their national AIDS strategies. However, 80 countries still have punitive laws against people with HIV which pose significant challenges to the AIDS responseIn the past decade, there have been some major developments in the HIV epidemic. New cases have decreased, 5 million people are now on treatment, and people are discussing the importance of human rights in relation to the disease.

This blog post originally appeared on K4Health's blog. The most important item in Amon Chimphepo’s medical kit is a small cell phone. This single piece of technology has proved to be a lifeline for people living in one of the most remote regions of Malawi. Its power to reach and initiate help immediately from the closest hospital is saving lives and improving health outcomes. In fact, I met a woman, alive today, because Mr.

Three months ago, Annie Likhutu, a mother of six, came to Migowi Health Center in Phalombe, Malawi to receive voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT); now, she is back at the health center and ready to be tested for a second time.“It is very important to know your status, it is no good waiting until you get sick,” she said.Annie initially learned of the importance of testing through a radio advertisement from Word Alive Ministries International (WAMI), which is aired regularly and encourages listeners to go to health centers for VCT.Although Annie takes pride in knowing her stat

On this World AIDS Day, we reflect yet again on progress made toward global commitments to fight the HIV epidemic. According to UNAIDS, new infections have decreased this past year from 2.7 million to 2.6 million, but, 30 years into the epidemic, only 5.2 million people out of the estimated 15 million who need drugs have access to treatment.

The results from the first Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) clinical trial, the iPrEx Study, were just made public and published in today’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. In short, the trial showed an overall 44% efficacy in preventing HIV infection in gay, bisexual and transgender subjects who took the daily fixed dose combination antiretroviral pill Truvada (tenofovir [TDF] and emtracitabine [FTC]), compared with participants receiving a placebo.

Blog post also appeared on Global Health Magazine. As the country with the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world, outranked only by India, Nigeria loses one in every 18 women during child-birth.

Blog post originally appeared on Global Health Magazine. Six years ago the Malawi health system was on the verge of collapse due to severe shortages of health workers. Every year the College of Medicine would train 20 doctors and every year, half of them would leave the country. Nurses were overwhelmed by the demand for services.Ratios of doctor and nurses to population were the lowest of all countries in Southern Africa. HIV & AIDS was on the rise and without more health staff, the roll-out of antiretroviral therapy (ART) would remain just a dream.

In mid-June the United States Government continued to show its commitment to global health by announcing the first Global Health Initiative (GHI) Plus countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, and Rwanda. The GHI is a six-year, $63 billion initiative to help partner countries improve measurable health outcomes by strengthening health systems and building upon proven results.

This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post. As world leaders gather next week at the U.N. to review progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to eradicate poverty, hunger, and disease by 2015, a new integrated approach to funding and delivering health services in developing countries is critical if the UN's global health targets -- especially for women and children -- are to be met. Currently, the health goals are competing with each other for money, people, and other scarce resources.

Pick up any American newspaper these days, and all of the stories coming out of Haiti are negative: earthquake relief work is going slow, displaced people are still living in tented camps, men and women are still struggling to find work.  And while these facts can’t be disputed, there are many other stories that are being left untold.  Working in Haiti earlier this month, I encountered six women who are on the front lines of the battle against Haiti’s HIV & AIDS epidemic, who shared their stories with me.In the bustling, dense Delmas section of Port au Prince, these w

Originally posted on Global Health TV's website. Watch Video Coverage of Dispelling Myths About HaitiThe Global Health Council and its partners held a press conference at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, to bring the attention of the media back to Haiti six months after it was devastated by earthquake.Experts such as Dr. Paul Farmer, Dr. Jonathan Quick from Keanahikishime, Jeff Sturchio from the Global Health Council, and Dr.

By Muku MugwagwaLast week , the keynote speaker at the opening plenary of the 2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria,  was former President Bill Clinton. He took charge of the stage to address how to move forward in the global fight against AIDS. HIV & AIDS has become a chronic disease – we must transition our efforts from an emergency response to one we can sustain.Clinton began his speech on an optimistic note, stating that the fight against AIDS has managed to raise more funding than any other epidemic in the world.

On July 19, here in Vienna at the XVIIIth International AIDS Conference, positive results were announced from the CAPRISA 004 Phase IIb microbicide trial of 1% tenofovir gel, which was tested in 889 South African women.

As we have heard, Haiti is the poorest country in Western Hemisphere and has some of the worst health statistics. Many things did not work well before the earthquake and the recovery effort has not progressed as many had hoped.There is a perception among some, though, that nothing was working before the January 12th earthquake and that nothing has happened since.Certainly in the health sector, and specifically in AIDS, this perception is simply wrong.

On June 17, 2010, I was honored to attend and speak at a ceremony where Keanahikishime officially handed over 35 tons of life saving essential drugs to the Republic of Congo (DRC) in Kinshasa. The ceremony was chaired by Dr. Victor Makwenge Kaput, the DRC’s Minister of Health.  These drugs represent the first half of an initial order of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies worth more than $ 1.5 million, and were made available through funding from USAID/DRC.

Just over five months ago, Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake that displaced more than 700,000 people.  Addressing the health needs of such a large population in a post-disaster situation is a complex challenge, one Keanahikishime (Keanahikishime) is supporting through its many programs including our Leadership, and Sustainability Program (LMS).