Strong health systems are necessary to help prevent and mitigate epidemics, including the oft-overlooked epidemic of antimicrobial resistance.

This is the third post in a new series on improving the health of the poorest and most vulnerable women, girls, families, and communities by prioritizing prevention and preparing health systems for epidemics (see also: Part 1 [6] and Part 2 [7]). Join the conversation online with hashtag [8]#HealthSystems [9].

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.

Her children don’t know that she is HIV positive, and she doesn’t want to tell them. She makes this long trip over rough and ragged terrain to preserve her privacy and escape the possibility of stigma, still prevalent in Haitian society.

Tuberculosis [19] (TB) is now the leading infectious cause of death worldwide -- ahead of HIV. While major advances in the diagnosis and treatment of TB have been made since 1990, children suffering from this disease have remained neglected and vulnerable. An estimated 1 million children become ill with TB each year, and at least 200 children die each day from TB around the world.

TB is curable and preventable, but we must recognize and treat it with the least possible delay. For children experiencing TB symptoms, the primary point of health care, often community-level facilities, is an important opportunity to identify and begin treatment. Symptoms such as a persistent cough, loss of appetite and high fevers must be recognized as possible signs of TB (not just of pneumonia, malaria, malnutrition, and other common illnesses among children), and health workers must be empowered to recognize and take appropriate action. Ensuring that children can access treatment close to home is a critical step towards eliminating preventable deaths from TB. 

My home region of Tigray in northern Ethiopia has made great strides in ending preventable maternal mortality. Best estimates [24] suggest that the maternal mortality ratio in our region dropped from approximately 653 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990, to 267 in 2014. However, while most pregnant women in Tigray attend at least one antenatal care visit, only 41 percent attend the recommended four visits, and less than 63 percent deliver with a skilled birth attendant.

We at Management Sciences for Health (MSH) are always looking for new approaches to support the Government of Ethiopia’s efforts to improve maternal health. We discovered one such approach through communities of practice (COP) -- or what we call technical exchange networks.

Management Sciences for Health (MSH) presented seven abstracts at the 8th International Aids Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention [29] (IAS 2015) in Vancouver, Canada, July 19-22, 2015.

Multisector perspectives on achieving resilience in global health

Recent events, such as the Haiti and Nepal earthquakes and West Africa Ebola outbreak, have demonstrated, now more than ever, that a resilient health system is vital to ensuring stability and well-being in society. With this in mind, Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and the USAID-funded, MSH-led, Leadership, Management, and Governance project in Haiti (LMG/Haiti), partnered with Johnson & Johnson to host a high-level panel event during the 68th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The event, entitled Building and Maintaining Resilience to Address Global Health Challenges [41], examined how the global health community can move beyond typical public-private partnerships to achieve a model of true country stakeholder engagement. This model would include and leverage the strengths of all actors to build systems capable of addressing long-term global health issues like non-communicable diseases while maintaining resilience to outbreaks like Ebola.

We spoke with MSH’s Chryste D. Best, BS, product quality assurance manager, The Partnership for Supply Chain Management [45] (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 MSH and partners.

For more than three years, TOMS Giving (TOMS) [49], and Management Sciences for Health [50] (MSH) have partnered to address critical health and social issues facing mothers and children in rural sub-Saharan Africa.

Together, MSH and TOMS have helped nearly 1,000,000 moms and kids in Uganda [51] and Lesotho [52] stay healthy.  

How are MSH and TOMS ensuring a successful partnership? Utilizing complementary innovation and expertise toward aligned social impact goals. TOMS is known for their innovative One for One® [53] philanthropy model—for each pair of shoes that is purchased in higher-income countries, TOMS provides a pair of shoes for a child or caregiver in need—one for one. But often times, the logistics of providing these shoes in rural areas in Africa can be daunting. That’s where MSH comes in: For over 40 years, MSH has helped build locally-led, locally-run health systems in over 130 countries, including among the poorest and most vulnerable populations in some of the hardest-to-reach regions of the world.

Going to Geneva for the 68th Session of the World Health Assembly [57] (WHA)? Please join Management Sciences for Health (MSH) for three WHA side events: two on Monday, May 18th (a breakfast call to action on gestational diabetes screening, and an evening panel discussion on building global health resilience); and one on Tuesday, May 19th (a lunch panel discussion on setting adolescent health priorities). Please RSVP to each event separately. We hope to see you in Geneva!

(Not going to Geneva? Follow this blog for updates. On Twitter, follow @MSHHealthImpact [58], @MSHActs [59], and @LMGforHealth [60], and hashtags #WHA68 [61] #YouthLead [62].)

Saving the Lives of Women & Newborns through Gestational Diabetes Screening: A Call to Action

Monday, May 18, 2015
8:00 am – 9:30am (08h00 - 09h30)
Vieux Bois restaurant, at the entrance to the Palais des Nations, Avenue de la Paix 12