MSH 2007 Annual Report: Global Challenges, Local Solutions

MSH’s 2007 annual report celebrates the remarkable evolution that has taken place in global health since the turn of the millennium, and we highlight some of the practical contributions MSH has made to support governments, service delivery NGOs, and other local organizations in that transition. Through initiatives such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund, the international community has committed massive resources to combat HIV & AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Working with local stakeholders, these efforts have yielded dramatic health improvements in a few short years. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the number of people receiving life-extending antiretroviral therapy for HIV & AIDS increased more than 40-fold, from less than 50,000 in 2002 to 2.1 million by the end of 2007. The evidence is clear: with social and political commitment, sufficient funding, practical know-how, and local implementation, progress is possible even in resource-constrained countries.