The first intrauterine device (IUD) was discussed in a medical journal in 1909. David Hubacher, FHI 360 Senior Epidemiologist, says that the concept of the earliest IUDs was to put foreign objects in the uterus to cause an inflammatory response, making the environment difficult for sperm. With the safety and efficacy advances of modern IUDs, the United States has had a five-fold increase in IUD use since the 1970s.
Ted FitzGerald, Director of Global Research Services at FHI 360, talks about the logistic and economic benefits of commuting three days a week by bus. More than half of FHI 360’s employees in North Carolina either work at home or bike or ride the bus to work at least once a week. FHI 360 is one of the nation’s 231 Best Workplaces for Commuters.
FHI 360 and Qualcomm Wireless Reach team up with Tata Consultancy Services on the Wireless Solutions for Fisheries in Senegal (WISE) project, using a solution that combines wireless connectivity and GPS with specialized mobile and server applications through a smartphone. Berhane Gebru, Director of Programs for TechLab at FHI 360 discusses the unique approach of the project that addresses entrepreneurship and livelihoods, gender, health education and technology.
Patrick Fine, FHI 360 CEO, and Wayne Holden, RTI International President and CEO, co-authored this op-ed that discusses the proposed federal budget cuts for 2017. The op-ed reviews the impact of the proposed cuts on North Carolina jobs and international development aid, which is less than one percent of federal spending and a component of national security.
The intrauterine device (IUD) has a mixed history in the United States and around the world. One in ten American women use one of the five available types of T-shaped IUDs. David Hubacher, FHI 360 Senior Epidemiologist, discusses how other types and shapes of safe and effective IUDs have been on the market in Europe and how manufacturers and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should expand IUD access in the United States.
FHI 360, the U.S. Agency for International Development and Phandeeyar, an innovation lab in Yangon, hosted the Innovation Marketplace in March. A civic tech competition, the Innovation Marketplace facilitated opportunities to collaborate between civil society organizations and technology companies.
To gather more data to build HIV/AIDS strategies, FHI 360’s Strengthening Integrated Delivery of HIV/AIDS Services (SIDHAS) project will begin the first statewide survey in Akwa Ibom in Nigeria. Robert Chiegil, FHI 360 Nigeria Country Director, says that the “findings from this survey will help the government and its stakeholders to plan how best to address and find solutions to the problem of HIV and AIDS in communities, LGAs [local government areas] and in the state generally.”
The FHI 360 Alive & Thrive project provides technical support to the Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children and the country’s first human milk bank. The milk bank collects, pasteurizes, tests and safely stores the milk that has been donated for infants in need. The facility also provides lactation services for mothers.
This article reviews the possible impacts of future U.S. aid to the Philippines based on current diplomatic issues between the governments. Patrick Fine, FHI 360 Chief Executive Officer stated, “We think this scenario [removing assistance] is highly unlikely,” mentioning an August 2016 independent evaluation issued by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) regarding its work in the health sector in the Philippines. The evaluation’s conclusions and recommendations point to new engagements for USAID.
This article discusses the FHI 360 report, Right from the Start in the Digital Age, which advocates teaching children in pre-K through third grade to be safe and responsible digital citizens. The report’s authors, Merle Froschl and Barbara Sprung, directors at FHI 360, state, “A new educational paradigm is needed so that teachers and parents may help children develop the skills, and establish the principles, in the earliest [years and] grades that will enable them to thrive in both the real and digital worlds.”
FHI 360’s Mobile Solutions Technical Assistance and Research (mSTAR) project hosted an event on October 19, 2016, during Financial Inclusion Week in Bangladesh. The article highlights driving financial inclusion through client-centered digital financial services.
FHI 360 facilitated a gender-based violence (GBV) training for more than 800 youths who will be volunteers at the Federation of the International Football Association (FIFA) under-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea in November. These volunteers will be able to deliver GBV messages during the games as part of FIFA’s theme of ending violence.
As a part of the Start Talking. Stop HIV. project, FHI 360 and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) produced a music video that educates gay men about HIV prevention options. Manny Rodriguez, FHI 360 Project Manager, stated, "This is an authentic campaign, with gay men involved in both the campaign staff and creative team. Our goal was to marry CDC research with something that is accessible and enjoyable to watch."
In Ghana, FHI 360 and partners operate the Community-based Hypertension Improvement Project. FHI 360 employees Reina Marie-Antoinette Mwinbang Der, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, and Rebecca Dirks, Senior Technical Officer, discuss bringing hypertension screening to the community level, how patients are self-managing their condition and using digital health tools in remote areas (video).
The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and DREAMS partners announced FHI 360 as one of 56 DREAMS Innovation Challenge winners to implement innovative solutions to reduce HIV infections. The total award of $85 million will be distributed among the winners; $40 million of that will be devoted to keeping girls in secondary school. DREAMS is a partnership to reduce new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in 10 sub-Saharan African countries and to help them develop into determined, resilient, empowered, AIDS-free, mentored and safe women.
FHI 360’s Chief of Party for the Malaria Action Program for States (MAPS), Oluwole Adeusi, discussed at a meeting in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, that the project’s work in the last two years has contributed to more than 95 percent of confirmed uncomplicated malaria cases being appropriately treated. Dominic Ukpong, the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Health, commended MAPS for living up to expectations by contributing to the significant reduction of malaria burden in the state and said, “It is imperative that such gains be sustained for the achievement of the desired global targets.”
The World Health Organization announced that Thailand has become the first country in Asia to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. The success stems from a strong prenatal care program across the country. Stephen Mills, Technical Director, Asia Pacific Regional Office at FHI 360, states that Thailand should now focus on condom use and testing programs that reach key populations in need of such services, such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender persons and people who inject drugs.
FHI 360 and partners organized a workshop on HIV/AIDS in Kohima, India, to help the Nagaland police department understand the sensitivities and issues related to HIV/AIDS and drug users. Bitra George, FHI 360 Country Director for India, gave an overview of the Sunrise project that works to improve and scale up the quality of comprehensive services for people who inject drugs. Bitra stated, “Drug dependence is a chronic relapsing disorder, and it requires proper prevention and treatment services.” He encouraged law enforcement to coordinate and partner with civil society and other stakeholders.
At the three-day Women Deliver 2016 Global Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, more than 5,000 people from 168 countries gathered to discuss greater investments for girls and women who are at the center of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Manisha Bharti, FHI 360 Chief Strategy Officer, talks about how girls and women’s global challenges are complex, demanding and interwoven and how the solutions have to be connected.
Most of the 4 billion people who cannot connect to the internet live in rural areas of developing countries in Africa and South Asia where there is little or no infrastructure to provide connectivity. This segment of the population is unable to use the internet to improve their lives and economic situations. FHI 360’s mSTAR project is working with technologists, industry leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers from around the world to explore what it would take to bring the bottom billion online.