Inside OHA - World AIDS Day, OHA’s New Website, and more...

USAID Bureau for Global Health sent this bulletin at 12/20/2013 02:04 PM EST
USAID: From the American People Join Global Health on GH on Facebook
Follow Global Health on GH on Twitter
Inside OHA - USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS. Stay Connected. Spread the Word.

December 2013

OHA’s New Website!

The OHA section of USAID’s website has been updated! The new site houses 25 revised webpages that describe OHA’s technical work, expertise and program management in detail! All of these technical areas are critical to achieving the goal of an AIDS-free generation.

Upcoming Events
  • Saving Mothers, Giving Life event – January 9, 2014
    The Center for Strategic & International Studies will unveil the first-year results of Saving Mothers, Giving Life, a USAID-led initiative to reduce the number of women who die in childbirth in Uganda and Zambia. USAID Director Rajiv Shah and CDC Director Thomas Frieden are headlining the event.
  • Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections – March 3–6, 2014
  • International Women’s Day – March 8, 2014
  • World TB Day – March 24, 2014
  • PEPFAR Annual Meeting – April 1–4, 2014

Send Us Your Ideas!

. . . for blogs, success stories, videos or other news items that highlight and tell the story of your organization’s work under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). We love featuring our partners’ work in HIV and AIDS on the Agency’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and website platforms.

Contact Goli Fassihian at gfassihian@usaid.gov and Molly Schmalzbach at mschmalzbach@usaid.gov for more information.

World AIDS Day

Photo of girl on seesaw

Jon Hrusa, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

 

In honor of PEPFAR’s 10th anniversary, USAID commemorated World AIDS Day this year by celebrating 10 years of our HIV and AIDS work under PEPFAR. In particular, we highlighted efforts related to PEPFAR’s theme, “Shared Responsibility: Strengthening Results for an AIDS-Free Generation.”

Be sure to watch our video “Gift’s Last 10 Years” and learn how ARV treatment funded by PEPFAR through USAID was able to protect her from the virus when her HIV-positive mother gave birth to her 10 years ago.

Global Fund Replenishment

Earlier this month, world leaders gathered in Washington, DC, to demonstrate their strong support for the funding commitments from countries around the world in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria for the next 3 years. An initial amount of $12 billion was pledged, representing the largest amount ever committed – 30 percent more than the pledges secured in 2010 – to fighting the three diseases. Twenty-five countries as well as private foundations, corporations and faith-based organizations committed funds. The United States pledged $4 billion, although that could rise to up to $5 billion as additional pledges are made by other donors in the coming months.

The mood was optimistic and the message that was heard over and over again during the Replenishment meetings was that we are at a historic moment in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria. We are able to completely control these diseases and make transformational differences in the lives of millions of people.

Passage of PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act of 2013

In November, the U.S. Congress reaffirmed its strong commitment to PEPFAR by passing the PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act of 2013. The act extends critical authorities and strengthens oversight of the landmark legislation passed into law in 2003 and demonstrates the U.S. Government’s sustained commitment to fighting HIV and AIDS.

International Men’s Day

A family celebrates with their child, a sign of togetherness and healthy living.
 

USAID/B. Deutsch

On November 19, OHA commemorated International Men’s Day and this year’s theme of “Keeping Men and Boys Safe.” OHA hosted a Twitter expert hour with VMMC technical advisor, Emmanuel Njeuhmeli, and discussed our technical work focusing on men and boys through a series of digital activities, including a blog, success story, photo essay, and GH e-card.

Global Efforts for Community Health Workers

USAID hosted a side session at the recent Third Global Human Resources for Health (HRH) Forum entitled “Community Health Workers and other Front Line Health Workers: Moving from Fragmentation to Synergy to Achieve UHC.” [PDF, 775KB] The session highlighted challenges to optimizing the role of community health workers and proposed a strategy for overcoming barriers that impede impact. You can learn more about the outcome of the session here.

PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board Meeting

Ambassador Eric Goosby hosted the fourth meeting of the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board on October 2–3 in Crystal City, Virginia. Agenda topics included an update on current PEPFAR-funded implementation science activities, recommendations to Ambassador Goosby on the care and treatment cascade, adherence/retention issues and research priorities for the PEPFAR portfolio.

Projects Coming to a Close

AIDSTAR-Two held its end-of-project meeting on October 3 at the Hotel Monaco. The event highlighted activities and lessons learned in the areas of local civil society organization strengthening, key populations programming, orphans and vulnerable children and the importance of gender in HIV and AIDS programming during the 5 years of the project.

The Health Policy Initiative Costing Task Order held its end-of-project meeting on September 10. The theme of the meeting was “Informing Smart Investments through Economic Analysis.” Participants spoke of the importance of costing work for governments working to combat epidemics in their own countries. Be sure to check out their end-of-project video!

OHA would like to express sincere gratitude to both project teams for their significant contributions over the duration of the projects.

Photo of John Kerry
 

U.S. State Department

Launch of Country Health Partnerships

On September 25, Secretary Kerry chaired a high-level meeting with the leadership of Namibia, Rwanda and South Africa to discuss the next phase of PEPFAR and launch the Country Health Partnerships. These partnerships are designed to strengthen collaboration with partner countries in order to lead to greater accountability and long-term sustainability, with an emphasis on shared responsibility.

IS Investigators’ Meeting

OHA held a 1-day Implementation Science Annual Investigators’ meeting on September 24. Representatives from the eight studies awarded through the “Implementation Science Research to Support Programs under PEPFAR” attended the meeting, as well as representatives from HIVCore and ASPIRES. The meeting created an opportunity for collaboration and dialogue, sharing of lessons learned and in-person communication among USAID staff, partner organizations and the award recipients.

Global Female Condom Day

RH Councillor Jonathan Kabanda with a female condom in a counselling session with client Pauline Phiri at SFH Obote Site, Livingstone, Zambia
 

PSI

On September 16, OHA commemorated the second annual observance of Global Female Condom Day. This day was designed to increase awareness, access and use of female condoms. Learn more about USAID’s approach to Addressing Condom Supply and Demand in PEPFAR Programs, and read the updated technical issue brief about female condoms [PDF, 228KB]. Check out this blog post by our partner Population Services International (PSI): Empowering Women with the Female Condom.

IMPACTblogs – Latest and Greatest On HIV and AIDS

Partner in Spotlight – CapacityPlus

Photo of a woman holding two babies
 

IntraHealth International

Addressing health workforce challenges is critical to achieving an AIDS-free generation and sustaining national HIV responses. USAID’s CapacityPlus project has assisted 19 PEPFAR countries to date to strengthen their health workforce through areas such as human resources management and education and training systems, and interventions to address retention and productivity challenges. A new video and related stories highlight how human resources for health work in Uganda has supported improved HIV service delivery.

Staff Spotlight – Margaret McCluskey

In an effort to put a human face on our work in OHA and acquaint you with our technical staff, we are launching a “Staff Spotlight” campaign that will live on our website and be featured in Inside OHA. In this issue, we feature Margaret McCluskey, OHA’s Senior Technical Advisor for HIV Vaccines.

Photo of Margaret McCluskey dancing with children.
 

How did you get involved in development work?

I simply followed the direction of a virus. Since 1981, HIV has essentially charted the map of my career; my job has been to try and keep up. Early on, HIV crept its way into the lungs of the men in the ICU where I worked. It then gave rise to several malignancies in the patients I cared for while practicing oncology and hospice nursing, and later hijacked the lives of the women and children I cared for at Chicago’s Cook County Hospital. After the Rwandan genocide, I was asked to go and help out; HIV was rampant there. Upon my return to the U.S., I simply wed myself to the notion that a vaccine might be able to stem the tide of the pandemic. This notion took me to Hopkins then to the NIH and now to USAID. I’m an atypical “development worker,” but since finding an AIDS vaccine is part and parcel to development work, I faithfully follow.

If you weren’t working in development or public health, what would you be doing? Why?

That’s funny. I don’t dwell much on this. If you find something really worth doing, you might as well give it all you’ve got – which is what I try to do. I decided a while ago that I had to channel my talents and energy toward work that focuses on stopping this ridiculously harmful virus. So, for now, my fantasy career as a concert cellist, marine biologist, developing-world surgeon or documentary filmmaker will just have to wait. I’m just “yer trusty vaccine gal,” and really okay with that.

Read the whole interview here! [PDF, 304KB]

New Staff

Kelly Badiane – Kelly has returned to SCH as a Public Health Advisor, after spending nearly 3 years with the USAID Nigeria mission as the Commodity Logistics Advisor. Kelly began her career at USAID 10 years ago and was one of the original members of the division set up to manage the flagship SCMS contract. Kelly can be reached at kbadiane@usaid.gov.

Jacob Buehler – Jacob has joined SPER as a Strategic Information Advisor on the Information for Strategic Planning and Evaluation (ISPE) Team. In his most recent role, Jacob served as the lead M&E Advisor for the American International Health Alliance (AIHA), a DC-based PEPFAR implementing partner providing HRH and institutional capacity development to eight countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Jacob can be reached at jbuehler@usaid.gov.

Clint Cavanaugh – Clint has joined SPER as the Regional Advisors Team Lead. Prior to joining OHA, Clint was the PEPFAR Team leader in Haiti and spent 3 years with USAID’s South Africa mission working on treatment services. Clint can be reached at ccavanaugh@usaid.gov.

Adriana Davis – Adriana has joined ISD and is working with the OVC team. She is a Foreign Service Officer who has recently returned from the field in DRC, where she served as both health officer and in the General Development Office (GDO) working on integrated, community-based interventions in conflict-affected areas. Adriana can be reached at addavis@usaid.gov.

Katy Handley – Katy has rejoined the SPER division, after a 2-year detail at the Fogarty International Center at NIH. Katy returns with unique perspectives on how NIH is evolving to address important public health challenges, and we look forward to benefiting from her new insights and knowledge. Katy is working on several projects on the Measure Evaluation Team and across the Office. Katy can be reached at khandley@usaid.gov.

Welcome new staff!

Stay connected! Forward this e-mail, like USAID for Global Health on Facebook and follow @USAIDGH on Twitter.

Photo credit from header: Virginia Lamprecht, Courtesy of Photoshare.

If you have questions and/or comments please contact Goli Fassihian at gfassihian@usaid.gov.

*Subscribe | Unsubscribe | USAID.gov | PEPFAR.gov | Privacy Policy

Visit the Global Health section of USAID.gov at www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/global-health/.

*Please note: Inside OHA is intended for USAID staff and implementing partners. This newsletter has a moderated subscription list requiring approval.