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Fighting Malaria With Nets Nets, Mandy Moore

Mandy Moore
Singer-songwriter, actress and PSI Ambassador
Mandy Moore, Singer-songwriter, actress and PSI Ambassador

I’m extremely grateful to be invited to share my voice alongside all these incredible women on International Women’s Day. As an ambassador for the global health organization PSI (Population Services International), I’ve been fortunate to have traveled to places like the Central African Republic and Southern Sudan where I have met amazing women who rival the likes of the women on this site today.

Last fall, I traveled to the Central African Republic — a country where malaria is responsible for approximately half of all hospital visits. I was there to help launch a United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign that would provide a net to every family in need in the country.

As part of the trip, I visited a local health clinic in a rural part of the capital city, Bangui. There, I met a woman named Sophie who was with her husband and newborn baby. Her baby was inconsolable, crying from pain and hot to touch with a high fever. This was the second time Sophie had been at the clinic with her daughter. The first time her daughter she was only mildly ill, but the health clinic didn’t have any anti-malaria treatment in stock. So they referred her to the local hospital, which was an expensive bus ride away. When Sophie arrived at the hospital she realized that they couldn’t afford the medication. So she took the little remaining money she had and purchased syringes. Then she walked back to the rural health clinic and begged the doctor there to give them the medication for free. Sophie was willing to inject her daughter herself if she thought it could save her life.

Mandy Moore in the Central African Republic

That’s when I met them. The health clinic had no medication, Sophie had no money, and her daughter’s fever was worsening by the minute. Luckily, in her case, we were able to give her the money needed to return to the hospital by cab and purchase the right treatments.

That was the last time I saw Sophie and her baby. I often think of them and hope that they’re okay. But I can’t help but wonder what will happen the next time her daughter is bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito, when there’s no group of Westerners at the clinic willing to pay her way.

Thankfully, there’s hope for mothers like her. Long-lasting, insecticide-treated mosquito nets are one of the most cost-effective and cost-efficient ways of preventing malaria. Nets can prevent malaria transmission by up to 90 percent, and through the Nothing But Nets campaign that I helped launch, the government of Central African Republic and its partners at PSI and UNICEF were able to distribute nearly 1 million mosquito nets — one for every family in need.

At the same time, thanks to a grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the local health clinic where I met Sophie is now able to provide preventative malaria treatment to pregnant women, free of charge. Malaria contributes to the deaths of an estimated 10,000 pregnant women and 200,000 infants each year in Africa, so early and effective treatment can prevent a great majority of deaths.

But tackling malaria in a country like the Central African Republic is a huge uphill battle, and my experiences there have been a healthy dose of reality, fueling my own sense of urgency to do my part in reducing the preventable suffering of the incredible women I met. This year, I will be attending the Clinton Global Initiative University, a meeting for students and national youth organizations to tackle pressing global issues. I am excited about being a part of this growing community of young leaders who don’t just discuss the world’s challenges, but take real, concrete steps toward solving them — real, concrete steps to empower women like Sophie to protect herself and her family.

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African Countries Warned of Drug-Resistant HIV

African countries need to take steps to monitor and prevent the spread of drug-resistant HIV. This was the warning from researchers at the annual conference on retroviruses in Boston last week.

Evidence presented to the conference showed that people who had never taken antiretroviral (ARV) medicine were increasingly being infected with HIV that was resistant to common ARVs.

They were probably infected by people who had either stopped taking ARVs or their ARV treatment had failed.

Countries where ARV programmes have been running for a long time were most likely to report drug-resistant HIV.

In parts of Brazil, for example, almost 20 percent of people tested had HIV that was resistant to at least one ARV.

In a study of almost 2 500 people in six African countries, drug resistance was highest in Uganda, which introduced ARVs earlier than the other countries surveyed, including South Africa and Nigeria.

At three Ugandan sites, almost 12 percent of people who had never been on ARVs before were infected with drug-resistant HIV.

Uganda was one of the first African countries to introduce ARVs, but in the mid-1990s some people were treated with one or two ARVs because of the exorbitant costs.

As the HI virus mutates easily, three different ARVs need to be taken at the same time every day for the patient’s entire life to prevent drug resistant HIV mutations.

In Uganda, there was most resistance to nevirapine and efavirenz, two of the most common ARVs used in Africa. Nevirapine has also been used for a number of years to prevent mothers from infecting their children with HIV.

PharmAccess, which conducted the African study, estimated that the risk of resistance increased by 38 percent for each year of ARV provision.

PharmAccess’s Dr Raph Hamers also reported on a study of young, newly infected Ugandans run last year which showed that over 8 percent had drug-resistant HIV.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) survey identified a number of factors that could drive the spread of drug-resistant HIV in Africa, including patients dropping out of ARV programmes, picking up their medication late and clinics running out of ARVs.

(AllAfrica)

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Africa: Rape and Other Sexual Abuse are Robbing Millions of Children of a Future, UNESCO Report

Photo from PowerOfPeace

Widespread rape and other sexual violence are depriving millions of children of an education in conflict-affected countries, UNESCO’s 2011 Global Monitoring Report warns.

The report, “The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education,” calls for an end to the culture of impunity surrounding sexual violence, with strengthened monitoring of human rights violations affecting education, a more rigorous application of existing international law and the creation of an International Commission on Rape and Sexual Violence, backed by the International Criminal Court.

The international courts set up in the wake of the wars in the former Yugoslavia and the genocide in Rwanda have firmly established rape and other sexual violence as war crimes, yet these acts remain widely deployed weapons of war.

Of the rapes reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one-third involved children (and 13% are against children under the age of 10). Unreported rape in conflict-affected areas of in the east of the country may be 10 to 20 times the reported level. That would translate into 130,000 to 260,000 incidents in 2009 alone.

In the report, 15-year-old Minova from South Kivu province in DRC describes her experience. “I was just coming back from the river to fetch water. … Two soldiers came up to me and told me that if I refuse to sleep with them, they will kill me. They beat me and ripped my clothes. One of the soldiers raped me. …My parents spoke to a commander and he said that his soldiers do not rape, and that I am lying. I recognized the two soldiers, and I know that one of them is called Edouard.”

Sexual violence damages education on many levels. Girls subjected to rape often experience grave physical injury – with long-term consequences for school attendance. The psychological effects, including depression, trauma, shame and withdrawal, have devastating consequences for learning. Many girls drop out of school after rape because of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS, as well as other forms of ill health, trauma, displacement or stigma.

Robbing children of a secure home environment and traumatizing the communities that they live in profoundly impairs prospects for learning. Sexual violence creates a wider atmosphere of insecurity that leads to a decline in the number of girls able to attend school.

Many countries that have emerged from violent conflict – including Guatemala and Liberia – continue to report elevated levels of rape and sexual violence, suggesting that practices that emerge during violent conflict become socially ingrained. While the majority of victims are girls and women, boys and men are at risk in some countries.

The report describes monitoring systems for rape and other sexual violence as among the weakest in the international system with United Nations agencies and others relying on a fragmented and often anecdotal body of evidence.

The report calls for change on four major fronts:

  • An International Commission on Rape and Sexual Violence should be established to document the scale of the problem, identify perpetrators and assess government responses. The Under-Secretary-General for UN Women should head the commission, with national review exercises coordinated through the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
  • All governments in conflict-affected states should be called upon to develop national plans for curtailing sexual violence, drawing on best practices. Donors and United Nations agencies should coordinate efforts to back these plans.
  • Strengthen United Nations coordination to combat sexual violence. The United Nations Entity on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women — UN Women — should be mandated, resourced and equipped to coordinate action across the United Nations system and oversee enforcement of Security Council resolutions.
  • The International Criminal Court could play a far more active role in enforcing Security Council Resolutions, and could inform United Nations, regional and national efforts to document levels of rape and other sexual violence, establish benchmarks for combating impunity, provide training, and strengthen the role of women in local and national leadership positions.

Mary Robinson, co-chair of the Civil Society Advisory Group to the UN on Women, Peace and Security, writes in the report: “Children living with the psychological trauma, the insecurity, the stigma, and the family and community breakdown that comes with rape are not going to realize their potential in school.

That is why it is time for the Education for All community to engage more actively on human rights advocacy aimed at ending what the UN Secretary-General has described as “our collective failure” to protect those lives destroyed by sexual violence.” The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education, cautions that the world is not on track to achieve by 2015 the six Education for All goals that over 160 countries signed up to in 2000. Although there has been progress in many areas, most of the goals will be missed by a wide margin – and conflict is one of the major reasons.

The report is endorsed by four Nobel Peace Prize laureates: Oscar Arias Sánchez, Shirin Ebadi, José Ramos-Horta and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Introducing the report, Archbishop Tutu says: “It documents in stark detail the sheer brutality of the violence against some of the world’s most vulnerable people, including its schoolchildren, and it challenges world leaders of all countries, rich and poor, to act decisively.” Of the total number of primary school age children in the world who do not attend school, 42% – 28 million – live in poor countries affected by conflict.[ad#Adsense-200by200sq]

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Vaccine-Delivering Nanoparticles May Help Fight HIV, Malaria

Engineers at MIT have come up with a new type of nanoparticle that could safely and effectively deliver vaccines for diseases such as HIV and malaria.

The new particles consist of concentric fatty spheres that can carry synthetic versions of proteins normally produced by viruses. These synthetic particles elicit a strong immune response – comparable to that produced by live virus vaccines – but should be much safer, says Darrell Irvine, author of the paper and an associate professor of materials science and engineering and biological engineering.

Such particles could help scientists develop vaccines against cancer as well as infectious diseases. In collaboration with scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Irvine and his students are now testing the nanoparticles’ ability to deliver an experimental malaria vaccine in mice.

Vaccines protect the body by exposing it to an infectious agent that primes the immune system to respond quickly when it encounters the pathogen again. In many cases, such as with the polio and smallpox vaccines, a dead or disabled form of the virus is used. Other vaccines, such as the diphtheria vaccine, consist of a synthetic version of a protein or other molecule normally made by the pathogen.

When designing a vaccine, scientists try to provoke at least one of the human body’s two major players in the immune response: T cells, which attack body cells that have been infected with a pathogen; or B cells, which secrete antibodies that target viruses or bacteria present in the blood and other body fluids.

For diseases in which the pathogen tends to stay inside cells, such as HIV, a strong response from a type of T cell known as “killer” T cell is required. The best way to provoke these cells into action is to use a killed or disabled virus, but that cannot be done with HIV because it’s difficult to render the virus harmless.

To get around the danger of using live viruses, scientists are working on synthetic vaccines for HIV and other viral infections such as hepatitis B. However, these vaccines, while safer, do not elicit a very strong T cell response.

Importantly, the particles also elicit a strong antibody response. Niren Murthy, associate professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, says the new particles represent “a fairly large advance,” though he says that more experiments are needed to show that they can elicit an immune response against human disease, in human subjects. “There’s definitely enough potential to be worth exploring it with more sophisticated and expensive experiments,” he says.

The work has been described in the Feb. 20 issue of Nature Materials. (ANI)

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HIV/AIDS Is More Than Statistics

Kristen Ashburn
Kristen Ashburn

About the Speaker

Kristen Ashburn’s poignant photographs bring us into close contact with individuals in the midst of enormous hardship — giving a human face to struggles that much of the world knows only as statistics and blurbs on the news. She has photographed the people of Iraq a year after the U.S. invasion, Jewish settlers in Gaza, suicide bombers, the penal system in Russia, victims of tuberculosis and the aftermath of the tsunami in Sri Lanka and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. One of her more recent works, BLOODLINE: AIDS and Family, looked at the human impact of AIDS in Africa.

Her unflinching photographs from the Middle East, Europe, and Africa have appeared in many publications including The New Yorker, TIME, Newsweek, and Life. She has won numerous awards, including the NPPA‘s Best of Photojournalism Award and two World Press Photo prizes.

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The Female Condom As Barrier Method Of Protection from Sexually transmitted diseases

Beverly OMalley

Sexually transmitted diseases are infections that are transmitted through sexual activity. Any sexual activity can transmit the pathogens that cause STD’s. Penile vaginal contact is not a requirement for transmission. You can pick up a sexually transmitted disease through oral genital contact. The vagina, the penis, and the mouth are all lined with mucous membranes and are equally vulnerable to the bacteria and viruses that cause STD’s.

There are various kinds of sexually transmitted diseases and all of them are caused by a microorganism.

Bacterial STD’s

The most common are chlamydia and gonorrhea. Chlamydia is caused by the bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis and gonorrhea is caused by the Neisseria gonorrhea bacterium. Because these two sexually transmitted diseases are caused by bacteria they are treated with antibiotics. However, recently there have been some difficulties with this type of treatment as the causative organisms are developing resistance. Some people may get treated with antibiotics and think they are cured but in fact if they have a resistant variety of pathogen their infection may not be successfully treated and the infection continues to be passed on to others.

Symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and chlamydia may in fact not be noticed as first. Some people have “silent” infections that do not cause noticeable symptoms until the infection has spread. This is a particularly serious complication in women because if the infection ascends into the uterus and fallopian tubes the woman can have a serious pelvic infection. This is called pelvic inflammatory disease. Infertility can be the result.

Viruses are also a cause of sexually transmitted diseases. The two most common ones are genital herpes and genital warts.

Genital herpes or herpes progenitalis is caused by a virus in the same family as the virus that causes cold sores and chicken pox. All warts are caused by a virus and genital warts are caused by the human pappiloma virus (HPV). HPV in women is known to be cause cervical cancer.

Unlike STD’s caused by bacteria there is no way to cure an infection caused by one of these viruses. Once you have it you have it forever. The virus remains in you for your lifetime. The infection is usually characterized by periods of exacerbation when the virus is active and causing symptoms, and periods of remission when the virus is dormant. During this time skin outbreaks or obvious signs of the disease are not noticeable. However, even during remissions your still have the virus in your system.

Preventing STD’s

Like any type of infection preventing the spread of the causative organism is the best way to control the spread of the illness.

Preventing STD’s means taking responsibility for protecting yourself and others from the transmission of infection. You would not knowingly go up to a person with tuberculosis and allow them to cough in your face. The same precautions are necessary to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases. If you are not in a 100% committed monogamous relationship always use a condom.

Condoms are available everywhere. Grocery stores, pharmacies, corner stores and vending machines make condoms accessible to everyone. You can even order them delivered directly to your door by mail. There is no excuse not to know how to get and use a penile condom.

The male condom is what most people think of when the word condom is used. It is a simple latex sheath that is rolled on over the erect penis. The correct way to use a condom is to make sure that it is applied before contact with skin or mucous membranes. It provides a barrier between the mucous membrane surfaces of the sexual partners and therefore prevents the organism from being passed between the two people.

Female condoms are also available. However, they may not be as readily available as the the more commonly used penile condom. A female condom is best described as a specially designed latex liner for the vagina. On the closed end a ring is necessary to keep the condom in place around the cervix and the external end of the condom has a ring much like a male condom. However, the female condom is not unrolled like a penile condom. In fact it looks more like a small bag with a ring at both ends. It requires practice and skill for proper insertion. Just like its male counterpart, the female condom is a single use item.

Using barrier protection is the single most effective way for preventing STD’s. The female condom provides an alternative to the more commonly used penile condom and allows the female partner to be completely in control of the barrier protection needed to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Sexually transmitted diseases can have serious consequences in your life. Don’t let a microscopic invader change your life forever.

This is a Free Article from Beverly Hansen OMalley
Beverly Hansen OMalley is a nurse who is passionate about health promotion. You are invited to visit www.registered-nurse-canada.com where Bev explores the uniqueness of the nursing profession in Canada including comparison of nurse salary across the country, preparation for the Canadian nursing entrance test and how to become a nurse in Canada if you graduated in another country.
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What Americans percieve as Africa’s serious problems, Gallup poll

Six in 10 say malaria a very serious problem in Africa

A recent Gallup survey finds that roughly 6 in 10 Americans say malaria is a very serious problem in Africa right now, but they are much more likely to view HIV or AIDS and poor nutrition as very serious problems for that continent. When asked more broadly about the seriousness of malaria worldwide, significantly fewer Americans, only about 3 in 10, consider it a very serious problem, ranking it at the bottom of a list of global health conditions that includes HIV or AIDS, cancer, poor nutrition, and tuberculosis. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say malaria is a serious health problem in both Africa and around the world more generally.

Overall Results

HIV or AIDS and poor nutrition are, by far, perceived as the most serious health conditions in Africa right now, of the five tested in the poll. Nearly all Americans, 96%, say that HIV or AIDS is a very serious problem in Africa, and 88% say poor nutrition is a very serious problem. A smaller percentage of Americans, but still a majority, say malaria (62%) and tuberculosis (53%) are serious problems facing that continent. Only 30% say cancer is a serious problem in Africa.

On a worldwide basis, at least 8 in 10 Americans say HIV or AIDS, cancer, and poor nutrition are very serious problems around the world right now. Americans perceive tuberculosis and malaria to be less serious problems, with only 31% saying tuberculosis and 28% saying malaria are very serious problems in the world.

The public is almost three times more likely to say cancer is a more serious problem around the world (87%) than it is in Africa (30%). Conversely, Americans perceive malaria (62% vs. 28%) and tuberculosis (53% vs. 31%) to be much more of a problem in Africa than in other parts of the world. Americans are equally likely to say AIDS and poor nutrition are serious problems in the world and in Africa.

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Sex education by wall murals

 If you’ve ever lived in or visited Africa, you know that cheap advertising like subway posters, highway billboards, wall murals are popular as a form of advertising for products such as cosmetics, baby formula and soft drinks. The tradition is now taking a serious turn in Tanzania.  Iva Skoch from globalspost reports that the wall murals are now becoming more provocative, to say the least, all in an attempt to spur up sex education and curb HIV/AIDS.
The fight is such intense that nothing is considered a taboo. A walk through Dar Es Salaam will reveal streets lined with colorful ads that leave nothing to imagination. The message targets condom use, masturbation, teen pregnancy and female genital mutilation.
About 6% of Tanzanian population have HIV/AIDS, while 40 percent of 18-year-old girls are already mothers or currently pregnant.
Officials admit that even though some of the pictures are racy, they are working, and that is what matters.
 
Like malaria, HIV is taking lives of the future generation in most African countries at a rate that is threatening. Shall we complain about the racy wall murals that according to statistics are working? I won’t.
 
 
   
 
 
 
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