This special January 2014 edition of the Global Health Impact Newsletter (subscribe) features 12 stories from 2013 highlighting how MSH is saving lives by strengthening health systems at all levels--from the household to the community to the health facility to national authorities. The stories were selected through an internal storytelling contest (available in print soon).

We are also pleased to share a post from President and CEO Jonathan D. Quick outlining our vision for 2014.

A Note from Dr. Jonathan D. Quick

Vision 2014: UHC and the Opportunity for a Healthy Life

Vision 2014: UHC and the Opportunity for a Healthy Life.Photo credit: Warren Zelman.

In 2014, universal health coverage (UHC) will play a pivotal role in helping us attain our vision: A world where everyone has the opportunity for a healthy life. Read Dr. Quick's blog post

Highlights

Household level

"I Can Make It!" The Story of Bridget
by Gilbert Ojiakor and Farzaneh Foroozan

After being widowed in 2008, CUBS helped Bridget Egesi start a pharmacy so she could earn an income to suport her five children.Photo credit: Francis Duru/MSH.

Bridget is one of more than 1,000 caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children that MSH and partners have trained on children's health and emotional needs and income-generating skills, such as how to start a business, track income and expenses, and regularly save money. Read story

Family Matrix Improves TB Case Detection in Rural Ethiopia
by Abel Helebo

Silenat with her three-year-old child, her husband Yirga, and Tadele, a TB focal person at the Keraniyo Health Center.Photo Credit: Abel Helebo/MSH.

Many women in Ethiopia who are not usually supported by their male partners to access health care are benefiting from health workers trained to use a family matrix system that prioritizes TB screening for family members of TB patients. Read story

Community level

Catching Mosquitoes, not Fish: Returning Bed Nets to their Proper Use in DRC
by Amélie Sow-Dia

Frank Baraka (left) sews a bed net to use as a fishing net.Photo credit: Overseas Strategic Consulting.

"Sleep under a net every night to live safe from malaria" and other malaria awareness and prevention messages have reached approximately 140,000 Congolese from 194 villages. Read story

Religious Leaders Aid Adherence to ART
by Genaye Eshetu

Religious leaders privately counsel HIV patients outside Teklehaimanot Monastery.Photo credit: Genaye Eshetu/MSH.

Holy water and ART? Yes, both, say Ethiopian religious leaders, such as Haileselassie, who are providing spiritual support to people living with HIV and encouraging followers to access HIV treatment and support at health centers. Read story

Community Case Management of Malaria Saves Lives of Children Under Five
by MSH staff

Photo credit: MSH staff/SIAPS Burundi.

A pilot project in Burundi is helping ensure rapid testing and treatment of malaria at the community level, leading to more rational medicine use, improved health outcomes, and reduced child mortality. Read story

Community-Based Initiatives Improve Sanitation and Health in Waru, Nigeria
by James Ayodele

Dr. Tali Butkap addresses community members during a sensitization meeting in Waru.Photo credit: Dr. Saddiq Abdulrahman.

"This is the first health program to sustain our community for a long period of time," says a volunteer project manager from Waru. "We now know what to do to keep our environment clean and, as a result, malaria, cholera, diarrhea, and other diseases have been reduced in our community." Read story

Health facility level

Improving Care for Cancer Patients at Kenyatta National Hospital
by Wawira Munyi

A patient receives treatment in a new chemotherapy seat.Photo credit: MSH

The Kenyatta National Hospital Cancer Treatment Center team participated in an MSH-led Leadership Development Program (LDP), choosing to work together to reduce waiting time for new cancer patients. After six months of building skills in problem solving, team work, resource mobilization, stakeholder mobilization, and partnership, the team surpassed its original target by reducing the waiting time for cancer patients from five weeks to one week. Read story

Antiretroviral Dispensing Tool Ensures Uninterrupted Supply for HIV Patients in Kenya
by Yvonne Otieno

Dr. Rafida, a pharmacist at Coast Provincial General Hospital, enters patient information into the ADT pharmacy management software.Photo credit: Yvonne Otieno/MSH.

Hospital workers are using electronic pharmacy management software to increase the quality of patient care, catch errors in prescriptions or patient information, and identify when patients have missed their appointment or are in danger of running out of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). Read story

Championing Medical Laboratory Biosafety Standards at Facility Level in Kenya
by Doris Bota and Judy Mwangi

Edison Kiprono Chepkonga, a medical laboratory technologist, is championing standards in health care at the district hospital.Photo credit: Doris Bota / MSH.

To reduce laboratory workers' exposure to biohazards, MSH has been supporting training and follow-up at facilities in selected counties across Kenya, enabling lab technicians such as Edison to champion efforts for infection prevention and control. Read story

Improving Family Planning Commodity Management in Dity, Haiti
by Marjorie Eliacin

Nurse Odila Jeune Gens is responsible for family planning services at the Dity health center.Photo credit: MSH staff.

"We can anticipate shortages and make appropriate preparations to ensure that the people of Dity always have access to family planning methods," says Nurse Odila of Dity Health Center. Coordinated distribution and training of health workers is helping ensure the regular availability and effective management of family planning commodities. Read story

Reviving Santo: Sudanese Refugee Accesses TB Treatment
by Stephen Macharia

Santo (right) and his father (left) share how Santo was finally diagnosed and treated for TB after being incorrectly treated for malaria for over two months.Photo credit: Stephen Macharia/MSH.

The USAID-funded TB CARE I South Sudan project is helping to build hospital staff's capacity in tuberculosis (TB) treatment and infection control--despite challenges the health workers face. Read story

National level

Transforming Ethiopia's Health System with Data-Driven Pharmaceutical Services
by Hailu Tadeg

Photo credit: MSH staff/ SIAPS Ethiopia.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Systems for Increasing Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program, led by MSH, has partnered with the Government of Ethiopia to bring a 100-year-old pharmaceutical management system into the 21st century. Read story

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