Global Health | Infectious Enthusiasm

Browsing All Posts filed under »Global Health«

It’s World TB Day

March 24, 2012

It’s World TB Day. Some links for you: The current situation with the spread of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB is alarming. The best prevention for tuberculosis is finding and successfully treating patients. We urgently need to improve case finding, diagnosis, and treatment. How can you help? Put pressure on your government to restore funding to […]

Rounds with the Unidad de Salud Familiar (Family Health Unit)

March 23, 2012

My last post has an awesome video produced by a USF in the Paraguayan Chaco. They work in the area of the Chaco where my four new study communities are located. Today I’m going to share some photos from a couple of days spent with another USF (the one responsible for my original two study […]

On the front lines of global health

March 3, 2012

Paraguay is rolling out a new primary healthcare strategy called Atencion Primaria a Salud (A.P.S.). I mentioned it last year when I attended a workshop on health promotion and leprosy. Basically, the Ministry of Health is trying to provide a Unidad de Salud Familiar (U.S.F.), that is a “Family Health Unit”, consisting of a doctor, […]

Working with vulnerable communities

February 24, 2012

While my community meetings have always ended on a very positive note, I want to be clear that it is not easy to establish a good working relationship in vulnerable communities. You don’t just waltz into town one day and they welcome you with open arms. My previous post may give that impression, but we […]

They called me ‘Amanda poop’

November 12, 2011

While I was visiting my study communities, the kids would often sing-song my name when they saw me. At first it was "Amanda foto [photo], Amanda foto" because I always had my camera on me. Then it was "Amanda camion rojo [red truck], Amanda camion rojo" because they liked my big red truck. And then it was "Amanda samook, Amanda samook". Samook is the Nivacle word for 'poop'. It's okay, they weren't bullying me, they were just really excited about fecal samples.

IDRC’s Ecosystem and Human Health Program

January 27, 2011

My colleagues at CEDIC are famous! Dr. Antonieta Rojas de Arias and Dr. Miriam Rolon are featured in a video by the IDRC (International Development Research Centre) of Canada about the EcoHealth projects they funded in Latin America and the Caribbean. CEDIC’s project investigates the vector for Chagas disease in the Paraguayan Chaco. Description of […]

WHO | WHO Director-General calls for change

January 21, 2011

A recommended read for anyone involved in global health: Dr. Margaret Chan’s (Director-General of the World Health Organization) report to the WHO’s Executive Board. The report highlights a lot of the successes and challenges in global health over the last year, and ends with a call for change in the way WHO operates: International norms […]