Change.org's Global Health Blog

Climate Change is Biggest Health Threat to Children of 21st Century

Mike Smith — 2009-11-06T09:24:00-08:00

Climate change could kill up to 400,000 children a year. That's the assessment of Save The Children who explain that not only will does climate change represent a huge global health problem that will kill hundreds of thousands every year, but it's singled out as the biggest health threat to children in the 21st century. Save the Children estimate that up to 175 million a year will be effected as natural disasters increase over the next decade.

There of course is no-one immune to climate change, and no immunization being developed, or hopes that the Gates Foundations can step in and fund research to diagnose the causes. We know the causes, and know some things to can do to fight it. We are relying on governments to pass strong climate change legislation, cut emissions, and help the developing world do the same. If this doesn't happen, deaths by diarrhea will increase to kill an extra 100,000 kids every year, whilst malnutrition, which today effects 178 million, will hit another 25 million children by 2050.

Photo credit: suburbanbloke

Lower Fertility Rate is Improving the World in Incredible Ways

Mike Smith — 2009-11-05T18:59:00-08:00

Climate change, hunger and malnutrition, women's rights, war and conflict are all causes in which the situation is likely to dramatically improve should global fertility rates continue to decrease. Soon a milestone will be reached as "only half of humanity will be having only enough children to replace itself," writes the Economist. We aren't going to disappear as a race, oh no, but population growth is likely to slow and with it more people will enjoy a higher standard of living at no-one's expense. More pairs of hands won't be needed to improve your family's chances of survival, and the incentives to having a large family will decrease.

Incentives will change as more people live in urban areas, close to schools, markets, and factories. Women will work more, and education will increasingly need be funded — both will lead to smaller families. Family planning improves things further.

This won't happen for at least another generation, not quick enough for us to disregard changing how much we are destroying and polluting the planet. But creating a lower population helps: it's five times cheaper than conventional solutions to combating climate change. Quite simply fewer feet mean a smaller footprint. A smaller population won't weigh so heavily on Earth, especially for those least able to shoulder the burden.

Photo credit: UN Photo/John Isaac

Anti-Malarials Often Ineffective But Historic First Vaccine Could Save 500,000 a Year

Mike Smith — 2009-11-03T11:24:00-08:00

It's not just a lack of funding causing millions to die from malaria. Even where provision for anti-malaria medicine exists, too often it's ineffectual. But there is hope with a new vaccine.

ActWatch have just released a study of seven African countries which explains that most people were receiving ineffective anti-malarials. The study, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, found that the lack of quality medication is usually down to the high-cost and low-availability of the better drugs which can cost twenty times as much — up to 65 times the average daily wage in some of the studied countries. Dr Chevasse, Project Director of ActWatch, says that "this is ultimately what’s leading to the fact that most children in Africa are either not being treated at all for malaria - or they’re being treated with ineffective drugs."

So quite simply, even where malaria medication does exist, we've got to ensure it works. But there is hope due to a new vaccine which appears able to prevent malaria in 50% of children. This could account for an incredible 500,000 lives saved each year. When it passes final testing it will become the first vaccine against a human parasite. It will only prevent the African strain, but it's a huge leap forward in squatting malaria. Children, who are at high-risk, will be immunized and then left to develop a natural immunity as they grow older. Developing the vaccine has cost more than $500 million, funded in part by GlaxoSmithKline and ... you guessed it ... the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation who fund part of the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. Even better news is that "pricing will never be a barrier to access for this vaccine" said GlaxoSmithKline.

Photo credit: UN Photo/Astrid-Helene Meister

World Pneumonia Day 2009: Join The Fight

Mary Beth Powers — 2009-11-02T06:06:00-08:00

Pneumonia is preventable and treatable; so why does a child die from pneumonia every 15 seconds? Today is the first World Pneumonia Day, and Save the Children is taking action to protect children from a disease that takes nearly 2 million lives each year – that is one child every 15 seconds. Every day in 40 countries around the world we work with parents and community health workers to provide these children with the medicine and expertise to help children survive pneumonia.

Why all the effort around the first World Pneumonia Day? It's not just the toll that pneumonia takes on children that has created an organized movement to combat this life-threatening infection. It's the fact that affordable, effective treatments exist but children in developing countries are not getting them. This is both heartbreaking and frustrating.

Many low-income countries have developed effective health strategies for protecting children from pneumonia and other childhood illnesses. Where hospitals and health clinics are beyond the reach of families, community health workers are trained to diagnose and treat pneumonia and other childhood illnesses in their own communities.

Consider 1-year old Marta who lives with her family in a Mayan community in the highlands of Guatemala. She came down with pneumonia when she was 7 months old. Her grandfather took her to the community health worker, Juan Lux, who quickly diagnosed Marta with pneumonia and gave her a dose of antibiotics. But Marta was still not out of danger and Juan referred her to the nearest hospital -- an hour-long walk over the mountains to catch a bus for the 19-mile trip to the hospital. (And on those treacherous mountain roads, 19 miles is a long, long trip!) Marta was hospitalized, treated with antibiotics and is now doing fine.

Marta is one of the lucky ones: Lucky because her grandfather sought help quickly. And luckier still because Save the Children had trained and equipped Juan Lux to provide health care for children in their little village. Without his correct diagnosis, proper treatment and referral, Marta might not have survived.

Now we are asking you to join this fight by going to www.missionpneumonia.org and getting the facts about childhood pneumonia. Should you accept your mission, this site will provide you with opportunities to make a real world difference by:

Recruiting friends, family and colleagues to play www.missionpneumonia.org by sharing on Facebook, Twitter and email with different facts about pneumonia and the obstacles family and community health workers face

Signing our petition to Congress on the Newborn, Child and Mother Survival Act. Show your elected officials that you support expanding the reach of life-saving tools – vaccines, antibiotics and trained health workers – to more mothers and babies in poor countries.

Helping to provide the supplies and training Community Health Workers around the world need to help diagnose and fight pneumonia.

Our mission doesn't end with World Pneumonia Day, but it can make a strong step in the right direction. Even as I sit at my computer writing this blog post, I know that health workers like Juan Lux are making rounds in remote villages, checking the progress of sick children and following up with their parents. This makes me hopeful that we can save millions more lives by making affordable health measures to the poorest children and by bringing health care closer to children's homes.

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Ecuador Breaking 2,000 Drug Patents, Big Pharma Says No Problem

Mike Smith — 2009-11-01T18:16:00-08:00

Ecuador are breaking drug patents left, right, and center, bypassing patents on 2,000 drugs "in order to produce them locally or buy cheaper versions elsewhere." And that's not the most interesting bit: 14 of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies accept the decision. So why is big pharma happy for this to happen?

Well, it's legal, so they have little option but to agree.

"We accept the democratic decision... to legally implement this extraordinary measure ... No legal right is superior to the requirements of public health," the companies explained. Under rules agreed by the World Trade Organization, Ecuador is also on solid ground internationally. And they aren't just stealing. WTO rules allow countries to issue "compulsory licenses" to disregard patents. But, and here's the crux, this can only ordinarily happen after negotiating with patent owners and compensating them through royalty payments. But if a national emergency was declared, Ecuador wouldn't even have to negotiation with the pharmaceutical companies. This time around negotiations did occur.

Ecuador join Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia in the issuing of a "compulsory license" for the importing of certain drugs. Industry groups are eager for this not to happen too often, with Thailand landing itself on a US copyright watch list for its disregard of patetns. But when public health is such a huge concern, this is hardly top of their priorities.

Photo credit: Yamil Salinas Martínez

Save A Village, Learn About World Pneumonia Day

Mike Smith — 2009-10-30T13:56:00-07:00

Want to learn about Pneumonia? Well it's World Pneumonia Day on Monday, so whether you want to or not, you should: Every fifteen seconds a child dies of pneumonia. In global health terms it doesn't receive the sort of status it deserves — it is not enough of a priority on the global health agenda.

Go and learn about pneumonia with Save the Children's game and interactive quiz — work your way around the map learning about pneumonia and help 'cure' each village. After completing each quiz Save the Children explain the work they're doing to help fight pneumonia. Here's some of what I learned: Pneumonia effects children all around the world, those infected with HIV are more susceptible, with poor nutrition also contributing to the disease. Good hygiene can help prevent pneumonia, but most frightening is that pneumonia kills more children than Aids, malaria and measles combined. Save The Children set up the game to raise awareness by testing your awareness, and helping you learn too.

Pneumonia is the "forgotten killer," and a million deaths a year could be prevented if more children received existing vaccinations. Don't take my word for it: Go and play the game and find out for yourself, or jump straight into the success stories, with Save The Children's contribution saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

Photo credit: Save The Children

Obesity Spreads to Developing World, Bigger Killer Than Being Underweight

Mike Smith — 2009-10-29T06:17:00-07:00

Focusing on five health factors could prevents millions of premature deaths, extending global life expectancy by five years the World Health Organization explained this week. A report explains that poor childhood nutrition, unsafe sex, high blood pressure, alcohol, and bad sanitation and hygiene are responsible for 60 million premature deaths.

One of the most startling parts of the report explains that obesity and being overweight causes more deaths worldwide than being underweight. Even worse, though smoking and obesity is one of the main causes of premature deaths in the developed world, these problems are increasingly occurring in the developed world. Reuters report the morbid death statistics: "high blood pressure (responsible for 13 percent of deaths globally), tobacco use (9 percent), high blood glucose (6 percent), physical inactivity (6 percent), and obesity or being overweight (5 percent)."

The World Health Organization explain that the developing world is now experiencing a double burden — having to deal with poverty and under-nutrition, and increasingly facing simultaneous problems of obesity and high blood pressure. Had these issues been dealt with, life expectancy around the world would be a decade longer.

Photo credit: Nick J Webb

Gates Casts Himself as "Impatient Optimist" in Global Health Speech

Mike Smith — 2009-10-28T18:19:00-07:00

Bill and Melinda Gates continue to raise their voices for global health asking the U.S. government to expand its initiatives, specifically targeting child birth deaths. They're hoping to reduce deaths by one third. The Gates Foundation explained that they would not able to accomplish this goal without the help and resources of the U.S. government. They're hoping to also expand program of immunization and step up the fight against malaria.

On Tuesday Bill and Melinda Gates delivered a major speech which explained that they are "Impatient Optimists." They continue to emphasize the Living Proof project, highlighting individual examples of where U.S. money has improved lives, not just statistics, but millions of individual lives that have been saved and improved.

Global Health isn't just one of Bill and Melinda Gates' pet projects, they've invested heavily themselves, and now are asking for government support, explaining that the investments they propose provide "America's best investment for saving lives." In addition to the speech, Bill and Melinda Gates met with Congressmen, policy makers, and administration officials, demanding that the progress made during the Bush administration not fall victim to budget cuts, and instead be expanding. With the world's richest couple of Global Health's side, we too have an opportunity for some optimism.

Photo credit: World Economic Forum

Delivering Aid By Text Message

Mike Smith — 2009-10-27T13:44:00-07:00

Iraqi refugees living in Syria has begun receiving vouchers for food aid by text message. The UN food vouchers involve 1000 test families who receive a $22 of vouchers every two months. Beneficiaries are able to exchange the texted voucher for cheese, eggs, canned fish, rice, flour etc at certain shops. But phones would cost substantially more though, right? Surely refugees wouldn't have such widespread access to phones.

Incorrect! A World Food Program spokeswomen explained that all 130,000 Iraqi refugees currently receiving food aid in Syria have phones. The UN deliver news about food distribution by phone, and the project just extends that work. The spokeswoman further explained "It also is better for the economies of the communities ... we're not giving food away but we're actually providing an additional market to the local shopkeepers."

A similar scheme has been run in Kenya by Irish aid agency Cocern, they explained "This technology can get the money here in minutes compared with the very difficult logistics of bringing in food." Rather than dumping food aid and putting farmers out of business, vouchers are exchanged for money which is then spent buying food from local farmers. It allows them to stay in business and helps stimulate the economy.

Photo credit: DVIDSHUB

In Choosing Who Survives Flu, Developing World Most Likely To Suffer

Mike Smith — 2009-10-26T12:09:00-07:00

Who gets the most help to fight Swine Flu in a pandemix? Or more to the point, who should you vaccinate first? Frontline health workers are obviously going to be a priority. And as the New York Times explains, when it comes to allocating ventilators to help people breath, in New York state, "The plan aims to direct ventilators to those with the best chances of survival in a severe 1918-like flu pandemic where tens of thousands develop life-threatening pneumonia."

With not enough resources, the Times wonders, who should get a chance at survival? It's morbid, but worth consideration. But the article finds no time to discuss how the rest of the world is fairing, or what we can do to help. We're too busy refusing vaccines that will save lives, endangering more of us, especially those who are already ill, those for who Swine Flu presents the greatest danger.

Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, warned earlier this year that "the developing world, where populations are most vulnerable, should prepare to see more than the present small number of severe cases."

Photo credit: Hmerinomx

Brazil Shows Tremendous Progress in Poverty and Hunger Fight

Mike Smith — 2009-10-24T07:37:00-07:00

Brazil is leading the way in eradicating hunger and improving literacy. The country continues to show significant progress in social development and poverty alleviation. A recent report published by ActionAid saw Brazil top the anti-hunger scorecard, just ahead of China, with India earning low marks. With two African countries finding themselves in the top 5 of the ActionAid report, the indication is that it's not only wealth that matters in fighting hunger.

In Brazil, a 73 percent decrease in hunger has been put down to food banks, community kitchens, land reform, and support for small farmers, winning them the Future Policy Award, whilst Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, was awarded the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize, in part for his work to reduce poverty.

Brazil isn't just investing in malnutrition prevention. Through the Bolsa Familia (Family Grant) scheme, 12 million poor families receive cash assistance of up to $80 a month. Running since 2003, the scheme asks families to meet several core requirements including ensuring their children attend school, receive vaccinations, and make regular visits to health centers. Having helped half a million children become literate in 2006 and 2007, the program is helping to improve the social and economic standing of low income-citizens. The income transfer scheme has lifted 20 million Brazilians out of poverty since 2003, and offers a lesson to countries around the world.

Photo credit: Andrea Fregnani

Healthcare Debate Focuses On Global Health Ranking

Mike Smith — 2009-10-23T18:53:00-07:00

Healthcare debate constantly refers to the U.S's lowly ranking in global health — it comes in at 37th in the international table. The rankings refer to a World Health Organization study done at the start of the decade and the WSJ thinks it unfairly represents the strengths of the US healthcare system.

They explain "some researchers say that factors beyond the control of the health-care system are to blame, such as dietary habits." But diet is a crucial global health issue: whether it's hunger and malnutrition or obesity in developed countries — both of which present tremendous problems.

Christopher Murray, who oversaw the report, believes the original report achieved its intent of stimulating debate and focus on health systems. But a rank of 15th is presented as a more realistic assessment when you leave out just how much each country spends — the U.S. ranks first in spending, so the failure of that spend to match health drags it down to 37th. And so it should, below Morocco and Costa Rica who all get better bang-for-their-buck.

As a bang-for-buck ranking, it works, and quite simply this isn't a ranking intended to tell the U.S. how healthy it is. This isn't all about the U.S. This is seems to be a ranking to allow the world to see who's money goes the furthest. And the U.S's investment doesn't seem to be going far enough.

Photo credit: Brykmantra

Gates Foundation Invests in Chewing Gum, Noses, and Exercise To Improve Global Health

Mike Smith — 2009-10-22T16:44:00-07:00

Bill & Melinda Gates are continuing to put their huge wealth to good use with their foundation's announcement of 76 grants of $100,000 each to fund ground-breaking and outside-the-box global health research. The $7.6 million in grants is the third time they've awarded money as part of their "Grand Challenges Exploration." The money will be spread through 16 countries and five continents.

The actual projects involve everything from chewing gum that can help detect malaria through saliva, a study into how a brief bout of exercise may enhance the effiency of a pneumococcal vaccine, and an electric nose to diagnose tubercolis. The hope is that pursuing bold and innovative research could lead to substantial breakthroughs in HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia and diarrheal diseases. Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program explains that “Grand Challenges Explorations will continue to fill the pipeline with possibilities and hopefully produce a breakthrough idea that could save untold numbers of lives.”

Photo credit: Maverik2003

State of the World's Vaccines: Must Raise Coverage To Save Two Million Young Children

Mike Smith — 2009-10-21T08:04:00-07:00

Immunization is at its highest ever level, but we've still got work to do. That was the message of an important and comprehensive assessment by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the World Bank on the state of the world's vaccines and immunization (executive summary PDF here). It's presented as "a call to action to governments and donors to sustain and increase funding for immunization in order to build upon the progress made so far in meeting the global goals."

Immunization is essential to meeting Millennium Development Goal #4 of reducing deaths of children under five. In developing countries, millions of lives are being saved through immunizations. The next step that the WHO demand is to insure that vaccines already available are more widely distributed, with the hope to raise vaccine coverage to 90% by 2015, which would save the lives of two million young children. Immunization is one of the most cost effective health interventions. "The overall picture," the report concludes, "is one of cautious optimism, enthusiasm, energy, and dedication."

The press conference happened this money with hashtag #VAX2009. I've just skimmed the feed, and here are some highlights:

Helen Evan, deputy CEO of GAVI, says that more manufacturers are making vaccines, creating more competition and lowering costs. @amanda4gavi

Rakesh Nangia: Hard to reach kids: in many cases, vax are there, delivery systems are not. @DCScience

Rakesh Nangia: Costs going up: $18 per child up from $3-$5, heading up to $30 per child as pneumo and others added. @amanda4gavi

2 new vaccines, pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines, could prevent 1.3 million deaths annually. @amanda4gavi

Photo credit: Cambodia4kidsorg

Rising Temperatures Aid The Plague's Comeback

Mike Smith — 2009-10-20T13:22:00-07:00

Is the plague making a comeback? Well it never went away, and unless we kill all rodents, it won't ever disappear completely. Drug resistant strains in Madagascar have scientists worried. Globalization, urbanization, and even climate change is helping the plague return. Scientists explained to Foreign Policy that "every 1 degree Celsius increase in the spring temperature, there's a whopping 60 percent increase in the incidence of plague among the gerbils that play host to Y. pestis." And let's not even go into the plague being spread by bioterrorism.

Every year about fifteen people in the U.S. contract the plague from the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis. Around the world, the number is around 2,000, killing 200. It's so dangerous that here on the Global Health blog earlier this year it beat Malaria in the Tournament of Pandemics, eventually losing out to Tuberculosis (which went on to win our morbid tournament, taking the crown of the most dangerous pandemic).

The take-away message is that a plague pandemic could get very bad, and you've got to take seriously a disease that once killed of a third of Europe's population. The good news is that face masks help slow the spread of plague, and drugs work to significantly reduce mortality. The potential recurrence of the plague is yet another reason to pass climate change legislation. How many reasons is that? I've got 290 so far.

Photo credit: Otisarchives2

"No Toilet, No Bride" Campaign in India is Good News For Health

Mike Smith — 2009-10-19T13:13:00-07:00

With more TV sets in India than toilets, toilets are increasingly providing a condition of marriage in India. With the gender imbalance putting women in the minority they've got more power to bargain in prenupital arrangements and they're using this leverage to their advantage. Following a "No Toilet, No Bride" campaign, 1.4 million toilets have been built in one of India's northern states by men eager to please potential wives. Soap operas have been pushing the message to the people, and this development is good news for public health.

Defecating in the open is a big cause of diseases, including diarrhea and polio. Each year over 1.5 million children die from diarrhea related diseases in Africa and south Asia. Along with better sanitation the World Health Organization explain urgent action that needs to be taken to reduce that number including improving water supply, vaccination, and promoting handwashing. Child deaths from diarrhea outnumber those from Aids, malaria and measles combined.

Photo credit: r000pert

Smart Cell Phones Help Diagnose TB and Save the World

Mike Smith — 2009-10-16T11:59:00-07:00

Smart cell-phones, with increasingly powerful processors, aren't just unnecessary Western indulgences, they're helping doctors everywhere from Bangladesh to the Philippines. Non profit organization Moca has created software that helps increase diagnosis time when patients are being tested for tuberculosis by reducing the time it takes to get x-rays to a radiologist.

This software, and many other similar innovations, has emerged from the NextLab at MIT, funded by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. He hopes to bring mobile technology to those who fall outside the marketing plans of phone companies, and the organizations hopes that mobile technology can help change the world and have a positive impact on people's lives.

The popularity of cell-phones around the world is not question — the BBC recently explained that 40-50% of traffic to their Mobile News site comes from Africa. Now we need to continue thinking of ways to put these cellphones to good use.

Photo credit: Ken Banks, Kiwanja.net

Climate Change Is Undoing Global Health Progress

Mike Smith — 2009-10-15T07:40:00-07:00

Climate change will be felt the most by those least able to combat it: people in the developing world who already struggle. Emissions by the developed world is changing the climate, causing more extreme weather events and sea-levels rises that the developing world just won't be able to handle. Indeed, poorer nations will bear 75-80% of the cost of floods, desertification, and other disasters. Climate change is a huge problems for global health, fiercer for those already experiencing problems. With climate-related problems of malaria, malnutrition and diarrhoea adding even more billions to the global health bill, negating so much positive action.

Indeed, an increasing number of diseases, which peak in warmer months, are being attributed to the changing climate. Warmer weather has some positives: it may allow a little more food be grown in parts of Russia, but it will also bring longer droughts, famine and food shortages to the rest of the world: "2.7 billion people live in regions where climate change will interact with underlying economic, social and political problems, with a high risk of violent conflict." More wars, more famine, more disease. As we struggle to end all three, our work is being undone every year that we fail to take significant, international action to cut our dependence on fossil fuels, invest in renewable energy, and rethinking our destructive habits.

Governments can take the most significant action and make the biggest difference. Today, I'm joining with 9,000 blogs around the world as part of Blog Action Day to demand action on climate change, and right now I'm signing the action demanding Obama takes bold and significant action. Next year, I'll be reducing my emissions by 10%.

Photo credit: Silus Grok

US Creates Institute to Help Feed the World, But Growing Biofuels Will Negate Progress

Mike Smith — 2009-10-14T16:14:00-07:00

A new agricultural research institute launched by the Obama administration and the National Institute of Food doesn't sound like good news for global health, right? More research into how to feed ourselves even more food whilst so many miss out. Not so fast: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack explains that the institute will be international and focus on "global food security and hunger, climate change, sustainable energy, childhood obesity and food safety."

Vilsack is hoping the research will allow U.S. agriculture to continue to compete internationally, whilst simultaneously working to end hunger. The hope is that this new institution will link industry, academia and non-profits with government efforts. It's a much needed push, with so many wondering how we will be able to feed the few billion more people that arrive on this planet by 2050.

But they've got it all backwards if they continue to invest in biofuels, as they plan to do as part of the new institute's work: "Obama has set ambitious but achievable goals for securing America's energy future from new domestic sources, including 60 billion gallons a year from biofuels by 2030."

This is a really bad idea if fighting hunger is a priority. Biofuels either require new arable be created (cutting down rainforest etc) or arable land used for food production is re-purposed in land for biofuels. Doing this in countries that suffer food insecurity and hunger (as often happens) is utter madness. And worse than that, the research indicates that biofuels actually produce more emissions than oil. The benefit of biofuels of course being that they cut our dependence on foreign oil.

So instead of polluting the world with C02, we're going to starve it. Great!

Photo credit: Sam Beebe / Ecotrust

Kristof: We Can Stop Women Dying In Childbirth, We Just Need More Money

Mike Smith — 2009-10-13T14:16:00-07:00

Sometimes it takes less than 140 characters to get the message across. In a tweet earlier today, Nicholas Kristof wrote: "Maternal mortality: 540,000 women die annually in childbirth, equivalent of 5 jumbo jets crashing a day." 89 characters that can provide a real shock.

The tweet was in reference to “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” a book co-written by Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, a former New York Times correspondent who works in finance and philanthropy. It was excerpted at length in the New York Times. In that piece they make an obvious point: we know how to avoid maternal mortality (it's 1 in 47,600 in Ireland, but 1 in 7 in Niger), it's just that "poor, uneducated women in Africa and Asia have never been a priority either in their own countries or to donor nations." Kristof is demanding action and aid to help save lives, advocating tried and tested methods that just need funding in order to make a real difference.

Photo credit: LaBelleVida