USAID Global Health Newsletter - June 2017

Join Global Health on Follow Global Health on MATERNAL AND CHILD SURVIVAL June 2017 Photo credit: Kate Holt for JHPIEGO/MCSP 2017 Acting on the Call Report: A Focus on Health Systems We're excited to share the fourth annual Acting on the Call report. This year's report recounts progress in our maternal and child survival efforts and details how a focus on building strong and resilient health systems can contribute to saving the lives of 5.6 million children and 260,000 women. Read more about the report. The Impact of Health Systems: Stories from Acting on the Call Adamu Mamman, an imam in Nigeria's Bauchi state, never trusted immunizations. USAID wanted to help the local health officials immunize all the kids in the area, and Mamman and "community influencers" like him were the key to their strategy. After a series of service delivery interventions, including community education and outreach, Mamman realized the benefits of immunization, and nearly all children in the community were immunized that year. Read more stories that explain the concepts in the Acting on the Call Report. Meet our Beneficiaries: New Stories about Our Maternal and Child Survival Efforts Seven months into her pregnancy with her son Mardochée, Mama Sophie of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) began to feel pain. When she visited the hospital, she learned that her body was preparing for early labor. Fortunately, staff at the hospital had received USAID training in proven practices, such as Kangaroo Mother Care, to improve the health of premature babies. Today, baby Mardochée is healthy, and the deaths of more than 109,000 children have been averted in the DRC. Meet more of the women and children that benefit from USAID's efforts. Join the conversation using our resource guide and #MomandBaby. Nutrition's Role in Maternal and Child Survival Good nutrition plays an essential role in reducing preventable maternal and child deaths worldwide. Implementing nutrition interventions in high-burden countries that target pregnant women and children, especially during the critical first 1,000 days period from pregnancy through a child's 2nd birthday, can have significant effects on maternal and child mortality, a child's proper growth and development, and a child's overall quality of life. Read more about nutrition's role in maternal and child survival. Nearly 2 Million Babies Born HIV free On World AIDS Day 2016, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) announced that nearly 2 million babies, who would have otherwise been infected, were born HIV free. Learn more how USAID integrates maternal and child health into its HIV/AIDS programming. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES PODCAST – "Looking at the Bigger Picture: Why Health Systems Matter for Women and Children" Listen to a podcast conversation with Kelly Saldana, Director of the Office of Health Systems, as she talks about the 2017 Acting on the Call report and why health systems strengthening is such a critical component of development. Highlights and Look Ahead Investing for Impact On July 11, the Aspen Global Innovators Group and the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID's) Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact (CII) will host a conversation on the changing landscape of global health financing. Learn more about the discussion. The June issue of the Global Health: Science and Practice journal will be out on June 30th! The June issue of the Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP) journal will be out on June 30th! Check out some of the latest Advance Access Articles from GHSP journal, including results from a cluster-randomized trial on mortality reduction among newborns when antibiotic treatment of bacterial infection is offered at the most peripheral level of the health system in rural Ethiopia XChanges and Xcelerators: How "Saving Lives at Birth" Helps Innovators Reach the Next Level, by Karen Clune from the Global Health Bureau's Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact How USAID is fighting the spread of Zika in Haiti Stay Connected with USAID Global Health         The KMS Project is sending these announcements on behalf of USAID's Bureau for Global Health. The KMS Project is located at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 440, Washington DC 20004  • (202) 660-1860